I don’t usually post blogs
about current affairs, but today I am making the exception. In recent months two of our
most sacred battle sites are under threat from development. The first being
Culloden Battlefield. You can read about the proposed development here. It has now come to
my attention that there has been an application to build a driverless car track
on part of the battlefield of Bosworth.
Now many people say that
there is not one part of the British Isles that has not seen a battle and that
we cannot be sentimental about the past. But in the case of both Culloden and
Bosworth, I think we should be.
In the Battle of Culloden (16th
April 1746) between 1500 to 2,000 Jacobites died. Culloden is their memorial.
The Battle of Bosworth (22nd August 1485) was the climax to the War of the
Roses. King Richard III was the last English monarch to die in battle. And
while he cried:
"Traitor. Traitor. Traitor."
Henry VII took the throne
from him, and so started the reign of the Tudors.
I have been to Bosworth many
times and to think that we could lose this heritage for our future generations
is utterly heartbreaking. Richard III’s body was found under a car
park, are we to allow the same sad fate to happen to the place where he and
countless others died? I cannot understand why commerce should be allowed to
destroy our heritage. Please, if you have a few minutes, support Diane Penn and
sign this petition and save this monument for those who come after us. If a car
park, where Richards III’s body was found, can be given scheduled
monument status then surely the place where he died should also be protected.
The Members of Hinckley
and Bosworth Borough Council’s planning committee have been advised to
grant permission for the venture which they will discuss tomorrow — Tuesday 28th
August. It is not too late. We can stop this.
Sign the petition:
Thank you.
Hinckley-Bosworth votes 12-2 to defer decision, saying 'we are guardians of the battlefield' and wanting a development that 'safeguards the future without wrecking the past'. The fight goes on...
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