Thornbury High Street Public Protest Marches
The two protest marches arranged by Thornbury Town and District Residents Association on
Wednesday 6 April and Saturday 9 April were both highly successful. Despite the mid-week
date for the first march, when many people would have been working, nearly 100 local
residents took part. The Saturday march was much larger, and one onlooker counted nearly
400 protesters.
The message of the protest was directed at South Gloucestershire Council and its Leader,
Toby Savage, over their resolute failure to listen to and address the concerns of the people
of Thornbury, the majority of whom are up in arms over the Council’s plans for the High
Street. The placards made and displayed by the marchers showed their opposition to the
present scheme together with the demand for a local referendum to decide the issue
democratically and finally.
There have also been many complaints that the so-called “consultation” and “engagement”
sessions, which the Council has run, have been nothing more than “listening without
hearing” sessions, where no minutes were published. The Council has then selected the
outcomes from these sessions which suited them, rather than reflect the true level of
opposition which actually exists.
Both BBC Points West and ITV West Country News cameras were present at the Saturday
march, and interviews with two members of the Resident’s Association were broadcast on
the ITV evening news, alongside footage of the march. In addition, John Riddiford, who runs
the greengrocery and general store in the High Street, was very clear in his interview that
his business had suffered a disastrous reduction in sales since the High Street was closed to
through traffic.
The Residents’ Association, whilst waiting to see what South Gloucestershire Council will
produce as their Full Business Case for the changes to the High Street, is now considering
further moves to bring home to the Council and its leader the foolishness of not listening to
the people they represent.