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The Cattlemarket Development - Borough and Centros Miller's Spin

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"But simple as the tale is there is hardly better historic training for a man than to set him frankly in the streets of a quiet little town like Bury St. Edmunds, and bid him work out the history of the men who lived and died there. In the quiet, quaintly-named streets, in the town-mead and the market-place, in the Lord’s mill beside the stream, in the ruffed and future brasses of its burghers in the church, lies the real life of England and Englishmen, this life of their home and their trade, their ceaseless, sober struggle with oppression, their steady, unwearied battle for self-government. It is just in the pettiness of its details, in its common place incidents, in the want of marked features and striking events, that the real lesson of the whole story lies. For two centuries this little town of Bury St. Edmunds was winning Liberty to itself, and yet we hardly note as we pass from one little step to another little step how surely that Liberty was being won."

John Richard Green (1837-1883), grandfather of British social and cultural history.

Green, J. R., (1876), Stray studies from England and Italy, Macmillan & Co., London p.218-9

The Cattlemarket Development

'Terrified' Borough Council relies on Centros Miller's spin-doctor to save Cattle-Market development

East Anglia Daily Times
The Poll reveals..
In 1044 Edward the Confessor, King of England, came to Bury to visit the shrine of St Edmund. A mile from the town he halted his horse, took off his riding boots and walked the last mile to the Abbey bare-foot. In humility and out of respect for the holiness of the very ground, a King of England entered our town like a pilgrim; fearing God and St Edmund.
A spin-doctor cometh
Almost a thousand years later did Centros Miller come with due reverence and humility? No, they sent Steve Bryson, the director of their public relations company Halogen to try, one more time, to convince the people of Bury of the need for a Debenhams super store and shopping Mall.
http://www.halogenuk.com/whos_who.html#

As any student of Chemistry will know Halogens are a group of reactive gases that include Bromine. Bromine is from the Greek word Bromos which means 'stink'.
It was Halogen who were responsible for manufacturing the false consensus that the town wanted a new 12 acre Debenham's superstore and shopping Mall.
http://www.halogenuk.com/news/22_feb_05.html
http://www.burysteds.org.uk/listened.html
Lies, damned lies and statistics
This false consensus was manufactured by some standard public relations tricks, for example, offering a veneer of choice but dodging the vital questions. It also helps that the only people counting the votes were Halogen themselves.
How Public Relation companies work
The following quote, by a local government public relations guru, may be of interest to many Bury people, ignorant of how public relations companies work, the type of services the Borough of St Edmundsbury is spending Council Tax payers money on, how PR companies go about convincing people of the need for unpopular developments and advice they offer clients like Centros Miller and the Borough of St Edmundsbury.

"Most people don't like change - even if it is for the better. At the beginning there will almost be more people opposing the change than supporting it. They will all be communicating. Identify your heroes - those on your side - and work with them. The remainder are your opponents - the cynics and critics. Most of your opponents will be passively opposed - unhappy but not dangerous. You need to know who is actively opposed to you and could undermine your message. You need to take them out of the equation fast."

Langham, L., (1998), The Quick and Dirty Guide to PR 2
1st Consultation
The first consultation conducted by Centros Miller was in 2001 and consisted of "...a cross-section of local residents drawn at random from the electoral roll." However, the identity and actual number of 'local residents' participating in this phase of the consultation process remains unclear; even to day.
http://www.burysteds.org.uk/Press%20releases%20folder/PR2.html
2nd Consultation
So controversial were the claim that there was any mandate for the Cattle-Market development that Centros Miller felt compelled in July 2004 to have a second consultation. This involved a leafleting campaign of 40 000 or 50 000 households in the St Edmundsbury district, to which there were 2500 replies. This 'ballot' was not restricted to residents of Bury St Edmunds and was conducted solely by Halogen with no independent scrutiny of the consultation process and allowed no option to reject the Cattle-Market development out-right.
http://www.burysteds.org.uk/Press%20releases%20folder/PR9.html
3rd Consultation
Local opposition to the Cattle-Market development persisted, so Halogen brought in the NOP to conduct a 1000 strong telephone poll in December 2004. This was really a spoiling tactic to rubbish the planned Town Ballot. A number of residents contact by NOP in this telephone survey have complained that they were not given the opportunity to simply reject the Cattle-Market development plan or suggest an alternative use for the site.
http://www.burysteds.org.uk/Press%20releases%20folder/PR11.html

So what kind of surveys are these and what possible claim can they have to represent anything? Despite this Mr Bryson continues to peddle his entirely manufactured data as evidence that the people of Bury St Edmunds want the development.
All of a spin
This is because there has never intended to be any choice. Mr Bryson and his company Halogen were and are employed simply to convince the people of Bury St Edmund they want and need a Debenhams superstore and a shopping Mall. This is irrespective of the fact that the neither population nor infrastructure of the Borough is large enough to sustain a superstore, or the fact that the people of Bury St Edmunds do not want one.
East Anglian Daily Times Poll August 2004
The regional newspaper the East Anglian Daily Times held a readers poll. More than 260 readers replied of which 71.6% were "either opposed to the project completely or expressed grave concerns over car parking provisions and the scheme's design." Only 8.5% of those polled welcomed the project. This was a devastating blow to Halogen as the result came after two Consultation processes.

Town meeting November 2004
Eventually one of the Town Councillors called an open and public Town meeting at the Corn Exchange. Those attending had to bring proof of residence within the town in order to vote and approximately 700 people turned up, filling the building to its fire-limit. The Borough, Centros Miller and the architects, Hopkinson and Partners, were able to put forward their presentation. It was immediately apparent that 99% of those attending were deeply hostile to the development. A lively discussion occurred culminating in a vote by all present, less than 20 were in favour of the development. In addition, it was decided to hold a further 'Parish' Ballot of all of the Town's residence in December.
'Parish' Ballot December 2004
No-one was pleased that only 7% of the 28 000 people eligible to vote did so during the 'Parish' Ballot. Despite the low turn-out voting was restricted to those who live in Bury St Edmunds, rather than as in all the other polls, drawn from across the rural district. However, there were errors in calling the ballot in December, not clarifying the question more and this was the first time anyone had held a 'Parish' Ballot.

Still it was the Town Council leader Cllr. Warby who decided to hold the ballot between 4pm and 9pm rather than during the day-time, when more people could have voted. The Town Council also failed to advertise the location of polling stations properly and there were threats to prosecute those who dared to put posters up telling people where they could vote. Despite these problems some 1970 people braved the freezing fog to vote, of which 1,611 or 82% voted against the Cattle-Market development.

This was the very first time that the people had the opportunity to express their democratic views, in a proper election, and the people of Bury St Edmunds overwhelmingly rejected the Cattle-Market development. It should also be noted that when Mr Bryson of Halogen or Centros Miller were counting the votes or undertaking the consultations, then they concluded a large majority wanted the development, but when the East Anglian Daily Times, Town Council or Electoral Reform Society ran their polls the results saw an overwhelming rejection of the Cattle-Market development.

The attempt to manufacture a consensus explains the fundamentally different results from Centros Miller's sponsored NOP public relation exercise and the very different result of the Town Council's democratic vote on the Cattle-Market development.
Why Halogen?
Given Halogen's and Mr Bryson's repeated failure to get the majority of people in Bury to accept the development when employed by Centros Miller, it has come as a surprise to many of the people of Bury St Edmunds that Mr Bryson and Halogen have now been taken on as the new public relations company for the Borough of St Edmundsbury.

Bryson's Lights
Bryson's Lights..
This means Mr Bryson is employed by both the developer and the Borough, a situation that does little to dismiss the feeling that Bury St Edmunds is becoming a company town controlled by Centros Miller. Moreover, it would suggest that the Borough and its Councillors are being given less than impartial advice. It raises a further ethical question; is there not a clear clash of interest for Mr Bryson between his employment and professional responsibilities to the developer Centros Miller and the Borough of St Edmundsbury?

At present it is not clear what tendering process was involved in the appointment by the Borough of St Edmundsbury of Halogen. It is possible that the appointment of Halogen as the Borough's new public relation company is one of the secret clauses in the £80 million Development Agreement that the Borough Councillors signed up to without reading the contract. Alternatively, it could be a genuine sign of panic by both Centros Miller and the Borough in the face of growing opposition to the development that they have had to by-pass normal tendering procedures.
Some awkward questions for Borough Council
The appointment of Mr Bryson and Halogen raises some interesting questions that the Council Tax payers of Bury St Edmunds should be asking the Borough Council:
  1. What were the circumstances, time-scale and the tendering process used in appointment of Mr Bryson and Halogen as the Borough of St Edmundsbury new Public Relations consultant?
  2. What other companies where considered for this new public relations portfolio and why did the Borough award the contract to Halogen?
  3. What brief was given to and what contract exists between Halogen and the Borough of St Edmunds?
  4. At which Council meeting was the decision to appointment Halogen as the Borough's new public relations company made?
  5. If Mr Bryson is a contractor of the Borough of St Edmundsbury is he bound by the same Code of Conduct that binds other council officials or contractors and if not, why not?

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