Petition 1078

(For official use only) PUBLIC PETITION NO. PE1078

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NAME OF PRINCIPAL PETITIONER:

Peter Paterson

TEXT OF PETITION: The petition should clearly state what action the petitioner wishes the Parliament to take in no more than 5 lines of text, e.g. “Petition by John Smith, on behalf of Edinburgh Community Council, calling for the Scottish Parliament to consider and debate the need for new legislation to tackle anti-social behaviour.”

Petition by Peter Paterson and the Save the Gillies Hill committee calling for the Scottish Parliament to consider and debate the need for new legislation to protect historic sites such as the Gillies Hill from physical destruction through mineral extraction, and to preserve such sites in their present condition for the amenity of the community.

ACTION TAKEN TO RESOLVE ISSUES OF CONCERN BEFORE SUBMITTING PETITION: Before submitting a petition to the Parliament, petitioners are expected to have made an attempt to resolve their issues of concern by, for example, making representations to the Scottish Executive or seeking the assistance of locally elected representatives, such as councillors, MSPs and MPs. Please provide a summary of the action you have taken to resolve your issue of concern including details of elected representatives you have approached.

Representations have been made to: Bruce Crawford MSP (Stirling); Sylvia Jackson, former MSP (Stirling); Councillors Scott Farmer, Steven Paterson, Neil Benny, all of Stirling Council; Gerry Power, former Councillor of Stirling Council; Stirling Council Planning Department: all have been urged to pursue any legitimate action to prevent further despoliation of Gillies Hill, and to preserve it in its present condition for the continued amenity of the community.

1 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Provide any additional information relevant to your petition and set out the reasons why you consider the action requested to be necessary. This information will be made available to Members of the Committee prior to its consideration of your petition and should be limited to no more than 4 sides of A4. If you wish to use the e- petitioner system your additional information will be posted on the web page with your petition and you may provide further sources/links to background information.

Save Gillies Hill urges the Parliament to consider the manifest need for such legislation (to preserve historic sites such as the Gillies Hill) because the status quo permits their destruction. Unless out campaign can persuade the developers, Hanson Aggregates, to desist, or persuade Stirling Council to revoke the planning permission it granted in 1982 and renewed in 2002 – with no consultation with local people (Stirling Council can provide no evidence of such consultation, and those of our Committee who served on Cambusbarron Community on or during the dates specified remember no such consultation) – then this historic and beautiful place will suffer severe despoliation.

Please note: historical means ‘relating to history’; historic means ‘important to history’. It can be argued that without the Gillies Hill and the intervention onto the Field of Bannockburn by those camp followers or sma folk as Bruce’s chronicler, John Barbour, described them, or ghillies in whose honour the hill was named, our modern concept of Scotland might not exist: their surge down the eastern slopes of the Hill, to join the battle was at a crucial juncture: the tiring English, constrained and hard- pressed by Bruce’s brilliant generalship, thought they were a reinforcing army, and wilted.

This is not a legend. Dr Fiona Watson of Stirling University, a renowned expert on Scottish medieval history, has attested repeatedly to the pivotal importance of the ghillies’ intervention.

Sadly today, little of the Field of Bannockburn remains: it has, over the centuries, been largely built over. Fortunately, this has not been the case with the Gillies Hill. Indeed, despite a recent (20th century) history of quarrying, it has remained a beautiful, sequestered landscape, home to a wide variety of wild-life, much of it rare: deer, peregrine falcons, foxes, badgers, green woodpeckers, red squirrels and osprey have long made it their home. Magnificent trees such as Wellingtonia sit atop high cliffs commanding spectacular views. It is a wonderful amenity to the many who walk, jog, cycle, climb or simply play on its slopes.

It’s almost as if its history had conferred a special bounty on it.

But now, its future is in extreme jeopardy. Undeniably, Hanson Aggregates has been granted legal entitlement to extract minerals from the Hill. Much has been taken in recent years – since 1982. But after a period of quiet, when it was thought that little more could be extracted without irreparable damage, indeed, destruction, of the greater part of what remains, and especially that part of it which local folk-lore maintains as the refuge area of the ghillies, Hanson informed the Community Council in November of last year of its intention to resume extraction.

Since existing legislation seems unable to protect such historic sites, we call upon the Scottish Parliament to do so for this most Scottish of all our historic landscapes. It is inconceivable that the French would sell off the sand from the D-Day beaches, or the Americans build over Gettysburg.

Will history ever forgive Scotland- and a Scotland with the freedom those original ghillies fought for, enshrined today in our Parliament – if it allows the destruction of perhaps the last substantive remnant of the Field of Bannockburn?

2 E-PETITION: Before submitting a petition formally to the Parliament, petitioners may wish to use the Parliament’s e-petition system to promote their petition. The system allows a petition to be hosted on the parliament’s website (http://epetitions.scottish.parliament.uk/) for an agreed period, providing an opportunity to attract a wider audience and gather more names in support of the petition. Each e-petition has its own discussion forum, where visitors and supporters can discuss and debate the petition and related issues. When the agreed period for hosting a petition on-line ends, the petition is formally submitted to the Public Petitions Committee for consideration in the usual way. Should you wish to use this system please provide the further information requested below. Please note, if you wish to make use of the e-petition system, you should submit your completed template by e-mail to the address provided below. Do you wish your petition to be hosted on the Parliament’s website as an e-petition?

YES X NO

If “Yes” please enter a closing date for gathering signatures on your petition, (we would usually recommend a period of around 6 weeks; please also provide at least one comment to set the scene for an on-line discussion on the petition, not exceeding 10 lines of text.

CLOSING DATE:

29 August 2007

COMMENTS TO STIMULATE ON-LINE DISCUSSION: Please provide at least one comment to set the scene for an on-line discussion on the petition, not exceeding 10 lines of text.

Please note: historical means ‘relating to history’; historic means ‘important to history’. Without the Gillies Hill, and the intervention onto the Field of Bannockburn by those camp followers, or ghillies in whose honour the hill was named, our modern concept of Scotland might not exist: their surge down the eastern slopes of the Hill, to join the battle was at a crucial juncture: the tiring English, constrained and hard-pressed by Bruce’s brilliant generalship, thought they were a reinforcing army, and wilted.

Will history ever forgive Scotland – and a Scotland with the freedom those original ghillies fought for, enshrined today in our Parliament – if it allows the destruction of perhaps the last substantive remnant of the Field of Bannockburn?

EMAIL ADDRESS: Please provide an email address which will be published on the e-petition site. [email protected]