https://www.change.org/LeonDinosaur
If the media is to report on the demise of Leon Dinosaur it may like to give both sides of the story and not simply help Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council sweet its failure under the carpet.
The stature was the idea of Headmaster Bruce Abbott. He wanted something at the bottom of the school field which would be the first thing seen from trains heading North into the New City of Milton Keynes. This was in the early 1990’s. Bruce’s original idea was for a like of Easter Island heads along the field but I persuaded him to go for a dinosaur. Partly given the vast community interest in the Peartree Bridge Dinosaur and partly the popularity of the film Jurassic Park.
Sadly, in later years the school expelled the dinosaur and it was relocated to its present position AND PLACED IN THE CHARGE OF BLETCHLEY AND FENNY STRATFORD TOWN COUNCIL.
Sadly Headmaster Bruce Abbott and Community Artist Bill Billings are no longer with us. As project co-ordinator for the past TWO YEARS I
The Clerk from Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council told me early in my campaign that Leon Dinosaur was the property of Milton Keynes Council. In recent months she forcibly repeated this false information.
I tried to engage with the Lakes Estate Regeneration Team who did agree to meet with me but when I tried to set a date it evaporated.
Milton Keynes Citizen did run a supportive feature on the dinosaur at this stage.
Also at this time a member of Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council attacked me on social media for what I was doing saying it was nothing to do with me and would be part of the Lakes Estate regeneration.
I featured Leon Dinosaur in my 1994 book NOT THE CONCRETE COWS and again in 2020 in MILTON DREAMS THE CITY THAT NEVER WAS.
Not The Concrete Cows was a collection of articles I wrote for a weekly page in Milton Keynes Citizen together with national magazines. I filmed a brief feature regarding the dinosaur with ITN.
Milton Dreams The City That Never Was, was intended to spark a dream that one day we would be granted a city charter.
I used my writing to make a personal presentation to Buckingham Palace supporting Milton Keynes being awarded a city charter. I know for certain that my work was placed before Her Majesty. Milton Keynes Citizen did run a feature on this presentation.
When Milton Keynes was granted a city charter within Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee such was so special, so special as being within a royal celebration our country has never seen before and probably never will again.
I wrote to Her Majesty saying Thank You for granting Milton Keynes its city charter. Buckingham Palace wrote back saying Thank You for saying Thank You !
My book Milton Dreams The City That Never Was instantly became out of date. I set about writing MILTON KEYNES THE CITY OF LEGEND. From Amazing Grace, the world’s most recorded by artist piece of music, to Olney Pancake Race. From Queen Boudica to Queen Elanor. From the prince murdered in the tower to the role of Bletchley Park during the Cold War. It is a fact that Milton Keynes has more legends and heritage per square mile than any other town, city or village in the country.
Within the book I celebrate our city’s legend and set out to rescue a number of legends which were in danger of being lost:
· Leon Bridge
·
The Satellite
Pub & Telstar
·
Sir
Frank Markham’s writing. Sir Frank was knighted within Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Honours. I met Sir Frank on two occasions and Lady
Markham decades ago gave me permission to use her late husbands writing within
my own.
· LEON DINOSAUR
I sent a copy of the book as a gift to Iain Stewart MP and to Ben Everett MP, NEITHER HAD THE GOOD MANNERS TO SAY THANK YOU !
I attempted to engage Iain Stewart as I began to try and rescue Leon Dinosaur. He ignored each and every letter.
At this stage the Clerk to Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council forcibly again stated that
Having been again instructed by the town clerk that the dinosaur belonged to Milton Keynes Council I tried to engage with this body in order to bring about this icon of heritage’s rescue. I received a series of strange letters from Milton Keynes City Council on plain paper, NOT council letterhead, with such unsigned. I passed copies to the Local Government Ombudsman but matters have now moved beyond this stage. I then received another letter, again on plain paper but this time signed, saying the dinosaur was privately owned. This caused alarm within the dinosaur’s growing support base that the land on which it stood had been sold for private development.
I then made a Freedom Of Information Request under the 2000 Act of Parliament asking who this private owner was. I received a properly written and signed letter from Milton Keynes City Council stating Leon Dinosaur was owned by Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council, had been for seven years and the town clerk had confirmed such ! PLEASE NOTE Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council is a public body and not something which could privately own Leon Dinosaur as stated in one of Milton Keynes City Council’s plain paper letters.
On 13th April 2023 I filed a formal complaint against Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council. This has not yet been acknowledged. Given recent events, including your inaccurate media reporting, I will be composing a new complaint with evidence superseding that in the original complaint. I need to gather information from the strong support base Leon Dinosaur now has so this updated complaint will be filed on Wednesday 10th May 2023.
An on-line petition was launched and has gathered significant support. On a daily basis more people are adding support. Comments filed by supporters can be found at the end of this document.
There is concern within the support base concerning a posting made by Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council which contains false information which has been used by the media.
Please note the following false information contained:
This community asset is now in poor condition and was never intended to be a long-lasting public art installation. Poor condition TRUE. Never intended to be a long-lasting public art installation. FALSE AND UNTRUE. This was my project, I was its co-ordinator acting on the instructions of Headmaster Abbott. I have detailed above his plan and would confirm Leon Dinosaur in its original location was always intended to be a permanent item of public art.
Recent oral information has suggested that the town council took over responsibility when the dinosaur was moved to its present position from Leon School. FALSE AND UNTRUE. The information I received from Milton Keynes City Council was in writing. I copied this and sent it to Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council. Being a response to a Freedom of Information Request this is a legal document. To claim the council has nothing in writing but such being oral is untrue and misleading. If indeed Milton Keynes City Council did advise the town clerk initially by way of a telephone call surely this was followed up in writing. IF NOT WHY NOT ?
The town council has previously advised in good faith that the dinosaur was the property of Milton Keynes City Council. How can a public body responsible to its community not know it owns a community asset ? I would suggest, given that the town clerk agreed when told by Milton Keynes City Council that ownership of Leon Dinosaur was with Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council, the last thing it can claim is good faith. Incompetence perhaps in failing to keep proper records. Why when I initially engaged and then more recently repeated a request for information was the documentation which must exist not revealed ?
Beyond this failure I would ask how members of Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council not be aware and ask about the demise of Leon Dinosaur as a community asset they oversee ? If Leon Dinosaur were the property of Milton Keynes Council why did its members covering East Bletchley ignore the situation ?
Why did a member of Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council attack me on social media when I first started to campaign to save Leon Dinosaur ?
Considerable frustration and anger has developed within the support base over the inaccurate and false information suggested within this post.
I have made a Freedom Of Information Request to Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council seeking to obtain the name of the author of this posting and where within the elected council authority was given for such.
Not
part of such a request but I find myself
pondering:
· Who
holds the key to the gate on the fencing surrounding the dinosaur ?
· Who
oversaw the current graffiti painting of the dinosaur and when ?
It would be interesting to know if such can be found within Bletchley & fenny Stratford Town Council ?
Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council has shown itself to be an incompetent and disrespectful body in allowing Leon Dinosaur to decompose ton its present state. It has disrespected the community it represents, disrespected Leon School Headmaster Bruce Abbott, disrespected Community Artist Bill Billings and disrespected the Leon School students who were involved in the original project. This is nothing short of a scandal !
Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council has clearly shown itself unfit to be responsible for Leon Dinosaur’s future. Talk of community consultation and that reported in the media could be regarded to simply sweep failure under the carpet and avoid liability.
Leon Dinosaur is a citywide asset and NOT confined to East Bletchley. I would repeat Headmaster Bruce Abbott’s intention for it to be the first thing seen from the train heading North into the new city.
Community consultation has already taken place within my campaign. Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council has proven itself an unfit body to undertake such a community consultation.
Within my complaint against Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council the following is included offering a way forward:
It is my suggestion that ownership of Leon Dinosaur be placed into the hands of a small group of trustees and removed from Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council.
Given responsibility for the present situation Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council must finance repairs and removal of Leon Dinosaur to a new location. I would invite the council to then make a yearly grant to the trustees to maintain the statue.
Given the thinking of Leon School Headmaster that the statue being located at the bottom of the school field would make it the first thing seen by train passengers from the South when entering Milton Keynes and the last seen when travelling in the opposite direction, there is only one place Leon Dinosaur can be relocated from its present position and that is to where Headmaster Abbott had it built. Co-operation and support from the present Leon School will be required but the burden of responsibility need not to be placed on its shoulders, such being with the trustees. I would ask the present school to celebrate all that Leon Dinosaur stands for and raise such celebration within the heritage of Milton Keynes.
Speaking on a personal note, as the original project co-ordinator I would like to see a plaque placed with the dinosaur acknowledging and thanking Headmaster Bruce Abbott for the idea, Community Artist Bill Billings for turning that idea into reality and all Leon School Students involved in the construction.
Leon Dinosaur has within its body a time capsule reflecting life in the 1990’s, this was put together by Leon School students. I would suggest to present students they put together a time capsule which could be buried adjacent to the dinosaur on the school field reflecting life in the 2020’s.
There now follows comments made by some of the 260+ supporters of Leon Dinosaur:
Within the signing of the petition the following comments have been made. I have removed the names of the petitioners but haver reproduced their comments EXACTLY as given without any editing. Please note the consensus of Leon Dinosaur being a city issue and not that of the limited geographical area covered by Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council.
· This dinosaur was my childhood its deserves better treatment
· I remember seeing it from the train before the trees hid it and knew I was almost home, I would like it to be a,restored and b, restored to it's original location where it was safer than where it is now.
· It's Miton Keynes History , needs to be saved , thanks
· Art should be restored . This is part of a valuable MK history timeline. We must preserve our heritage
· I went to leon in late 70s we used to go Down to the and Dinosaur and smoke or bunked off 1 class they never came and looked down to here, we saw him every day its Leon its our history bring him home xxc
·
This was part of my
childhood
· The dinosaur is part of local history. Needs to be protected.
· Bill Billing’s art is part and parcel of MK Heritage. This piece should be treasured.
· This is a monument to a local talented artist which should be preserved
· I would like to see the Leon school dinosaur,as it was called when I was younger, put back into it's correct position and be completely restored . It took many hands of children and adults to make some they could be so proud off
· Because culture counts
· I grow up with this dinosaur he should have never been moved from Leon school he is a landmark
· Bletchley Dinosaur is not just a sculpture but a symbol of our community's history and identity. It has become a familiar and comforting sight to generations of Bletchley residents, and its loss would be deeply felt. We urge you to invest in the necessary restoration work to ensure that this unique piece of public art can continue to bring joy and inspiration to our community for generations to come
· I was one of the students that helped build the dinosaur and I was the one that designed it..
· I went to Leon school and loved seeing the dinosaur at the bottom of the playing fields, especially when I moved to London and coming back to visit on the train I would look forward to seeing it. So sad what has been allowed to happen.
· This may only be a local thing, not a national monument but, this is our history, the people who lived in and around the Bletchley, Lakes Estate area.
· It's part of MK legacy. This and the Peartree Triceratops. Granted to today's standards it looks poor especially given its neglect but its not about aesthetics. Its about MK history.
· This dinosaur is a testament to the artist, and all the students involved in its creation. It has to be saved and the local council must accept responsibility for neglecting it for as long as they have!
· The Town Council need to be held to account. They have just put up the Council Tax by 9%. Where is all the money going?
· We love that dinosaur &;my son was involved with the making of it
It could be perhaps thought there is some kind of conspiracy to hide the truth and protect Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council’s situation. Strange and unsigned letters from Milton Keynes City Council on plain sheets of paper. No acknowledgement of the complaint. Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council failing to engage with the strong support base gathering around Leon Dinosaur.
In concluding this presentation I would ask any future media reporting be accurate and not help Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council evade its responsibility. Please respect those who were involved in the original project.
Sincerely
David J B Ashford
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