Leon Dinosaur - Presentation to Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council PART TWO

 

Did you read yesterday's account within the document I have prepared for a meeting with Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council to rescue Leon Dinosaur ?  IF NOT CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT.

To add your support and sign the petition CLICK HERE.

So today let's talk avout...................

A DIFFERENT DINOSAUR ?

Bruce Abbott was a hard act to follow. When he retired things changed. A series of head teachers followed and the school changed, not always for the better. At the time of writing this document OFSTED has the school in special measures.

Within changes A DINOSAUR MANAGEMENT EXPELLED LEON DINOSAUR, disrespecting Headmaster Bruce Abbott, Bill Billings together with all the students involved and put in motion the demise of our friend. At this time the statue was placed into the ownership of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council and relocated to its present position behind Serpentine Court.

If we are going to save Leon Dinosaur Leon School 2023 needs to be encouraged to get on board. I will talk about that later in the week.

IN GOOD FAITH VERSUS DISHONOUR AND DISRESPECT:

Over the years I came to accept the fact that the management of Leon School had behaved in the way it had. Visiting the dinosaur within my writing I was utterly horrified at what I found and felt I had a duty to speak out

 

My campaign to save Leon Dinosaur began towards the end of November 2021. Now in May 2023 it is no longer my campaign but OUR campaign having gained tremendous support within the community of Milton Keynes City.

I will now share how we got to where we are right now. There is a lot of negativity within this section, such has to be explained, but if we are to rescue Leon Dinosaur we must move beyond such in order to achieve and celebrate success. Anyone who is not prepared so to do must step aside.

21st  November 2021:

Today I visited our dinosaur this morning and found him ill, TERMINALLY ILL and suffering from serious NEGLECT !

Leon Dinosaur is on his death bed.

First of all as I approached the iconic sculpture it looked to me as if he had been on a day trip to Bristol the world’s capital of scruffy graffiti !  Who ever thought this was an appropriate costume for Leon Dinosaur to wear ! Artist Bill Billings would have been horrified !

If you visit the Peartree Bridge Dinosaur you will find a simple notice of heritage explaining this is the work of our late community artist Bill Billings. My thinking was to have something similar for our dinosaur.

The dinosaur was Leon School Headmaster Bruce Abbott’s idea. He delegated it  to me to project manage. It was Bill Billings and the Leon Students of 1991/1992 who made it happen. I DO NOT want my name on any plaque but IDO WANT Bruce Abbott and Bill Billings to be acknowledged along with the Leon students working within the project.

Leon Dinosaur is thirty years old but  unless something is done as a matter of urgency he will vanish completely from sight. Writing these words in March 2023, sadly I believe that is what some people are hoping will actually happen.

Not only is our dinosaur covered in this hideous graffiti which presumably somebody considers to be art but that art could never cover up the crumbling exterior.

Yes I am angry and I hope my anger is coming out in these words !  I am angry that the work of Bruce Abbott, Bill Billings and Leon Students is being treated with such disrespect. I  am angry that this yet again a failure on the part of Milton Keynes Council. (We now know Milton Keynes Council was not responsible for this  situation.) Passionate as I am about our heritage, something I have been writing about for more than thirty years, I am angry that this icon of heritage is about to vanish from our community !

I shared those words from November 2021 on social media. The response was overwhelming in support save for one member Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council who attacked me on social media saying the dinosaur was part of a regeneration plan and I should not be trying to take an interest.  So great was my support on social media that Milton Keynes Citizen picked up on the situation and ran an article.

The person engaged by Milton Keynes Council to review the situation on Bletchley’s Lakes Estate within a regeneration programme contacted me and picked my brains. We were going to meet at the dinosaur but not for a few weeks. Those weeks have now become a year !

November 2022:

November 2022 I returned to check on the health of our dinosaur. He is holding on but unless he is given urgent attention his life will soon be at its end.

I am hoping our dinosaur can hold on until whoever is responsible for the dinosaur’s destruction acts with honour.

January 2023:

Ideally I would like to see Leon Dinosaur  placed into the care of a small group of trustees. These trustees can take responsibility to organise the urgent surgery needed before moving our friend to a new home.

Where ?  Back to his original home at the bottom of Leon School field where Bill Billings and Leon students constructed him. Back to where Headmaster Bruce Abbott wanted him to be the first thing passengers on trains from London heading into the New City of Milton Keynes would see. The responsibility of care for our dinosaur would remain in the care of the trustees and not be burdened onto the school.

Yes, this was my project but I was only the co-ordinator. It was Bruce Abbott’s idea and Bill Billing’s with Leon teenagers who built our dinosaur. Both Bruce and Bill passed away some time ago. Responsibility falls on my shoulders to save this icon from the failing hands of Milton Keynes Council.

At the start of my campaign to save Leon Dinosaur I was told by the clerk of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council that the statue was owned by Milton Keynes Council. I later received a letter from the clerk writing on behalf of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council quite forcibly confirming Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council did not own Leon Dinosaur.

I tried to engage with Milton Keynes Council but initially without success. Eventually I did receive letters BUT these were unsigned and on blank sheets of paper and NOT council letterhead. I forwarded these to the Local Government Ombudsman for consideration and investigation.

I contacted Iain Stewart MP on a number of occasions raising the situation but he ignored every single one of my letters.  I sent information to Leon School but was not given the courtesy of a reply.

I had significant support for what I am trying to do. Support from residents. Support from those who were part of the team building the statue with community artist Bill Billings. I had a duty to do everything within my power to save Leon Dinosaur.

Milton Keynes Council within its unsigned non-letterhead communications advised me that it does not own the dinosaur statue, such was in PRIVATE hands. This is contrary to the information I was previously given and explained above. Sharing this with the dinosaur’s then support base alarm bells rang thinking private ownership meant the land was to be developed and Leon Dinosaur demolished within such.

I then made a freedom of information request to Milton Keynes City Council in an attempt to find out who owned the land on which Leon Dinosaur stood. I received the following reply. (This can be read on the next page.)

All along Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council owned Leon Dinosaur and all statement otherwise were completely and utterly false ! While the town clerk had repeatedly told me otherwise Milton Keynes City Council’s letter of 30^th March 2023 states:

This has been confirmed by the Clerk after a further check of their records.

Why was such a proper check not undertaken when I was trying to find who owned Leon Dinosaur ?

Within the letter is written:

Milton Keynes City Council holds no information as to when the Town Council took possession of the statue. I understand from the clerk, however, that this was more than seven years ago.

So Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council knew from its records that it owned the stature and is fully responsible for the demise of Leon Dinosaur. It cannot possibly escape responsibility.

Milton Keynes City Council’s letter is reproduced here on page twenty-five. An attempt by Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council to escape such responsibility can be found on page twenty-six.

Please read both documents before proceeding.

This is a completely false and misleading statement. I have made a freedom of information request to Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council seeking to find the name of the author and details of the meeting where council members authorised such.

The statement is made under the heading of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council so it has to be assumed such was done within authority from the council members.

At this time I had set up an on-line petition seeking to build a support base to rescue Leon Dinosaur. I assume the council was aware of such

A statement was made to the local media repeating the false information contained within this statement. The current support base is given on Page Two of this document. 

At the beginning of this document within LEON DINOSAUR IS A CITY ICON I explain how this is a false statement. It would appear that Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council is trying to excuse its negligence. The person responsible for writing this posting must be held to account for publishing such false information. 

As the one to whom the statements were made I do not accept for one moment that such were made in good faith. If in response to the same question being asked of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council by Milton Keynes City Council the clerk was able to confirm ownership of Leon Dinosaur why were similar checks not undertaken to answer my seeking such ? To claim to have acted in good faith I find insulting as completely untrue. If a proper check of records had been under taken at the outset Leon Dinosaur would not be in such a sad state of repair it is in today.

 

Surely Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council within its day-to-day operation knew it owned the dinosaur.

Did Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council obtain planning permission when Leon Dinosaur was moved to its present position ?

·       Is Leon Dinosaur within the portfolio of property owned by Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council covered by its public liability insurance ?

·       Who holds the key to the lock on the fence surrounding Leon Dinosaur ?

·      Who is responsible for cutting the grass and removing litter within the fenced area within which Leon Dinosaur stands ?

·       Who gave permission for the graffiti paint over of Leon Dinosaur and who under took such ?

I do not accept that  Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council is unable to answer any of the above question. I do not accept that the council undertook proper and respectful checks when I asked who owned Leon Dinosaur. To claim to have acted in good faith is untrue, disrespecting myself and all I now represent in seeking to secure the future of Leon Dinosaur.

 

We have here another false statement. When I received Milton Keynes City Council’s letter of 30^th March 2023 I photocopied it and sent it to Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council. To try to claim that recent oral information has suggested is untrue and misleading. I provided not  a suggestion but confirmed fact in writing that Leon Dinosaur is owned by Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council.

I am guessing that Milton Keynes City Council may have initially telephoned the clerk of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council but surely this was followed up in writing. Milton Keynes City Council in its letter states the clerk confirmed ownership, not suggested as in the above. Surely this must have been followed up in writing !  If not then why not ?

Throughout Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council has acted with disrespect and negligence. It cannot try to cover up such with this statement.

Given the various unsigned letters on blank paper not on Milton Keynes City headed notepaper, claims that communication were oral and not in writing it does not need a conspiracy theorist to suggest there is something suspicious within these events.

Each and every single council member must now without question accept liability for this situation and not simply abdicate such to a corporate failing.

I will now turn to the fact that  when I was in my early stages of my campaign, I was attacked on social media by a member of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council. At the time, while offended, I ignored this matter. However, now given the truth of the situation I am not  prepared to allow such to pass. I require a formal apology from Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council passed at full council meeting. I would like to think that the councillor concerned would consider her position and do the honourable thing by resigning.

Within information given to the media Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council speaks of public consultation as to the future of Leon Dinosaur. I have already undertaken such and doubt the council would be able to achieve any greater public response than I have.

I am offended by the way Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council has behaved but desire to move forward using this failure as a foundation stone upon which to build a positive future to rescue Milton Keynes City’s Leon Dinosaur.

This failure and misconduct must be used now as a foundation stone on which to build success. Our community right across the City of Milton Keynes deserves better.

Leon Dinosaur - Presentation to Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council

I could never have believed the strength of public opinion that has gathered around Leon Dinosaur  and its demise at the hands of Bletchley & Fenny Stratford Town Council. The council has behaved with disrespect and issued fale information. However, it has offered an olive branch hoping to bring about a happy and positive solution. Ahead of an inital meeting at the end of the month I have prepared extensive notes. I would like here now to share some of these words.

THE ORIGINAL IDEA AND HOW IT DEVELOPED:

I served as head of year under two headmasters at Leon School, David Bradshaw and Bruce Abbott. Both were more than headmasters, they loved their schools and wanted only the very best for their pupils. You would have to go a long way to find their like within today’s national education system. Bruce Abbott was great at coming up with ideas and brilliant at dedication.

He came into my office one day and said he wanted a piece of artwork at the bottom of the school field which would be the first thing people saw from the train heading from London into the New City of Milton Keynes. It would raise the profile of the school and become an iconic statue thousands would associate with the school and the New City of Milton Keynes. He would organise the funding and I was to be the project co-ordinator with the students in my year group actually building what would become a Milton Keynes legend for years to come.

His first thinking was to have a series of giant Easter Island heads all the way across the bottom of the school field. He was the boss but I set about trying to persuade him his idea was an ambition a little bit too far.

The concrete cows had quickly become a Milton Keynes legend after BBC DJ and presenter Noel Edmunds kept joking about then. At Peartree Bridge there was the dinosaur created by

community artist Bill Billings which was a celebrated feature and could be viewed while driving along Marlborough Street.

The project needed Bill Billings and we needed something taller than a concrete cow or a  replica of the Peartree Bridge Dinosaur if it were to be seen by passengers entering Milton Keynes by train.

I spoke with Bill Billings and came up with the idea of a different species of dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus Rex. That would be big enough to be seen from the train.

I convinced Bruce Abbott that a single giant statue was the way forward.

This is a comment posted by a supporter who signed our current on-line petition:

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 its original location where it was safer than where it is now.

Headmaster Bruce Abbott’s ambition happened. It COULD be seen form the train and it was the first thing passengers saw when entering the New City. It was intended to be a long-term art installation and the comments made by Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council are completely false and untrue !

There is a Freedom of Information Request pending seeking to find out who made such a statement and under what authority from Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council such was placed into the public domain. Those behind this misleading and false statement have to be called to account.

Placing this statement into the public domain suggested Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council does not know what it is talking about !

MAKING THINGS HAPPEN:

As project co-ordinator the very first thing I had to do was to obtain planning permission for the art statue which would become to be known as LEON DINOSAUR to be built. This was a somewhat complex procedure, agreement had to be obtained from local residents. While it was not an easy process those to whom it had to be submitted were helpful and permission was granted.

Presumably similar planning permission had to be obtained when Leon Dinosaur was moved to its present location on Windemere Drive and such had to have been obtained by the new owners, Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council. This must be within its records and so when the council tried to claim it did not own Leon Dinosaur no proper search of such records was undertaken. Alternatively did Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council step aside from making a planning application ?

So we had planning permission, Headmaster Bruce Abbott organised the finances and I engaged Community Artist Bill Billings. The Leon School teenagers were excited big time about being part of the construction.

The excitement continued throughout but to say this was an easy project would be completely untrue. My role became something of a peacemaker. Keeping peace between Bill and the school’s caretaking team. Keeping peace between the teaching staff and students being granted time off lessons in order to work on the dinosaur’s construction.

Students put together a time capsule which Bill Billings placed within the body of the dinosaur, it contained bits and pieces reflecting life in the 1990’s.

When the dinosaur was finished it was finished, end of. There was no official celebration which I now regret organising. I also deeply regret not having a plaque celebrating those who were involved in the project: Headmaster Bruce Abbott, Community Artist Bill Billings and all those wonderful students from Leon School who gave Milton Keynes the dinosaur.

I tried to call the giant statue Leonasaurus Rex but that did not catch on. It became known as Leon Dinosaur and by that name it is still known today.

Today, setting aside the neglect of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Town Council which is responsible for its sad present state, Leon Dinosaur is more than the iron structure and the concrete plaster on its surface, it is more than the time capsule within its stomach, it is full of spirit placed there by those special teenagers without whose efforts Bill could not have brought to reality Bruce’s idea. It was and it still is a part of Leon School.

Thank you all.

 

Tomorrow I will share how Leon Dinosaur fell into its pressent condition.