Tesco / ASDA !!!

[Belly]

Was that a yes or a no Dave ?

Do MIA also speak on behalf of those of us who have yet to state a preference - I.e potentially the silent majority. Afterall with no actual plans to consider, I'm finding it hard to be too pro or anti anything.

In fact the only thing I find worth reacting against at the moment is the rhetoric and grandstanding that seems prevalent on here and at meetings.

To clarify - I am pleased that MIA have been formed to ask questions of any scheme and make sure all is above board. What I don't want is a self appointed local pressure group taking on the role of a local planning committe and trying to dictate what is and is not acceptable in our town. That's what the planning system is for.

I've also been slightly concerned about the odd post on here that suggests that some members of MIA would be looking to flex the pressure group's muscles and give their tenpennthworth on other  issues in Marple - let's hope the group stays focussed on their raison d'être.

[Belly]

Was that a yes or a no Dave ?

Do MIA also speak on behalf of those of us who have yet to state a preference - I.e potentially the silent majority. Afterall with no actual plans to consider, I'm finding it hard to be too pro or anti anything.

In fact the only thing I find worth reacting against at the moment is the rhetoric and grandstanding that seems prevalent on here and at meetings.

[Miss Marple]

Was that a yes or a no Dave ?

[Dave]

Truly amazing    So let me get this straight: you guys up there on Planet MIA seriously believe that by talking to people in a tent in Market Street on Saturdays, you are getting an accurate representation of the majority view of the 23,000 residents of Marple.   Really?? 

[Miss Marple]

In all honesty Dave my apology was a little tongue in cheek because if truth be told  since the MIA campaign started in June 2011, I have only really spoken to people who are against a supermarket albeit from 5 local people from the YES campaign and yourself who for all I know could live in London ?   So it's difficult for me to understand who all the people are who you say are in support of a supermarket.  Because nearly every Sat for months I have been on the MIA stall speaking to hundreds of people who are against the development.
I take on board that this may well be difficult for you to believe so I am offering you, HWL and Tina an invitation to come along to the stall and spend a couple of hours with MIA so you can see first hand the concerns the community have regarding a Supermarket on Hibbert Lane.  
Now if this offer is refused by anyone I will assume that the three of you do really understand the strength of feeling against the development but would prefer to continue to post on issues you have limited insight in towards the communities Concerns for their continued quality of life if this ridicules development goes ahead in the middle of a residential area.
Will any of you take up my offer ? I do hope so !

[sooty2]

Sorry Mrs O - I didn't mean to be prickly     What I meant was that it's a good try, arguing that 'speaking for the community' meant 'speaking for part of the community', or 'we are the voice of the people' meant 'we are the voice of some of the people'!   But it won't wash, and Miss M has conceded that by amending it to

I should have said the voice of the people who are against a supermarket on Hibbert lane

Dave,it is obvious to everyone that they are not speaking on behalf of the people who want a supermarket!So why are you making a big deal of it?You are being very childish like my self for continuing this,so over and out from me on this one.

[Dave]

Sorry Mrs O - I didn't mean to be prickly     What I meant was that it's a good try, arguing that 'speaking for the community' meant 'speaking for part of the community', or 'we are the voice of the people' meant 'we are the voice of some of the people'!   But it won't wash, and Miss M has conceded that by amending it to

I should have said the voice of the people who are against a supermarket on Hibbert lane

[sooty2]

As for speaking for the community, they do.The large part of the community who do not want a supermarket on Hibbert Lane.

Very clever, Mrs O, but it won't do!   As Miss M has implicitly acknowledged in her most recent post, it was misleading for MIA to claim to 'speak for the community' or be 'the voice of the people', and hopefully such claims will now cease. 

Dave,I am not trying to be clever,I really can't see much difference between Miss Marples post and mine except an apology,My you are prickly this new Year

[Dave]

I think Lisa makes some very valid points here, especially about the inevitable process of a new organisation (MIA) finding its feet.

However, I think we'd all be interested to see the evidence for this:

MIA.... do represent the popular opinion in Marple at this current time...

AFAIK there is no reliable evidence as to what is the majority view of Marple residents about the proposed supermarket. 

[Lisa Oldham]

having "done " this sort of "start small... take off.. gets huge quick..no experience ... working as hard as you can at something you've not done before with people you have never known before unaware of everyones strength and weaknesses and basically learning on the cuff and not always being perfect....and running a full family and professional life as well.... sort of"  campaign... myself...

The first thing we did do was make each and everyone of us accessible to everyone.  private phone numbers and email addresses were given to everyone.. and everyone phoned.. it was nice actually   and yes there were crank calls.. and horrible emails at times.. but in end everything about it was positive... and it can be put into place NOW.. learn by mistakes etc? 

Getting to the point of the topic though, Its a very bad choice of words by very enthusiastic committed people who are understandably so engrossed in this campaign that sometimes they say how They feel and what they truly believe, but its not really politically correct. its just words.. MIA don't speak FOR the people of Marple, but they do represent the popular opinion in Marple at this current time and its daft suggesting they don't!

Thank you Miss Marple for apologising even though its clearly not YOUR fault, but as a result of the rest of MIA not being active here, even though several have asked them to be, you do tend to get the flack!

[Dave]

As for speaking for the community, they do.The large part of the community who do not want a supermarket on Hibbert Lane.

Very clever, Mrs O, but it won't do!   As Miss M has implicitly acknowledged in her most recent post, it was misleading for MIA to claim to 'speak for the community' or be 'the voice of the people', and hopefully such claims will now cease. 

[Miss Marple]

Copies of the no to a supermarket petition were handed to councillors at the last Area Committee Meeting along with comments from the community on how a development on the Hibbert Lane site would impact on local residents and businesses.   The petition is not complete and the councillors have been informed that the list of people who are opposed to a supermarket development on Hibbert Lane is growing.
It will soon be that time of year when local elections will be being held so MIA just wanted to remind our elected members of the strength of feeling in the community against a supermarket on Hibbert Lane.  You could say they have been given the heads up prior to election day so let's hope they take notice of the voice of the people, one can only hope ?

I should have said the voice of the people who are against a supermarket on Hibbert lane so apologies to anyone who was offended  .
If people  have petitions that are complete you can  drop them off in the Stationary Shop on Stockport Road where you can also collect blank petitions.  Thank you !   What a Team !  

[Howard]

Please re-read my post.Rest of Marple?

I'm on record as being against the building of a supermarket on Hibbert Lane, hence "me and the rest of Marple", perhaps it should have been "me and the majority of Marple" to be absolutely clear. I still don't know who the group of people are who make up MiA.

[HWL1973]

Sleepless, you write:

there is little room to criticise the methods used by MIA

Now in principle I agree that it is good that there are people who are prepared to fight for what they believe in.  But there really is a lot to criticise about MIA.  Not about what it is doing, but the way it has been doing it.  Look back at posts 1148 and 1158 in this thread, for a comprehensive critique of what's wrong with the way MIA works.   In particular, there is a real concern that MIA has been spreading inaccurate information about the college - for example, that the college is selling land because it is in financial difficulties (false), and that the proposal to consolidate  on the Buxton Lane site is a 'smokescreen' for a secret plan to move away from Marple altogether (also false).  

There is also increasing concern at the way MIA claims to speak for 'the community'.  Just look at the post immediately before yours, sleepless:

Copies of the no to a supermarket petition were handed to councillors at the last Area Committee Meeting along with comments from the community on how a development on the Hibbert Lane site would impact on local residents and businesses.....   let's hope they take notice of the voice of the people, one can only hope ?

MIA is a self-appointed group of largely anonymous individuals.  Here's their website... http://www.marple-uk.com/marple-in-action/index.htm

....However deeply you delve into it you will not find a list of officers or members.  We have no idea who they are, apart from a couple of individuals who speak for them on this forum.  There is no evidence that they represent the majority view of residents.   And yet they claim to speak for 'the community' in their dealings with councillors.  They even describe themselves here as 'the voice of the people', for heaven's sake!      

MIA does not speak for the community and they need to stop claiming that they do.   It would also be helpful if they could develop a communications strategy, with the emphasis on putting out clear, consistent and accurate information.  Then some of us might start to take them more seriously!  

Post 1158

http://www.marple-uk.com/smf/index.php?topic=3554.msg20891#msg20891

commends MIA for it's passion and I think I then mention twice that this is constructive criticism. It would be good to be able to send this in some way to MIA but there is no address for them, whether email or snail mail.

For an organisation that seeks and receives donations, it is especially important that this kind of transparency is established.

[sooty2]

I don't mean the volunteers and leaflet deliverers. Who is the chair, the secretary, the treasurer and the press officer etc. I'm sure those positions don't change on a weekly basis. If MiA want to be considered as an open community organisation then they should be part of it and not anonymous. Currently the only way we know who they are is though passing mentions on the MiA website, for example David Hoyle, Diane Jackson and Rick Hardisty. I'm not against MiA in any way, but I would like to know who the people are who purport to speak for me and the rest of Marple.

If I were part of it I would WANT people to know who I was so that I could get my message across to as many people as possible.

Please re-read my post.Rest of Marple?