County Hall by Night

I bought a torch today. It's a little wind-up one in the shape of a ladybird. I thought that would be more appropriate than turning up with a sonic screwdriver (currently my only other torch!). I needed a torch so I could join in the protest outside County Hall in Llandod. The meeting between Powys County Council, the developers, Hay Town Council, the school, Chamber of Commerce "and others" was being held there (and may, indeed, still be going on as I type).
Unfortunately, the "and others" did not include some of the 'stakeholders' who had earlier been identified around Hay. The committee of Fairtrade Hay certainly weren't invited, and we had been asked if we wanted to be stakeholders.
In fact, it seemed that only a carefully selected few had been invited. This included two representatives of Plan B for Hay - they could hardly exclude that group, as it is the focus of the opposition to the development scheme.
So, the idea was to gather outside the council offices in Llandod and hold torches under our faces, silently, while the people who had been invited to the meeting went in. There were about fifty of us.
Of course, these things never go to plan. Gareth Ratcliffe and a couple of town councillors came in the front way - and Gareth came straight back out to talk to everyone, to ask them what questions they wanted to be raised in the meeting. Most of the other people at the meeting, however, had sneaked in the back way.
Once the protesters realised that, they started ambling in to the main reception area, where several men in grey suits appeared. The conversation had already started by the time I got through the door, but I did gather that Mr Patterson, the Chief Executive, was one of the men. They were busily explaining that this was intended to be a private meeting between interested parties, and none of the people who had turned up would be allowed in because they had not catered for a public meeting. Various people asked why not, since that was what had been requested - and furthermore, why hold it at 6.30pm, on the Monday before Christmas, in Llandrindod Wells, rather than in Hay? They also said that, because this was an informal meeting, no minutes would be taken, at which there was polite outrage from several quarters, not least the retired Town Clerk of Hay, who knows all about the legal requirements for minuting meetings, and who volunteered to take shorthand notes herself (she was turned down, of course). At length, the chap who did most of the talking promised to take notes and make them available to the public - but it was clear that he hadn't been intending to do anything of the sort until pressed.
They said that the people invited had been carefully selected for a balance of views, and that the protesters wouldn't be allowed in because they were all of one view - which is quite an impressive feat of mind reading. From the people I spoke to, I found a range of opinions around one central core - that no-one there wanted a supermarket in Hay - but there were many varied ideas about the way to achieve that, and also get a school, and community centre, which everyone agreed that Hay needs, and has needed for years.
They said that other people in Hay might have other views than the protesters, and they might not be as articulate in expressing those views as the protesters clearly were, and that their views had to be taken into account as well. But how does the County Council know what the views are if they haven't asked anyone, or released enough information on which to base an informed opinion? I'm taking a wild stab in the dark here now, and assuming that the County Council representative was implying that the protesters are mainly middle class, well educated, and incomers, and that he was trying to put himself on the side of the poorer and less well educated residents of Hay. [Edited to remove offensive comments - my apologies].
It was the man from the County Council who brought up the word "democracy" - at which there was much derisive laughter. One seemingly well informed gentleman countered this claim by stating that it was an oligarchy that ruled the County Council, in the form of the Cabinet, which is chosen by the Leader of the Council, rather than democracy.
So there it stands - and the original demand for a public meeting, in Hay, still stands, too. Preferably before anyone signs an option agreement - because after that, it will be too late to consider the other options which exist.