I must take this opportunity to extend my deepest and warmest thanks to everyone who gave up their Saturday afternoon (July 12th) to come along and support the Open Forum in the village hall.

Although no formal head count was conducted, we estimate around 200 people passed through the hall at the weekend, including Pentney residents, people from surrounding villages who had heard a report on KLFM and wanted to offer support, and two local councilors who kindly accepted our invitation to attend.

As the afternoon proceeded, visitors were able to take advantage of the free refreshments which were available for everyone, and also the free guided tours of the historic church of St Mary Magdalene, a grade 1 listed building which will suffer irreparable damage if the MIN93 quarry proposal is allowed to go ahead.

Cliff Smalley, chairman of the Save Pentney Action Group said “The response we had from the local community was hugely encouraging. It’s reassuring to know that we’re on the right tracks and we have full support and backing from the people of Pentney. Everything we have done so far has been for the good of the Pentney community, and it was nice to get positive feedback from the villagers”.

He continued "We wanted the event to be informal and friendly while keeping a serious focus on the issues at hand, and I think we achieved that delicate balance. We hope to host more of these forums in the future, as it's vitally important that we're open and honest with the community, and that they are aware of what we're doing on their behalf. We don't want to be perceived as some sort of secret society."

Extra special thanks must go out to Councilors Janet Murphy and Alistair Beales who both gave up their Saturday afternoon to come and attend the event, also to everyone who worked behind the scenes ensuring the event went smoothly. We couldn't have done it without you guys.