Dear Sir
I fully understand the strong feelings which continue to be expressed about the DLI collection and would like once again to reassure the public that Durham County Council remains fully committed to maintaining, preserving and displaying it for future generations.
At the recent meeting of the full council we once again saw how emotive the subject is, with some people concerned afterwards that there had not been time to hear a Liberal Democrat motion related to the current museum. Your article fails to reference the officers earlier statement to the meeting that the motion was unconstitutional – full council meetings do not have the power to quash decisions of Cabinet or other committees such as the Planning Committee. There had also been an opportunity to debate and ask questions about the DLI Cabinet report in an earlier item at the very same meeting. My lengthy update on the current proposals and re-assurance that our door remains open to all was barely covered in your paper and the fact that not a single Liberal Democrat member asked any questions given their subsequent outburst is worth noting.
The following day, we held a special Overview and Scrutiny meeting looking solely at the future of the DLI collection. This was the third debate we have held on the DLI and was open to the public as well as any councillors who wished to attend. It was another opportunity to ask questions and find out more about the proposals for displaying the DLI collection in the future, which have been put together with the DLI Trustees and Durham University.
We recognise that the heritage of the DLI regiment must be celebrated as widely as possible and we will continue to listen to everyone who wants to help bring the story of the men and women who served to the wider audience it deserves.
Cllr Neil C. Foster B A
Cabinet Member Regeneration, Economic Development