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Originally posted on the Glass forum by Justin Brown, reproduced with his permission.
It would seem some people misunderstand what GLASS is, or even, isn't.
GLASS is not a club of any sort, not even a green laning group.
GLASS was set up with the sole intention of protecting green lanes from closure by Local Authorities. Originally it was done with a lot of hands on work because of low membership and ultimately low funds, however the MO has changed slightly now in that, with a sizeable membership, GLASS can actually threaten authorities with legal action if we feel they are not following the law in maintaining lanes.
Occasionally we get asked why we aren’t more clublike and don’t organise laning trips and weekends away. The answer to this is simple; for us to add another level to the organisation that would technically require training, approval, and ultimately insurance and H+S protocol, we would need an entirely different infrastructure, unfortunately this is something that we are unable to support. That's where clubs come in.
GLASS is here to support clubs and individuals alike, and assist them with fighting anything that prevents them from lawfully using green lanes.
GLASS has a considerable network of Representatives.
Without Reps GLASS would fail, they are our eyes and ears, and they are the link between the Exec and our members, they are also the link between GLASS and their own local authority. It works two ways, the reps feed the Exec information, and the Exec ultimately support the reps with anything that requires leverage.
Individual members will probably be unaware that there is a private area on the GLASS forum for reps, and we have a project area on there where reps are encouraged to log their progress with any project they may be carrying out. There are currently several projects that reps are on with, and the Exec are currently involved in two of those projects where we feel the rep has exhausted his options and now needs another level of support.
This is exactly why GLASS is here, and this is why we need the support of the entire laning community. Anyone who thinks their hobby is safe is very much mistaken, the threat of losing all lanes is a very real danger, and we, GLASS as a whole, are committed to safeguarding what is left of the green lane network, for all users.
It would seem some people misunderstand what GLASS is, or even, isn't.
GLASS is not a club of any sort, not even a green laning group.
GLASS was set up with the sole intention of protecting green lanes from closure by Local Authorities. Originally it was done with a lot of hands on work because of low membership and ultimately low funds, however the MO has changed slightly now in that, with a sizeable membership, GLASS can actually threaten authorities with legal action if we feel they are not following the law in maintaining lanes.
Occasionally we get asked why we aren’t more clublike and don’t organise laning trips and weekends away. The answer to this is simple; for us to add another level to the organisation that would technically require training, approval, and ultimately insurance and H+S protocol, we would need an entirely different infrastructure, unfortunately this is something that we are unable to support. That's where clubs come in.
GLASS is here to support clubs and individuals alike, and assist them with fighting anything that prevents them from lawfully using green lanes.
GLASS has a considerable network of Representatives.
Without Reps GLASS would fail, they are our eyes and ears, and they are the link between the Exec and our members, they are also the link between GLASS and their own local authority. It works two ways, the reps feed the Exec information, and the Exec ultimately support the reps with anything that requires leverage.
Individual members will probably be unaware that there is a private area on the GLASS forum for reps, and we have a project area on there where reps are encouraged to log their progress with any project they may be carrying out. There are currently several projects that reps are on with, and the Exec are currently involved in two of those projects where we feel the rep has exhausted his options and now needs another level of support.
This is exactly why GLASS is here, and this is why we need the support of the entire laning community. Anyone who thinks their hobby is safe is very much mistaken, the threat of losing all lanes is a very real danger, and we, GLASS as a whole, are committed to safeguarding what is left of the green lane network, for all users.
