GIVEN the freezing wind, it was heartwarming to see how many people cared enough about the Britford Lane meadows to take part in Saturday’s demonstration.

Barriers had gone up around the square where Christmas Market stalls were being erected, so the protesters were squeezed into a narrow space around the Guildhall steps.

That meant few passers-by could see what was going on. So it was fortunate that TV cameras were there to record the event and publicise it on Sunday’s news bulletins.

I truly haven’t heard a single person – apart from landowners the Longford Estate and St Nicholas Hospital – say that building on this lovely greenfield site is a good idea.

That won’t stop them promoting so lucrative a scheme.

It must have cost a fair bit to hire a PR team who boast of being able to “identify the political and community stakeholders who hold the most influence over the success or failure of our clients’ objectives” and thus to “create and implement bespoke engagement campaigns to reach, inform and persuade those stakeholders”.

(I don’t know about you, but there’s something about the word ‘stakeholders’ that makes me feel slightly queasy.

It’s a bureaucratic buzzword frequently used by Wiltshire Council, and it never bodes well.

You know the kind of thing: “Key stakeholders were consulted and the evidence robustly scrutinised before we scrapped public services x, y and z regardless.”) The campaigners are no slouches in the PR department themselves, though they don’t have wads of cash.

They timed their protest to coincide with an exhibition of the would-be developers’ plans inside the Guildhall.

One of the display boards in there explained helpfully: “We have looked to introduce green spaces throughout the development to aid the transition from the natural to the built environment.”

Kind of you to do that, chaps, but really, there’s no need. Plenty of green space there already. Just leave it as it is.

There were so many people eager to examine these plans that “health and safety” dictated they should queue to get in. But if I were Lord Radnor I wouldn’t get too excited about visitor numbers.

Most of them had previously been shouting slogans and waving placards outside.

It’s rare for Salisbury residents to get wound up enough about anything to behave like this.

The last time I recall was back in 2008 when the old district council was contemplating an enormous housing development at Firsdown.

Firstown, opponents dubbed it. The council promptly backtracked.

I don’t expect a similarly rapid reaction in this case. Hereditary peers don’t have elections to fight.

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