Roper update

[Jammydodger]

I should imagine the court case will be very generic, and be dismissed fairly soon. I'd guess they'd argue;
A) Oblivion is world renowned and brings in visitors from around the globe, which in turn offers tourism to the country and contributes to quality of life of local citizens. Without it local businesses will suffer immensely
B) The ride generates no more than general ambiance. They'll probably then pull out a comparison to living by a train station or something, which will probably prove to be much louder.
C) Demolishing/ceasing operation would lead to mass redundancies and massive losses in profit.

All obviously big exaggerations, but not something a judge would be willing to see come true by chance.

[Dingerbell]

If they are on 200 grand a year, surely they can afford double or tripled glazed window or other sound-proofing? Then everybody's a winner

[Queenmaya99]

If they are on 200 grand a year, surely they can afford double or tripled glazed window or other sound-proofing? Then everybody's a winner

Or, even  better! They could give AT a gift of a big Simpson Movie type dome thing to cover the area! Then, its a win- win situation! No more noise for the ropers, and no more rain for Alton!

[garyh]

I disagree, and there is no way this is a no win no fee case.  The solicitors would lose an absolute fortune if this case was lost in that scenaro.  The Ropers are paying for this. 

The solicitors must feel they have a good case to fight, which worries me somewhat given the huge costs this could develop into for the Ropers.  The Ropers must also feel pretty confident they have a good case, else they wouldnt risk financial ruin. 

Mind you, if they are bringing in only 200k a year, thats not actually a huge amount of money, the court case itself could easily rin to this amount in a short space of time.......

[PeteB]

If they loose this case, nothing would make me happier than seeing them stripped of all their assets and put into real financial hardship. It's the least they deserve. There's a much bigger picture here than just Alton Towers loosing a few rides, or even closing down altogether.  It's the effect on the local economy.

I would imagine that most of the local community and even the council will be Alton's side this time around.

However for all my head says this is crazy, they won't win etc I have a gut feeling - and it's always right - that the Ropers are going to win this. Don't know how, don't know why but I just get that feeling. I think we're at the begining of the end here.

[hex4ever]

Its futile, even if they win little action will be taken. What Merlin should do is keep the case running for as long as possible (maybe even make a claim against the Ropers for harassment) and just run them dry. The way I see it is the Ropers will eventually run out of money as they have limited funds, Merlin however have millions at their disposal.

They are just people that like being in the news and know that by doing this they will raise controversy, the park no longer affects them but its become a pride thing (I mean they didn't take up the parks offer to give them a for night out when the fireworks were on), they have very little to gain but pride. And lets say they did get what they wanted and oblivion was removed, what would be the general public's reaction? They would become some very unpopular people and as a result their company could suffer as well as their personal life's.

[Blaze]

>One of the tourism industry's best assets, a huge business keeping rural Staffordshire alive.

or

>One couple of nimbys who don't like a bit of noise

Up to you, High Court...

[JaykeAT]

this is ridiculus,there no (logical) way they can win this,but if they do either nothing much will happen or drastic changes will happen,this is either the begining of the roper dimise or the alton demise

[Rob L]

I can't see them winning this, at least not to the extent where Towers' have to make huge compromises that could effect the future operations of the park. Towers has a huge effect on the local economy. We need the economy to be doing as well as it possibly can be in these current times; the economy is far far more important that two people that like to moan. I would say the chances of them managing to get the park to remove major headline attractions or even move the park as has been stated in reports is virtually nil.

If however they do win and things have to go, I'll have the chains at the ready to be attached to Blivvy! :P

[garyh]

Im afraid im with PeteB - I also have a feeling the Ropers will come out of this smiling.  Theremust be some evidence, something they have against AT - people dont risk financial ruin for nothing, especially when their business and homes are at stake.  They and their lawyers must feel they have a darn good case here....

[Ritadz]

>One of the tourism industry's best assets, a huge business keeping rural Staffordshire alive.

or

>One couple of nimbys who don't like a bit of noise, yet own a factory that is hated by locals due to the noise/pollution generated by it.

Up to you, High Court...

Fixed that for you.

Personally, I hate the Ropers and can't wait to see them waste money on a legal case they won't win.

[Ryan.]

Miserable greedy old NIMBYs, these people deserve to lose and I hope it costs them alot of money.

[Spike]

I wish they'd screw off!



She should be Duel tbh & he used to be open to everything that was fun, as can be seen in this video.....

[RyanY]

Hmm.  The enjoyment of over 2.5 million people a year or "peace and quiet" for two rich, arrogant people who could just as easily move somewhere else.

We should all scream at the top of Oblivion just to annoy them. :P

[hex4ever]

There's a full summary here http://www.richardbuxton.co.uk/v3.0/node/4

It actually makes for some interesting reading

[dominoes]

I'm sorry, but what did they really expect. They bought a house, next to a theme park.

[BigAl]

In the words of Shaun:

...go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over!

Seriously, the Ropers are not going  to win. Alton Towers is far too valuable to our economy. The court isn't  going to go against them just to please a couple of grumpy old nimby's. If the problems were as bad as these two fools say they are, there'd be more than just them complaining like this.

How's that for a slice of fried gold?

[Alex.D]

why dont they just GO AWAY they will NOT win if we send alton towers letters to support alton.
we will not let this happen as if it does we could lose oblivion and spinball and also no SW7.

[Mi-Nigle]

Surely the hassle of moving house is much less than the hassle of going through another court case. The means just don't seem to justify the end, they're doing this over a matter of principal.

[Longy]

why dont they just GO AWAY they will NOT win if we send alton towers letters to support alton.
we will not let this happen as if it does we could lose oblivion and spinball and also no SW7.

We highly doubt that this would happen if they win, which is unlikely, as SW7 has just been approved, and thus, shouldn't be in any danger as the council has already looked over the plans and said that they're fine.
The worse that could happen to Oblivion and Spinball is that more sound-proofing is put into place, or they have new cars, and are not likely to be removed.

If this happened, the economy would loose out, so the court have to consider this also, so it is unlikely that the Ropers will win.