The Camp has now been set-up. See here for a map of how to get there from Crowhurst station.
Combe Haven anti road camp now set-up!
The Camp has now been set-up. See here for a map of how to get there from Crowhurst station.
Category: South East England
South East England
A259 Link Road one hour from London help us now
The Combe Haven valley is a unique habitat which was once the port of Hastings (pre 1066). Evidence is now being obtained from a small group of entusiasts which proves this unique valley, which is in the Parish of Crowhurst Sussex, was the site of the Norman Invasion and also the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
The Combe Haven valley is a unique habitat which was once the port of Hastings (pre 1066). Evidence is now being obtained from a small group of entusiasts which proves this unique valley, which is in the Parish of Crowhurst Sussex, was the site of the Norman Invasion and also the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Our group is fighting a battle with East Sussex County Council to stop the A259 Link Road cutting through one of the most important heritage sites in the land and also an invaluable enviromental reserve.
Bulldozers are already on the site digging trenches. An initial road protest is organised this weekend. Please familiarise yourself with the heritage story because this is important. 5000 Englishmen gave their blood in this valley and it should be preserved and not desecrated with a road that goes through open countryside – see the videos on our web site – see why we are fighting to save this place one hours drive from central London
Campaigners mobilising to fight ‘hundreds of new roads’
Campaigners are hoping to kick-start opposition to 'hundreds of new roads' with actions in Twyford Down and Hastings this weekend.
Campaigners are hoping to kick-start opposition to 'hundreds of new roads' with actions in Twyford Down and Hastings this weekend.
Government and local councils are planning to spend billions of pounds on dozens of new roads over the next few years, and new 'growth' funds and devolved spending powers for local councils threaten to add hundreds more disastrous projects to this list.
In the 1990s, what was in effect a popular uprising [ 1 | 2 | 3 ] brought Tory plans for ‘the greatest road-building programme since the Romans’ to a screeching halt.
Could this weekend's actions be the beginning of a new upsurge of anti-roads protests?
Twenty years ago, in 1992, protests at Twyford Down helped light the fuse of the modern environmental direct action protest movement, and hundreds of campaigners – old and new – will be gathering there this Saturday (29 September) to protest against the new schemes.
At the same time, activists in East Sussex will also be staging a two-day Camp and Rally this weekend in the Combe Haven Valley outside Hastings, threatened by a £100m road, work on which is planned to start in the new year. The Camp will include direct action training and renowned transport campaigner John Stewart will lead a workshop on 'How to stop a road'.
Of the 45 transport schemes approved in the budget by the Department of Transport, the Bexhill-Hastings Link Road (BHLR) is the worst in terms of carbon emissions.
Abby Nicol, a spokesperson for the Combe Haven Defenders, who are organising the Camp near Hastings, said:
Run-away climate change is one of the greatest threats we face. Yet the government are sponsoring a new wave of road-building across the country, using money that would be much better spent on improving public transport. We urge people to join us this weekend to see the amazing area that will be destroyed unless we take action to stop it, and to learn about practical ways in which we can all peacefully and effectively resist the construction of this road.
A major conference of local anti-road groups is due to take place in Birmingham in November.
Local residents camp & rally against Bexhill-Hastings link road
Local residents have released further details of the two-day programme of events- including a camp and rally – in Combe Haven Valley this weekend, 29/30 September, to protest against controversial plans to build a £100m link road between Hastings and Bexhill. The group Combe Haven Defenders have gathered experts and entertainers from across Sussex and beyond to join their 'Stop the Road' event.
Following a lunch and rally around 1pm, renowned transport campaigner John Stewart will lead a workshop on 'How to stop a road', drawing lessons from the successful '90s anti-roads movement [1]. Local people will also be able to attend an'Introduction to Direct Action with national group Seeds for Change, as they plan the next steps of the campaign.
Families will also be catered for with a workshop and play from environmental youth group The Otesha Project UK, shadow puppetry and story-telling. Local botany expert Judy Clark will be on hand and in the evening participants will be able to stargaze with a professional astronomer.
Local musicians have also rallied to support the campaign, with evening performances promised from Tim Hoyte, Eleanor Lynn, Anita Jardine, Las Pasionaras, Will Davis and Krysia Mansfield. The group have stated that there will be no amplified music and the event will be alcohol-free.
Guided walks to the Camp site will depart on Saturday 29 September from Bexhill Station and Bulverhythe (Sheep Wash bridge) at 11am, and from Crowhurst Station at 12 noon. Details of the Camp's location will also be available on the Combe Haven Defenders' web-site on Saturday morning: www.combehavendefenders.org.uk.
Spokesperson Abby Nicol said: 'We urge people to join us this weekend to see the amazing area that will be destroyed unless we take action to stop it, and to learn about practical ways in which we can all peacefully and effectively resist the construction of this road. The appalling traffic problems along the Bexhill Road need to be alleviated, but the building of a new road – which according to the County Council’s own figures will increase overall traffic by 14 per cent – is not a sustainable or financially viable solution. We have to look to more creative and sustainable solutions to traffic problems: the link road is not the answer. '
NOTES
[1] John Stewart was named "Britain’s most effective radical green activist" in the first comprehensive list of the country’s most effective greens, compiled by The Independent on Sunday – in part for his role in "co-ordinat[ing] protests that brought Tory plans for ‘the greatest road-building programme since the Romans’ to a screeching halt in the 1990s." For more info see www.airportwatch.org.uk/?p=2244 Combe Haven Defenders
SEVEN MORE DUCKS SAVED
"ALF break into factory farm and liberate 7 Aylesbury ducks who had no access to water. All have gone to good homes.
Until every cage is empty,
The Animal Liberation Front"
"ALF break into factory farm and liberate 7 Aylesbury ducks who had no access to water. All have gone to good homes.
Until every cage is empty,
The Animal Liberation Front"
Twyford Down anti-road protests gathering, September
There is going to be a Twyford Down anti-roads protest reunion to mark that it is 20 years since the protests started. It's on 29-30 Sept, when it'll be the Harvest Moon.
There is going to be a Twyford Down anti-roads protest reunion to mark that it is 20 years since the protests started. It's on 29-30 Sept, when it'll be the Harvest Moon.
There will be a camp run along the same lines as 20 years ago (bring what you expect to find… water butts, tents, food, etc). That said, there will be some domes and the @ teapot are going to be doing catering (Sat dinner and Sun breakfast) – hurrah! Camp location to be on top of St Catherine's Hill, near Winchester.
There will also be a protest / photo opportunity about this current Government's mania of roadbuilding.
Please spread this amongst your contacts who you think may be interestd. There is a Facebook page if you do such things called Twenty Years Since Twyford: http://www.facebook.com/events/344190508996315/
More details and flyer downloadable at http://bettertransport.org.uk/blogs/roads/100912-twyford-20
Earth First! Summer Gathering Update – programme, directions, website and more
It’s only weeks until the Earth First! Summer Gathering begins.
Five days of workshops, info sharing and learning new skills, 1-5 August.
It’s only weeks until the Earth First! Summer Gathering begins.
Five days of workshops, info sharing and learning new skills, 1-5 August.
The Earth First Summer Gathering takes place each year to provide a space in which the radical ecology movement can share skills and plan for future campaigns and actions.
Discussions around the importance of community building in inner cities, the state of the anarchist movement and patriarchy in activism.
Skill shares including women's self-defence, researching corporations and navigation.
Campaign round ups from Frack Off! Smash Edo and Luddites 2000 amongst others.
If you have workshops you like to run or discussions you'd like to facilitate then email us at earthfirstsummergathering@riseup.net
Camping is on a sliding scale of £30 to £15, pay what is genuinely appropriate.
Food will be from Anarchist Teapot and meal tickets will be £5 a day.
Kids can have separate meals if they want for £3 a day.
There will be a couple of kids spaces, and special workshops being ran for kids. If you’d like to run any kids workshops get in touch at earthfirstsummergathering@riseup.net.
If you want you dog to come along then you’re going to have to email us at earthfirstsummergathering@riseup.net
And of course there will be entertainment and a bar open in the evenings.
The camp is ½ mile from the Berrington village, and 1 mile from the larger village of Cross Houses.
We encourage non-cycling campers to use public transport if possible as Cross Houses is on a bus route.
BY TRAIN
The nearest train station is Shrewsbury. You can then get the bus to Cross Houses (see below). If coming from a long distance it can sometimes be cheaper to get a ticket to a large station such as Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Manchester or Crewe and then a separate ticket on to Shrewsbury. Check national rail for train times and prices. If coming from the London direction, it’s generally cheaper to buy a Super Offpeak Return, specifying “London Midland & Arriva only”.
BY BIKE
See here for directions and a map to the camp from Shrewsbury for cyclists and drivers.
BY BUS
When you arrive at Shrewsbury train station, ask someone to point you to the bus station. It’s only a few minutes walk from the train station. The bus service that runs from town to within a mile of Crabapple is the 436 towards Bridgnorth. It runs every hour from 7.40am to 5.40pm with a “late” one at 7.40pm. The journey to Cross Houses is approx 15 mins. You will need to press the stop button when you see the sign for Cross Houses. Some of the services on this route are low-floor accessible buses. Please note that the last bus leaves Shrewsbury at 7.40pm, Monday to Saturday and there are no Sunday bus services. For the bus timetable see here http://shropshire.gov.uk/bustimes/timetable.jsc?timetable=436mfi0412.
The camp itself is about 1 mile from the bus stop. From the bus stop at Cross Houses, walk back towards Shrewsbury past the petrol station (on your right) and take the first left turn signed “Berrington”. After about ½ mile, the road forks at the edge of the village. Take the right turn signposted “Betton Abbots” and we’re about ¼ mile up the road on the right.
If you intend to come by bus but need help getting to and from the bus stop, you can arrange a pick up with us: details will be available nearer the time.
BY TAXI
There is also a taxi rank just outside Shrewsbury train station. Accessible taxis can be got from here.- but it is MUCH cheaper to book a cab from a local company – Comet Cabs 01743 344444, or Vincent Cabs 01743 367777. Vincents also have a booking office just across the road from the station, which is handy if you don’t have a phone to book a cab in advance.
USEFUL LINKS
See here directions and a map to the camp from Shrewsbury for cyclists and drivers.
See a map of where the site is here
See the bus timetable
Directions from places other than Shrewsbury
Earth First! Summer Gathering Collective
earthfirstsummergathering@riseup.net
Windsor eco-occupation
10th June 2012
a group calling themselves 'diggers2012' and loosely affiliated with the occupy movement, are on route to a piece of disused land on the windsor great park estate. yesterday, as they set off from syon lane community allotment, police served a pre-emptive injunction on them forbidding them from entering or camping on crown estate land.
10th June 2012
a group calling themselves 'diggers2012' and loosely affiliated with the occupy movement, are on route to a piece of disused land on the windsor great park estate. yesterday, as they set off from syon lane community allotment, police served a pre-emptive injunction on them forbidding them from entering or camping on crown estate land.
Tree protest called off after Network Rail concessions
28 May 2012
Campaigners – including three protesters who chained themselves to a tree – claim victory after Network Rail postpones planned tree clearance on a railway embankment near Whitstable in Kent.
28 May 2012
Campaigners – including three protesters who chained themselves to a tree – claim victory after Network Rail postpones planned tree clearance on a railway embankment near Whitstable in Kent.
More than 100 protesters held a demonstration on the Cromwell Road railway embankment in an attempt to halt the start of work to remove trees, which Network Rail claims could cause instability on the track.
The protesters, many of whom were local residents, are concerned that the works would take place during the bird-breeding season when many are nesting in the trees.
A five-hour long protest, during which three female protesters in their 50s and 60s chained themselves to a tree on the embankment, started at 7.30am with campaigners brandishing placards bearing slogans including "stop the slaughter of wildlife".
The demonstration was called off after Network Rail informed campaigners in writing that it was halting the works until September, after the bird breeding season has finished.
'Claiming victory'
The statement by Network Rail fulfils two of the protesters' three demands. One campaigner said that they would now concentrate on persuading Network Rail to agree to their remaining demand, for better consultation with residents and the use of truly independent conservation experts.
"Whitstable people are now claiming this as a victory," said Julie Wassmer, who was among the three who had chained themselves to the tree. "Today, Network Rail are now aware that the people of Whitstable are not backing off."
The rail infrastructure operator planned to start removing the trees because of concerns about subsidence caused by their roots.
An independent ecologist carried out an assessment this morning on behalf of Network Rail to determine how many birds' nests were in the affected trees.
Fiona Taylor, Network Rail's route managing director for Kent, said: "After a thorough inspection with an independent ecologist, the work to remove selected trees along this stretch of railway has been postponed owing to the suspected number of nesting birds.
"Because this work is essential for the future safety of the railway, we will return at a later date to complete it once the nests have been vacated. Residents will receive a minimum of 10 days’ notice before the start date and we will carry out a full inspection before the work begins."
'Useful reminder'
The trees had already been given a temporary stay of execution after plans to remove them in April were put on hold.
Mark Thomas, an RSPB investigations officer, said: "The attempts by Network Rail to clear trackside vegetation from a line in Kent is a useful reminder to everyone that the nests of all wild birds are protected by law during the nesting season.
"Thanks to protests the RSPB, Kent and British Transport Police, and not least local campaigners, Network Rail are aware of this.
We now trust they will plan their track clearance work outside the bird-nesting season where they will be able to carry out essential work without causing environmental damage and sparking the outrage of communities who care about their local wildlife."
—-
Earlier story, 3rd May:
CAMPAIGNERS have promised "direct action" in a battle with Network Rail bosses over trees.
Protesters calling themselves Whitstable Tree Savers will meet the company tonight (Thursday) to try to persuade it to stop felling trees along the railway line – and have vowed to continue their fight if the meeting doesn't work.
Campaign spokeswoman Julie Wassmer, who lives in Cromwell Road, said: "There will be a massive protest – and I don't mean petitions. They will physically be obstructed from getting into the car park.
"Feelings are running so high about this it is unbelievable." More
http://saveourwoods.co.uk/get-involved/local-campaigns/tree-savers-save-rail-side-trees/
Take the Flour Back
More than 400 growers, bakers and families from across England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Belgium marched against the return of open air GM field testing today. Take the Flour Back linked arms with their European counterparts, notably France’s Volunteer Reapers and walked calmly towards the site, before being stopped by police lines.
Kate Bell from Take the Flour Back stated that “In the past, kids, grannies, and everyone in between has decontaminated GM trial sites together. Here at the beginning of a new resistance to this obsolete technology, we see GM hidden behind a fortress. We wanted to do the responsible thing and remove the threat of GM contamination, sadly it wasn’t possible to do that effectively today. However, we stand arm in arm with farmers and growers from around the world, who are prepared to risk their freedom to stop the imposition of GM crops.”
People enjoyed a GM free picnic whilst listening to a range of speakers opposing the trial, including Graciela Romero, International Programmes Director of UK development charity War on Want. Lawrence Woodward, previously Director of Elm Farm Organic Research Centre, former head of standards at the Soil Association, and now involved in Citizens concerned about GM. Plus several British farmers including Peter Lundgren, a conventional wheat farmer from Lincolnshire.
Gathuru Mburu, co-ordinator of the African Biodiversity Network, spoke on the global fight for control of our food supply.
Mburu explained that:
“Experimenting with staple crops is a serious threat to food security. Our resilience comes from diversity, not the monocultures of GM. Beneath the rhetoric that GM is the key to feeding a hungry world, there is a very different story – a story of control and profit. The fact is that we need a diversity of genetic traits in food crops in order to survive worsening climates. Above all, people need to have control over their seeds”
This statement is released amongst growing calls for the scientists to demonstrate sensitivity to public concern by harvesting the crop before pollination, removing any risk of contamination with non-GM plants.
Two people were arrested for trespassory assembly and others were searched and escorted on their way to the park, or searched on their way out. Footpaths had been closed by order, huge numbers of cops and security were in place, a camera on a cherry-picker close to the open-air experiment, and a special Section 14a Trespassory Assembly applied to a large area. The people arrested were in a small group, though this is only an offence for groups of 20 or more people and they may well not have known 14a was in force.