South West England – Page 11

Reclaim the Fields Spring Gathering 2012

The first Reclaim the Fields Gathering of the year will be taking place this March at the Wilderness Centre in the Forest of Dean.

The provisional timetable includes workshops on:

The first Reclaim the Fields Gathering of the year will be taking place this March at the Wilderness Centre in the Forest of Dean.

The provisional timetable includes workshops on:

*How to organise & maintain effective land occupations
*An introduction to land rights
*Composting gender
*Legal options for accessing land
*Learning from Peasant Struggles in the Global South
*Using the food sovereignty principles as a strategic framework

There will also be feedback from the European Reclaim the Field Gatherings & constellation as well as space for working group sessions around:

*Seed Sovereignty
*WWOLF (woofing with teeth) and Reclaim the Field Trips
*Planning for International Peasants Day of Struggle on April 17th

Some guerrilla-gardening type actions are also planned throughout. Saturday 10th is the Wilderness Centre's public open day so there will also be practical skills-sharing workshops.

When: Accommodation is available from the evening of Wednesday 7th. Otherwise the gathering is two full days Thursday & Friday 8-9th March. The Forest always welcomes visitors so arrange with them if you want to stay & help out before hand.
Where: Wilderness Centre, Forest of Dean. Directions are here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Protect-the-Wilderness-Centre-Forest-of-Dean/321890141176064
Who to contact for more information: use the RTF UK email list or email frankynecklace@yahoo.co.uk

What to bring: Sleeping bags, blankets, mats, own set of cutlery & bowl if possible. There is indoor sleeping space and room for tents outside. Any home grown food to share & also seeds to swap.

Food will be a minimum of £5 donation per day. Any other donations are welcome

More suggestions for workshops, sessions & other activities are always welcome, this is our constellation & gathering to make things happen.

About:

Reclaim the Fields is a constellation of people and collective projects willing to go back to the land and reassume the control over food production. We are determined to create alternatives to capitalism through cooperative, collective, autonomous, real needs oriented small scale production and initiatives, putting theory into practice and linking local practical action with global political struggles.
You can find more about us, our struggles & more resources such as downloadable zines here: www.reclaimthefields.org.uk

Call from the Wilderness Forest of Dean Wilderness Centre

Statement from the Wilderness Centre : On the day of Gloucestershire County Council meeting that will determine the councils next course of action.

Two activists jedi'd their way into the meeting, and handing out our "statement of intent" (link below) to the officious types sat around with members of the police, various council officers and advisors in Shire Hall, Gloucester, before being asking to leave -all was very polite, civil and in good humour.

We await their decision, which will dictate our next move.

Call from the Wilderness

Here in the wilderness we are trying to find our way home. How did we come to dwell here in the wilderness? For over 40 years the wilderness has been a pioneering environmental education centre. Then last year Gloucestershire county council decided that it was no longer in the public interest to sustain the centre. Better value for the taxpayer to sell it to the highest bidder? We disagree. We believe that education is the greatest source of wealth in our communities. Surely the exploitation of our environment can only be driven by ignorance. Education is our greatest tool in the struggle against exploitation.
The council seem to think otherwise. The county council, or in their words “the powers that be” think we are homeless. Travellers, squatters they tell us to… move on. They want us out of here. We don’t belong here. They tell us we have no right to be here. They’ve set their wolves to prowl around the grounds locking things down. They want our names and previous addresses. They don’t trust us. They are concerned about health and safety. The public are a liability. We tried to talk about responsibility. We tried to assure them that we fully comprehend the implications of a compost toilet. But they are doubtful.

Exactly who is bewildered?

We came here on the first full moon of the year with the intention of creating an environmental education centre to disclose a process of learning the skills and techniques required to move towards a home founded upon the principles of economic self-sufficiency and ecological sustainability.
To be a force of resolution we need people to join us. Decisive people who understand the consequences of there actions. Committed, hard working people. We need people with a respect for food. We need gardeners and growers who can cultivate the ideas that have been sown in our soil by the differing schools of permaculture and bio-dynamics. Who know how let these ideas grow organically. We need people with the determination to dig. Reflective people who look for their reflection in others. People who can practice the hospitality of the guest. People who do not wait for others to make necessary changes.
Here in the wilderness we make ourselves at home. You are welcome.

Statement of Intent : protectthewilderness.org.uk/protect.html
Website (still in progress) protectthewilderness.org.uk

———————————————————–
Protect The Wilderness

Call-out! Eco-education centre reopened, Forest of dean, help needed!

This is a call out for support.

Last night the Forest of Dean Eco-village swooped and reclaimed an environmental education centre closed by the cuts, we intend to reopen it and run it as a free education space for the local community and beyond.

We invite you to come join us on our journey towards creating a sustainable future.

This is a call out for support.

We invite you to come join us on our journey towards creating a sustainable future.

We need people to come help hold down the space, work on the buildings, gardens, woodlands, run workshops, skill shares and help use this rare resource to its maximum potential.

If you have something to contribute in terms of time, energy, ideas, skills and resources you are welcome to join us.

If you are interested please contact us at…

admin [at] apokaluptein [dot] org [dot] uk

tel:0781 172 6372

See you in the woods!

Stop New Nuclear newsletter no 10, 3 December 2011

Dear all,

this is our first newsletter since the Stop New Nuclear gathering in Bristol on 5/6 November, where we decided on our next major action. We are all excited about our new plan, and with this newsletter we send you some information about the planned action to surround Hinkley Point on 10 March 2011, followed by a 24 hour blockade until 11 March 2011. All this to mark one year since the beginning of the catastrophe of Fukushima, which is far from over.

No more Fukushimas

Fukushima is the biggest industrial disaster in history, and has brought Japan to its knees. The reactors that went into meltdown in March have now melted through the foundations and 40 years of accumulated nuclear waste is emitting vast amounts of radiation, contaminating the land, sea and air. In desperation, the Japanese government is transporting and burning radioactive rubble all over Japan and exporting highly contaminated food as “aid” to developing countries. Men, women and children are living in highly radioactive areas but they are not being evacuated as they should be. This intense radiation exposure has very serious health consequences for these people.

How has Japan ended up in this dreadful situation? Their government always said “It can’t happen here.” Sound familiar? Powerful political and economic interest groups are gagging the world’s media on this unfolding tragedy. Ordinary people the world over will pay the price.
Since the first civilian reactor started generating in 1954, there has been, on average, a major accident every 14-18 years: Windscale 1957, Three Mile Island1979, Chernobyl 1986, Fukushima 2011.

Stop New Nuclear's answer to the crisis of Fukushima is clear: now new nuclear in Britain and anywhere else! Therefore, our action on "Fukushima day" will be to

Surround and blockade Hinkley Point, Somerset

Hinkley Point is the first of eight proposed sites for nuclear new build to go ahead. We stopped them here before in 1987, and we can do it again in 2012. If they fail at Hinkley, it is unlikely the “nuclear renaissance” will have the momentum to continue.
On the 10th -11th March 2012, one year since the Fukushima nuclear disaster began, we will return to Hinkley to form a human chain around the station to show our determined opposition to new nuclear.
In 2010, dozens of us blockaded the gates at Hinkley. In 2011 hundreds of us blockaded the entrance again. In 2012, thousands of us will surround the power station to say No to new nuclear! Not here, not anywhere!
In October 2011, people pledged to blockade. This time, pledge to bring 5 friends and tell them to do the same. Thousands are needed to surround the station!
Pledge to surround Hinkley Point, to bring five friends, or to blockade Hinkley Point

Help us mobilise

To ‘Surround Hinkley’ is to demand to have a voice in decisions about our energy future. Help to make this a festival of creative resistance with music, art, theatre, banners, and whatever takes your fancy! To mark the end of the ‘Surround’, there will be a gathering at the main gate of Hinkley for a rally and music. You may want to return on the coaches after the action or stay to blockade the gates for 24 hours. With tents and tubes we will remain at the gates to show our solidarity with the people of Japan.

The time to act is now! Join your local anti nuclear campaign, form affinity groups. The Stop New Nuclear Alliance can help by giving training in non-violent direct action, consensus decision- making, spokes councils and advice on transport etc….

In our hundreds, in our thousands we will come together to stop nuclear power at Hinkley Point and dismantle the whole new nuclear agenda! This is the chance to be part of smething massive. JOIN US!

Please help to spread the message by either downloading the flier, or ask us to send you a pack. We welcome some donation to cover postage, but even if you can't – we need to get the message out!

Get in touch with us if you want to organise a minibus or put on a coach.

News from nuclear new build

Hinkley Point

There was some news at the end of October that EDF is delaying its final investment decision about Hinkley C (and its other planned new nuclear power stations in the UK: Sizewell, Heysham, etc) until the end of 2012. However, EDF still insists that it will submit its application to the Infrastructure Planning Commission soon, and also declared that it wants to start preparing the site for Hinkley C from spring 2012 on. For us, this means two things:

The next year will be crucial to push EDF to abandon its plans for Hinkley C. We need to step our campaigning to show EDF that it is not a good idea to invest in Hinkley C, and that they should invest in renewable energy instead.
EDF still wants to prepare the site, which means it wants to destroy the land from spring 2012 on, even though there is not even a final decision whether they will really go ahead with Hinkley C. This shows that a legal challenge to the preliminary works permission is even more important. Stop Hinkley is raising funds for a legal challenge to West Somerset Council's decision to grant EDF permission to carry out preparatory work on the site, even though EDF is still far from a permission to construct the power station itself (and hasn't even made a final decision). Stop Hinkley needs to raise about £15,000 for this legal challenge, to please support Stop Hinkley. More information at http://stophinkley.org/LegChallAppeal.htm.

Nevertheless, EDF went ahead with its application to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC). The IPC has accepted the application, and from Friday, 2 December, there are 28 days for everyone to register that they want to comment on the application. This is only a first registration, and does not need to be accompanied by the detailed objections, but without this registration, you will not be able to object later.

The Infrastructure Planning Commission is also organising events locally near Hinkley Point to explain the process, when to register and how to make a representation to the IPC. They will be held between 10am – 9pm at the following locations:
– Stogursey – Monday 5 December, The Victory Hall, Tower Hill, Stogursey, TA5 1PR
– Cannington – Thursday 8 December, Cannington Village Hall, 2 Brook Street, Cannington, TA5 2HP
– Williton – Friday 9 December, West Somerset House, Killick Way, Williton, TA4 4QA
– North Petherton – Monday 12 December, The Walnut Tree Hotel, North Petherton, TA6 6QA
– Combwich – Tuesday 13 December, Otterhampton Village Hall, Riverside, Combwich, TA5 2QZ
– Bridgwater – Wednesday 14 December, Town Hall, High Street, Bridgwater, TA6 3BL.
More information on the planning process is available on the website of the IPC at http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/projects/south-west/hinkley-point-c-new-nuclear-power-station/.

Stop Hinkley will be presenting more than 12,000 petitions against Hinkley Point C at Downing Street on Tuesday, 6 December, at at 1.30pm and at the Department of Energy and Climate Change in London on 6th December at 2.00 pm. Members of Stop Hinkley will be accompanied by Wells MP Tessa Munt and Green Party leader and MP Caroline Lucas. The Department of Energy is at 3 Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2AW. More information in the Stop Hinkley press release at http://stopnuclearpoweruk.net/content/stop-hinkley-campaign-presents-petition-government-against-edf%E2%80%99s-nuclear-plans.

Wylfa

Things are also hotting up at Wylfa, where Horizon, a joint venture of German utility companies RWE and E.on, is planning to build two to three new nuclear reactors. Horizon continue to bully the Jones family of Caerdegog and have applied for compulsory powers to ascertain the suitability of their land for construction. Horizon Nuclear Power (HNP) recently applied to Ofgem for Section D of their Electricity Generation Licence to be “switched on”. Immediately upon approval, HNP applied to Ofgem for consent to exercise their new exploratory rights under the Electricity Act 1989. This would allow a generation licence holder to enter and survey any land to establish whether it would be suitable for the construction of an electricity generation station. It would also give them the power to execute their authority to make compulsory land purchase. On Thursday afternoon 17th November, Richard Jones and his family received a letter in English only from Ofgem informing them of the rights recently granted to HNP to gain access to their land at Caerdegog. Ofgem have failed in their duty under the Welsh Language Act to provide the Jones family with the documents in their own language. Furthermore it is considered unreasonable for any objections to be lodged within a time limit of five working days especially in view of the legal content of the correspondence (see the official consultation at http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Pages/MoreInformation.aspx?file=Consultation%20on%20Horizon%20Application%20for%20Consent%20to%20use%20Exploratory%20Rights.pdf&refer=Licensing/Work).
Horizon have continued to say that they would only use compulsory powers as a last resort yet they executed their newly acquired authority within days of it being granted.
On behalf of the family, Richard Jones said: “We as a family will resist Horizon’s bullying tactics in the attempted destruction of our heritage, our livelihood and our future.”
See the press release of People Against Wylfa B at http://stopnuclearpoweruk.net/content/nuclear-monster-continues-torment-local-family.

Donate

The new action to surround Hinkley, and the 24 hour blockade, will need a lot of money to make them happen. While we don't start with nothing, we are nowhere near what we will need. We are presently working on a budget, but one thing is clear: Please give generously. You can donate online at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/donate, or you can send a cheque made payable to Stop New Nuclear to:
Stop New Nuclear
c/o 5 Caledonian Road
London N1 9DX
Thank you!

Stop New Nuclear newsletter

Earth First! Winter Moot 2012 – 24-26th February 2012. Updated: location & what to expect

A weekend of discussion and networking for those taking direct action against ecological destruction.

Please note date & location change (due to date clash & venue problems):

24-26th February 2012, near Glasgow

Nearest train station: Lanark.

A weekend of discussion and networking for those taking direct action against ecological destruction.

Please note date & location change (due to date clash & venue problems):

24-26th February 2012, near Glasgow

Nearest train station: Lanark.

See earthfirstgathering.org.uk for further information about location, programme and contact details

Update:

Where – this years Earth First Winter Moot will take place in Glespin Village Hall, South Lanarkshire. Glespin is a small village about 14 miles south of Lanark, and 35 miles south of Glasgow. South Lanarkshire also has many beautiful areas with rivers, hills, forests and peat bogs. Full directions

What to expect – this years Earth First! Winter Moot takes place in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. In a months time environmentalists from across the UK and beyond will converge to discuss and debate. Below is an update from the organising collective who are working on the program.

The Moot 2012 collective has felt that at previous EF! Gatherings groups have primarily attended to recruit for their respective campaigns. Yet those who attend EF! Gatherings are predominantly already active, making them good places for networking, but not necessarily for outright recruitment. We recognise the effort gathering organisers put into planning agendas but often the more discursive aspects of the gatherings focus on larger, abstract questions and debates have often been framed by self-appointed experts. We feel that these discussions ineffectively attempt to find answers or reach consensus where this is inappropriate.

For example at the first EF! Gathering 20 years ago the question was asked: 'What is EF!?' 20 years later in 2011 at the last Moot the same question was still being asked . . .

The answer is EF! is what we make it, and this year we are going to make it a space in which we can approach our campaigns both critically and analytically by asking more specific and practical questions. Our activism should be constantly evolving not stuck in a rut asking the same questions again and again.

The agenda will be designed to ask questions around four key issues: the tactics we use; the strategies that we employ in our campaigns; community solidarity; and sustainable activism. There will be no attempt to reach conclusions or consensus especially about what EF! is. Instead we want to have discussions that lead to new ideas that could evolve ongoing campaigns or give creative inspiration to ones that are just getting started.

A free space will be provided in which campaigns will be able to hold meetings and have further discussions if they wish, and there will also be some space given for campaign updates with an emphasis on honest analysis rather than promotion.

For updates and more info check the website or email us.

efwintermoot@noflag.org.uk

Hinkley Point blockaders declare victory over EDF Energy

3/10/2011
For about nine hours, we blockaded the nuclear power station with up to 400 people. This was the biggest anti nuclear power action in Britain for quite some years. It marked the beginning of a new anti nuclear power movement in this country, and you all made this possible.
This time, the blockade was tolerated by EDF and the police. Only one person was arrested when walking on the public footpath along the fence.
He was stopped and searched by police, and arrested for possession of a craft knife. Luckily, he was later released from Taunton police station without charge.

Those of you who came to the camp after the action are aware of a police incident: a mobile CCTV vehicle of Avon & Somerset police drove onto the camp site, filming all the time. After a while it was possible to persuade them to leave the site.
Stop New Nuclear sees this as a provocation, and we made it very clear that this incident destroyed a lot of the trust between the police and the campaign that had been built in the run-up to the blockade.
The police Silver Command has since sent an ‘apology email’ that says they’ve deleted the material.

The camp, demonstration, and blockade of Hinkley Point was not a one-off, nor was it the end – it should be the beginning of a powerful and creative anti nuclear power movement in Britain, that will stop the plans for eight new nuclear power stations in its tracks. To make this happen, we need you!
We are therefore organising a Stop New Nuclear gathering in Bristol in November (unfortunately, we have not been able to set the date yet), to discuss and plan the next campaigns and actions against nuclear new build in Britain. Please get involved – we need to grow as a movement, and this means we need more people organising our actions. Please check back for updates and register for the Stop New Nuclear gathering at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/gathering2011. More information will be available soon.

If you have any ideas for action, please share them in our ideas forum at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/ideasforum.

News from Hinkley Point
The Environment Agency has extended the deadline for objections to EDF’s environmental permit application until 15 December. This means we now have much more time to collect hundreds or even thousands of objections. Please download the objection sheet from http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/objections-discharges, print it, sign it, and send it of to: PSC, PO Box 4404, Sheffield, S9 4WF

Press release:

Anti-nuclear protesters have declared the mass blockade at Hinkley Point today as a victory over EDF Energy. The nine-hour blockade in Somerset attracted supporters from all over the UK. Several came from as far afield as Ireland, Germany and Belgium.

Stop New Nuclear spokesperson, Andreas Speck, said the blockade has put the government and EDF on the back foot. ‘Following the interest this blockade has attracted, both regionally and nationally, the government and EDF can no longer claim that the we need nuclear energy to keep the lights on.’

He continued: ‘Germany has committed to a nuclear-free future without buying nuclear power from France or building new coal-fired power stations. The German government is looking at a decentralised energy model with a mix of renewables and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) to bridge the gap left by withdrawal from nuclear. If Germany can do it, why can’t we?’

Angie Zelter, who hit the headlines in 1996 when she and other activists attacked a Hawk jet destined to suppress protests in East Timor (and was subsequently cleared of criminal damage by a jury), blasted EDF’s claims that Hinkley Point is sustainable.

She added: ‘Over its lifetime, Hinkley will consume more energy than it produces – if you take into account the energy used to extract uranium and the power needed to store radioactive waste for hundreds of years. It doesn’t add up.’

Zelter said the risk of flooding is an increasing worry. ‘Locals are well aware of the constant danger of flooding around Hinkley,’ she continued. ‘We have information from workers there that several years ago, floodwater breached the plant’s retaining walls.’

She added that this was a particular concern now that EDF wants to build two new mega reactors at Hinkley. ‘Radioactive waste from the proposed new ERP reactors will be so toxic that it will have to be stored on the site for over 100 years. With the growth in extreme weather conditions there is no guarantee that this waste can be stored safely.’

And Zelter blasted the government for claiming that nuclear is the only solution to combating climate change. ‘If the government can spend billion renewing Trident missiles and fighting Gaddafi in Libya, why can’t they find the money to build truly sustainable energy systems that would create a great many more jobs than the nuclear sector can?’

The mass blockade was described by Stop New Nuclear organiser, Andreas Speck, as a, ‘celebration of dissent’ with pro-nuclear supporters being entertained by a Welsh choir and popular festival band, Seize The Day.

A man arrested on a footpath close to the blockade was later released without charge.

—

Reports, pictures and video.
More photos
Camp photos
Bridgwater demonstration
Blockade of Hinkley Point
Some photos and some more
CND uploaded photos here
We are slowly uploading videos

Mc-hammer time

In the early hours of Tuesday morning (27/09/11) McDonalds drive thru in Bedminster was visited and thoroughly smashed, with all it’s windows attacked.

Fuck Mcdonalds and the death culture they perpetuate and symbolise globally, which means:

In the early hours of Tuesday morning (27/09/11) McDonalds drive thru in Bedminster was visited and thoroughly smashed, with all it’s windows attacked.

Fuck Mcdonalds and the death culture they perpetuate and symbolise globally, which means:

abuse and mass slaughter for millions of animals caged all their miserable lives, poisonous food, sickness and cancer for humans, mind numbing drudgery and workplace control and discipline for workers treated like slaves, destruction for the environment and of course massive profit for capitalists.

If you thought smashing up Mcdonalds had gone out of anticapitalist fashion, think again. We don’t forget or forgive.

For earth, animal and human liberation.

ALF / ELF

3rd October: Blockaders begin mass protest outside Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station

More than 200 people have successfully sealed off the main entrance to Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset.

Convoys of protesters began to arrive at the main gate shortly before 7am. The entrance is just yards away from where EDF Energy is making a bid to build two new mega-reactors.

http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk

More than 200 people have successfully sealed off the main entrance to Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset.

Convoys of protesters began to arrive at the main gate shortly before 7am. The entrance is just yards away from where EDF Energy is making a bid to build two new mega-reactors.

http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk

The blockade was launched with the arrival of a theatrical troupe who enacted a nuclear disaster scenario similar to Fukushima. Approximately 70% of protesters are from the South West. Others have come from as far afield as Belgium and Germany.

Well-known festival band, Seize the Day, provided a musical backdrop to the event. Andreas Speck, spokesperson for the Stop New Nuclear alliance said: ‘This is the start of a new movement. We intend this day to be a celebration of resistance against the government and EDF Energy’s plans to spearhead the construction of eight new nuclear power plants around the UK.’

He continued: ‘This is blockade shows that people who understand the true dangers of nuclear power are prepared to use civil disobedience to get their voice heard. The government has hoodwinked the public into believing that we need nuclear power to keep the lights on. But this is totally untrue.’

To show their support for the victims of the Fukushima disaster, protesters will launch 206 helium balloons – to represent the number of days since the partial meltdown at the Japanese power station. The journey of balloons will be tracked to show which areas of the West Country will be worst affected should a major disaster happen at Hinkley Point.

‘We need to bring home to people that nuclear power stations can fail for many reasons – usually because of human error,’ said Nikki Clark from South West Against Nuclear. ‘The explosion at a waste processing plant in France a few weeks ago is a clear reminder that nobody is safe from the dangers of nuclear energy.’

Protesters are urging ministers to look to Germany where the government has pledged to phase out nuclear power within ten years. ‘The German government has just published a blueprint for a sustainable, nuclear-free future,’ said Camilla Berens from campaign group, Kick Nuclear. The key focus is energy reduction and a bridging technology called combined heat and power (CHP). The burning question is, if Germany can do it, why can’t we?’

For more information on the ground, contact Camilla Berens on: 07811-451417. Photographs will be release at the Stop New Nuclear website later today.

new EF! Action Update

In an end of the summer compact EF!AU, find news about kicking shell in the teeth in Rossport again and then some more, solidarity with the community at Dale Farm, and anti-GM resistance – Spuds you Don’t Like demo in England, sabotage in Germany, France and Scotland.

On top of the usual contacts and dates, read about solidarity with jailed Swiss nanotech activists, resistance against steel plants, mobile phone masts, mining and energy projects here & across the world – stay angry and don’t carry on as usual!

The quarterly EF!AU, August 2011

Get ready for Hinkley blockade – 5th Stop New Nuclear newsletter

Welcome to our fifth Stop New Nuclear newsletter. With little more than two weeks to go, we need to make a last effort to mobilise even more people to the blockade of Hinkley Point on 3 October.

Welcome to our fifth Stop New Nuclear newsletter. With little more than two weeks to go, we need to make a last effort to mobilise even more people to the blockade of Hinkley Point on 3 October. More than 100 people have pledged to blockade, and 150 to support – can we reach the total of 300 pledgers within the next two weeks? Or even 400? Please help us to spread the information, and ask your friends, family, colleagues, … to pledge.

Since our last newsletter, we were able to welcome CND Cymru as a new member of the Stop New Nuclear alliance, and we also received more organisational pledges, among them Cumbria and Lancashire CND, No Need for Nuclear, Stop Oldbury, and the French Sortir du Nucleaire. This broad support is important, as it shows the strength of our resistance against new nuclear power stations in Britain.

News about Hinkley Point

We have been told that West Somerset Council and Electricite de France (EDF) have now reached an agreement about the money to be paid by EDF (section 106 agreement),and this agreement will probably go through the Council’s planning committee on 29 September. Once that happened, EDF will have a green light to start with the preliminary works for Hinkley Point C, even though it has not even applied to the Infrastructure Planning Commission for the reactors themselves.

However, EDF is already late with the removal of asbestos from the site, which has been left over from the construction of Hinkley Point A. According to the planning conditions, work should have been completed by 31 August, but it is still continuing, and EDF is now applying for an extension until February 2012. Although EDF is in breach of the conditions attached to its planning permission, County Council planners have decided not to take any action. The Council is concerned,however, that if the work continues into the winter months it could disturb migratory birds which fly along the coast past Hinkley Point (see Stop Hinkley press release, 14 September 2011).

The Environment Agency is presently consulting on two environmental permit applications in relation to Hinkley Point C: make disposals and discharges of radioactive wastes operate combustion processes (standby generators).

Objections to both applications need to be in by 6 October 2011.

More information is available on the website of the Environment Agency at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/132474.aspx.

The Marcoule nuclear plant in the south of France on Monday 12 September which killed one worker and injured four others, highlighted again the dangers of nuclear power. The plant, which is partly run by a subsidiary of EDF, stores large quantities of radioactive waste and produces mixed oxide (MOX) reactor fuel containing plutonium. There are also a number of decommissioned reactors from the early years of the French nuclear programme.

Stop Hinkley responded with the following statement:

“The accident in France is a sobering reminder of what can go wrong when a country commits itself so heavily to nuclear power, including all the problems associated with handling radioactive waste. Yet we are now proposing to import French technology to Hinkley Point and store waste there for 100 years or more. After Fukushima in Japan this accident serves as yet another tragic reminder of the dangers of nuclear power and the urgent need for the UK government to follow the lead taken by Germany in phasing it out.” (see http://stophinkley.org/Health/ExplosionSept2011.htm)

Training

Several Stop New Nuclear trainings for the blockade of Hinkley Point took place in recent weeks – in Bristol, Swansea, Glastonbury, Bridgwater, Compton Dundon, and today in London. Two more trainings will take place:

Exeter, Sunday, 25 September
A non-violence training for people from Exeter interested in participating in the Stop New Nuclear blockade of Hinkley Point on 3 October will take place on Sunday, 25 September 2011 from 1pm to 5.00pm.
Place: University of Exeter, Streatham Campus, Amory Building, Room 105
Contact: exeter [at] stopnewnuclear.org.uk

Leeds, Sunday, 25 September
A non-violence training for people from Yorkshire interested in
participating in the Stop New Nuclear blockade of Hinkley Point on 3 October will take place on Sunday, 25 September 2011 from 2.00pm to 6.00pm.
Place: Leeds Metropolitan University – City Campus, LS1 3HE, Caleverley Building, Room CL 309
Contact: Yorkshire CND, phone 01274 730 795, Email dominic [at] yorkshirecnd.org.uk

We will not able to organise more trainings in the two weeks before the blockade, but for everyone who still wants to participate in a training, there will be several training sessions in the camp on the weekend before the blockade:

Saturday, 1 October, 7.30-10.30pm
Sunday, 2 October, 8.00-11.00am and 2.00-5.00pm

Legal observer/legal support workshop Sunday 3.00-5.00pm

Please register if you want to take part in any of these workshops at training [at]stopnewnuclear.org.uk, especially if you do not want to stay in the camp. You can also register by calling our info number 0845-2872381.

Register for the Stop New Nuclear camp!

We already have more than 45 people registered for the Stop New Nuclear camp, which is about 4 miles from Hinkley Point. The camp will be a space to prepare for the action (non-violence training and legal observer training workshops will take place in the camp on Saturday evening and Sunday during the day), but also a place to meet other activists, to share experience, and to make plans for the future.

Please note that the camp will be alcohol and drug free, and that dogs are not allowed, as there are sheep nearby.

It is important that you register for the camp, so that we can plan food, but also so that we can send you the exact location and directions how to get to the camp. Your can register on our website at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/register.

Demonstration in Bridgwater, 1 October

Our weekend of actions will kick off with a demonstration in Bridgwater on 1 October. We will have several speakers, music, and possibly other performances.

Assembly is from 1pm on at Kings Square in Bridgwater, next to the EDF offices. From there we will walk about 20-30 minutes through Bridgwater and end the demonstration with a rally at Cornhill.

After the demonstration, a shuttle service will be organised to the Stop New Nuclear camp. There is also a local bus, and we will end in time for people to catch the local bus.

A map marking the assembly point and the location of the rally is
available at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/node/48.

Transport and parking

On 3 October, we will organise transport from the camp to the blockade, and back to the camp. But we will need your help! Let us know if you have spare seats in your car, or if you are willing to drive a car/minibus. We still need drivers! Please contact us urgently on campaign [at] stopnewnuclear.org.uk.

Transport is also being organised from Glastonbury (a coach will be leaving at 9am,to arrive at 10am), Bristol, and possibly from other places. Please check out our transport section at http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/transport, and use our travel forum to ask for and offer transport.

Parking will be available about 200-300m from the main gate on Wicks Moor Drove, the main and only access road to Hinkley Point. However, this parking is not suitable for coaches. Coaches will need to drop off their passengers and park elsewhere.

We need your help

We need a lot of help to make the campaign a success. We need:
Drivers (30 September – 4 October, transport to and from the camp, to and from the blockade, and from police stations).
1st aiders (for the camp and the blockade)
marquees of any size – from 10-100 persons

Please contact us at campaign [at] stopnewnuclear.org.uk if you can help, or have any questions.

Mobilise!

Two weeks to go. Two weeks to make this campaign and the blockade a success. Please help us mobilise for the campaign. If you need fliers (see http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/node/10), please let us know, and we will send you some as long as stock lasts. And talk to your friends, neighbours, colleagues and anyone you can think of to join you at the blockade. We need to send a strong message to EDF and government that we will resist nuclear new built in Britain, not only at Hinkley, but everywhere.

Donate

Stop New Nuclear is being organised on a shoe string budget, and we need your donations to make the blockade a success. We need to hire minibuses and other transport for the blockade, we need to set up infrastructure for trainings and workshops in the camp, we need to print more fliers, and and and. Unfortunately, all this costs money.

According to our present calculations, we will be about £1,300 short! Please help us to close this funding shortfall urgently.

Please give generously. You can donate online at
http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk/donate, or you can send a cheque made payable to StopNew Nuclear to:
Stop New Nuclear
c/o 5 Caledonian Road
London N1 9DX
Thank you!

Stop New Nuclear
Stop New Nuclear is a campaign to stop new nuclear power stations and is an alliance of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Stop Nuclear Power Network UK, Kick Nuclear, South West Against Nuclear, Shutdown Sizewell, Sizewell Blockaders, Trident Ploughshares, and Stop Hinkley

Email: campaign@stopnewnuclear.org.uk
Web: http://stopnewnuclear.org.uk