One of the least heralded
elements of the Coalition Government’s economic policy has been the return to
road building.
The move to build more
than 40 new roads was justified in terms of infrastructure development but also
fits well with Chancellor George Osborne’s avowed climate skeptic beliefs.
In setting out on a new
road building programme this Conservative led Government has followed a path well-trod
by its predecessors in the 1990s. Then such controversial projects as Twyford
Down, the Newbury bypass and the M11 Link Road in east London brought forth a
whole new generation of activists in opposition.
The Swampie generation,
as it became known, drew in campaigners from across the classes and
generations. The roads were built but the cost and mounting opposition led to
the abandonment of large road building projects for the past two decades.
Growing concerns over global warming and the need to cut car use also played a
significant part in the demise of the road.
Hostilities though have
now resumed, with Osborne’s latest back to the future policy.
Recently visiting the
protest against the 5.6 kilometer Bexhill/Hastings link road, there was a
certain sense of deja vue.
The last road protest I
had seen at close quarters was the M11Link Road. It did afterall run past the
top of my road. On that occasion there was a brave opposition movement of
activists, linking onto anything that lay in the way of the road. Trees,
houses: all were occupied requiring massive police backed security operations
to clear the way.
The protest was a mixture
of angry locals and idealists coming in from outside to help. The road ran
millions over budget and was delayed for years. It was built but the writing was
on the wall for road builders.
Now a similar band of
protesters have gathered in what is known as 1066 country to oppose the
building of the Bexhill/Hastings Link Road.
The road is being driven
through the Combe Valley, a stretch of picturesque countryside. The village
where the protest is centered, Crowhurst, has a pub, a railway station and
school. A few houses are dotted amongst undulating fields in the Sussex
countryside.
The Combe Haven
protesters have established three camps situated on the route of the proposed
road. Protesters took to the trees, locking themselves on, thereby requiring
the road builders to carefully remove them.
On the ground, some
protesters built tunnels, where they then holed up to block the progress of the
bulldozers. One notable tunneller was a man calling himself Sitting Bull. He
declared that if there were more tunnels the road could be stopped.
Two of the camps have
been cleared, with a third, known as Decoy camp still occupied.
The multi-faceted
campaign though is not all about direct action on the ground.
Local resident and member
of Bexhill Link Road Resistance (BLINKRR) Mike Bernard has sought a court
injunction to stop the progress of the road on the basis of a claim from a
local historian that the area is actually where the battle of Hastings took
place in 1066.
Historian Nick Austen
claims that the valley is part of the site of the battle and should as such be
registered as a battle site by English Heritage. “The significance of the new evidence cannot be
under-estimated and the consequences of the development will be profound and
irrevocable,” said Bernard. “The
proposed link road will cut right across one of the key Battle of Hastings sites;
the Norman encampment at Upper Wilting, and any value in the significant
historic or heritage site will be permanently lost or destroyed.”
It is in order that EH
can do its review that Bernard has sought a court injunction on further work
being done on the road. The court initially turned down the request, though the
matter will be reviewed on 1 February.
Local resident and secretary of
Christian Ecology Link Barbara Echlin praised the action of the Combe Haven
Defenders. “The obstinate and flawed decision by our local authorities to go
ahead with this unnecessary road shows a sad lack of vision for the future. The
long painstaking efforts of the Hastings Alliance proved conclusively that this
is a very expensive poor value for money project. The alternatives of improved
public transport were ignored,” said Echlin. “The brave last ditch protests of
the Combe Haven Defenders climbing the trees, and the efforts of the Hastings
Alliance and BLINKRR to protect this tranquil valley, show that some in our
community care for the future of our earth.”
East Sussex County Council (ESCC) claim the £94 million
road will bring jobs, business and reduce congestion. “We believe the link road
will support regeneration and benefit residents and businesses by opening up
access to land for new housing and business developments and bringing more
employment opportunities,” said ESCC.
Local Conservative MP for
Hastings and Rye Amber Rudd is a keen backer of the road project. She is also
incidentally Parliamentary Private Secretary to Chancellor Osborne.
This determined band of
protesters at Combe Haven are no doubt the start of a larger anti-road protest
movement that is stirring across the country in opposition to the latest road
building programmes.
The last time a number of
battles to stop local projects were lost but the overall struggle to stop roads
was won. In the process protesters from across the board were united in
opposition. On the previous occasion the Conservative Government of John Major
sort to outlaw much of the protesters activity by passing a new Criminal
Justice Act. This had the effect of broadening the movement as more outlawed
groups were brought together. The same thing could happen again.
As with much that the
Coalition Government has done, this latest move to return to road building has
been ill thought out. They have truly opened a can of worms and may yet see
their own battle of Hastings develop in the process.
*For more information see:
www.combehavendefenders.wordpress.com
www.hastingsalliance.com
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