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LINSLADE BYPASS ACTION HOTS UP

newbury again | 25.01.2005 16:16 | Ecology | Cambridge | Oxford

The controversial Linslade bypass has started to attract large interest from the media as photographers from the national newspapers and television have started turning up on site wanting to do interviews at the newly formed camp and occupied tree house. Reports leaked from the local media said that Buckinghamshire Council have had crisis meetings with the police and other councils that have been in a similar situation and are expecting another Newbury. They are also talking to their legal department over the rights to squat the camp and to see what laws they can use to stop the protesters







Further actions have also took place yesterday 24th January at the make shift offices of Fitzpatrick the contactors for the bypass who have hired staff from Project Security  http://www.reliancesecurity.co.uk/our_services/total_security_solutions/event_management/special_projects.html (01753 823561) a specialist branch of reliance security set up to deal with anti–road protesters and were used on the M11 and Newbury until they lost the contract for incompetence and to keep the building secure and have been videoing the new camp. This did not stop activists locking contractors and the security in the grounds with a chain and a padlock while others had a good nose around the building, large amounts of fencing materials are at present stored there.
The security staff are very evasive when questioned as to who they were they replied they were contractors but we know different, we have met security like these before (Newbury).
Their base thought to be for security is in a house called Wellside, and is just off the Newton Road, go over railway lines coming north out of Stoke Hammond, and it is down the track on your right, right next to the railway line.
The full address is Wellside, Newtown Road, Stoke Hammond, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK17 0DZ, if you want put this into Multimap.
Earlier there was a big meeting with councillors and Sheila McDonald was also present with contractors who will profit from this bypass and a large quantity petrol hungry cars.

Local support for the activists is also strong, as cars going by are constantly sounding their horns in support and pulling in to get the low down, much to the disgust of Sheila McDonald the press officer who is tasked with trying to patch up the councils image in the media. “We will win this in the media” she told a group of locals opposing the bypass, hinting at their tactics. It appears obvious; that the council has not spoken to people that will be effected in the local villages, which have been fighting the bypass for the last 25 years and whose view of the picturesque valley will now be a dual carriageway at the bottom of the garden with the associated noise and pollution. That’s not surprising though, as the bypass is about moving traffic instead of reducing how many vehicles are on the road. The A4146 that the bypass is meant to reduce traffic from is not an over busy road by any means, yes, there is a constant flow, but to replace this with a plan that was dreamt up 20 years in the past just doesn’t make sense and is a considerable waste of the taxpayers money.

Further information
Road alert www.roadalert.org.uk
www.roadblock.org
Local campaign site:  http://www.linsladeprotest.org.uk/
Sheila Mc Donald 01296 382365 07939 637962

newbury again

Comments

Display the following 2 comments

  1. Linslade Bypass - they have started work — Local resident
  2. No consultation my arse — Linslade dweller