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Community United to Save the Irton Tree

27-09-2011 20:55

Background


The local community has been protesting against the destruction of an 80+ year old Birch Tree in Irton, North Yorkshire for several years.


Irton is a village which has a strong community spirit. Residents and outsiders have come together to show their opposition to a North Yorkshire Council decision which goes against common sense.


One visitor to the village stated “ I went prepared to think it was just an ordinary tree …. But it is exceptional! It is beautiful – it adds grace to the village. Losing it would make a huge difference.”


The tree has a ‘tree preservation order’ on it, which presumably means that tree experts feel it should not be destroyed.  Despite this as well as local opposition from residents, local councillors, the general public and environmental experts, - North Yorkshire County Council has decided to follow legal procedures to destroy the tree. ….

 

Why is the tree being destroyed?

Occupiers of a nearby house state that the tree roots are  affecting, or may affect in the future:


•    The boundary walls
•    The drainage system
•    The current owners access to the property

Why these are not valid reasons

The boundary walls
•    There is no visible sign of damage to boundary walls.


“ It is not in any way affected – it is perfectly upright”  says one  independent observer. House owners need to provide evidence that damage has happened. This concern cannot be taken seriously.


The drainage system
•    2 expert reviews or ‘technical reports’  have apparently been conducted. Allegedly, the first report found that the damage to drains preceded the tree, and the second report found that the drains were being damaged by the tree.
o    Who has commissioned these reports? No information has been provided to the public about who did these reports. Why aren’t  these in the public domain?
o    A local tree student has explained that any damage done to walls or drains can nowadays be dealt with by localised methods – the affected roots can be treated and there is no need to cut down an entire tree.


4555The current owners access to the property
•    The current occupiers can move their access point, or consider using sustainable methods of transport.
o    Long term residents of the village have stated that the property entrance was originally well away from the tree, and only in recent years has the gateway been altered.
o    Residents have indicated that the current owners wrere previously interested  in property development on the site – they submitted a planning application for the development, of several dwellings…… but were declined.

North Yorkshire County Council may have fears about the financial implications of de55cisions they make now, however  it is unacceptable to make the fear of an individual home owner suing the council override the rights and needs of normal citizens.

The protesters


This protest is entirely peaceful, and there was a feeling of confusion amongst protesters surrounding the concept that what they are doing is a lawbreaking activity.


 “We felt the tree had been condemned. We needed to stop it happening. It is disgusting.”


The protest includes a tree-sit in. 2 residents have been residing in the tree in order to save it. 


“We got ladders, and stood them up the tree. An hour later, the contractors turned up. There are 60 and 70 year olds who really do not want this tree cut down.  Come and have a look – there is no evidence of damage.”
Protestors in and out of the tree have been supported by a strong community, providing moral support, food, drink and warmth, as well as the obligatory wee jar.


The views
 “This is really moving all the bystanders…. Their expressions are amazing…. It can’t be wrong to make a peaceful protest.”.
“There is no defence for killing this tree…  I can’t find any defence.”
“ It can’t be right…. People in power making decisions….it just seems very wrong…. It is very wrong. ”


Protestors are currently being advised by the Environmental Legal Foundation.

 

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Bomb Scare brings Cambridge to a standstill.

27-09-2011 19:59

The front of Anglia Ruskin University
Yesterday afternoon, like a scene from some surreal movie, Cambridge city centre was the scene of a full scale bomb disposal mobilisation, and the city centre was partially closed down and evacuated.

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Palestine: unity and liberation

27-09-2011 17:43

Meeting - Friday 14 October 2011, 7pm

Bolivar Hall, Venezuelan Embassy, 54 Grafton Way, London W1T 5DL

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Cameron: We must not be afraid to use military force against tyrants

27-09-2011 16:28

Daily Telegraph, 26 September 2011
In complete denial of the genocides perpetrated by ten years of Anglo-American-led wars across the globe, Mr Cameron and Mr Obama would still have us believe that their aim is “to spread peace, prosperity, democracy”.

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Occupy the London Stock Exchange this October 15th

27-09-2011 13:24

Meet up on the 15th of October at 16:30 - 12 December at 11:00 at the London Stock Exchange at 10 Paternoster Square, City of London.

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'Thought Crime' infiltrates Britain.

27-09-2011 12:20

During 2005 in Britain, a group of influential writers published a book entitled ‘Free Expression is No Offence’. It was published by PEN, an organisation which declared it;; ‘champions freedom of expression everywhere and the right of writers, artists and indeed anyone to say whatever they feel without fear of persecution or penalty‘. The editors and contributors to this volume, were energised to put pen to paper in order to defend the hard won enlightenment right to free speech. The catalyst for their essays was a government proposal to restrict criticism of religious forms of belief. The government were at the planning stage of creating an offence of ‘Incitement to religious hatred‘. More recently, in August 2011, two young men were convicted and jailed for suggesting on face book that a riot should take place. A riot did not take place and the two youngsters in question did not turn up at the proposed venue. No crime had actually been committed except a newly contrived crime of thinking and writing words someone didn‘t like.

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Benefiting from workfare - 'It's exploitation and it's repellent'

27-09-2011 11:41

TK Maxx, Wilkinsons, Savers and Matalan have been named as major retailers where unemployed people are being sent to work without pay. Since our article last month[1] exposing Tesco, Primark and other multinationals taking unpaid work placements, various people have contacted Corporate Watch describing their own experiences of being sent to major retailers, as well as councils and charities, to do similar work to that of salaried staff while receiving only £67.50 a week in Jobseekers' Allowance.

Full article | 3 additions | 1 comment

National Day of Action Against Atos - Latest Round Up

27-09-2011 11:34

Cities around the UK are mobilising for the next National Day of Action Against Poverty Pimps Atos taking place on Friday 30th September.

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Guardian continues Campaign Against Julian Assange of WikiLeaks

27-09-2011 08:36

The Guardian newspaper's campaign against Julian Assange continues. For some reason they thought it a bright idea to get David Leigh (the author of the earlier Guardian published book attacking Assange ) to review the last week's released "Unauthorised Biography"

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EDL exposed in damning academic report

27-09-2011 08:31

The true nature of the English Defence League has been exposed in a comprehensive report recently published by academics at Northampton University. Along with detailing all aspects of the EDL, the extensively-researched report confirms that (despite the EDL’s official claims) the EDL is actually an extreme Far-Right group with considerable links to the BNP and neo-Nazis, including armed potential terrorists, and is engaged in religious persecution and the incitement of violence & hatred.

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Indymedia, Terror, Anti-Cuts demos & the CPGB-ML

26-09-2011 23:34

State sponsored Maoism
The following URLs link to a BBC TV documentary from 1992 about the 'stay-behind' terror network which was armed, recruited and funded by NATO and the OSS / CIA in Europe after WW2, which used far-right killers to discredit anarchists and the radical left through false-flag terrorism and so-called Strategies of Tension. Most interestingly in context of current UK protests, the film describes how an Italian Fascist group was tasked with inventing a fake Maoist group and fly-posting Maoist posters etc...

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Release prisoner of conscience Nasser Abul and Lawrence al-Rashidi Immediately

26-09-2011 23:14

I want to remind you as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Kuwait is bound by article 19(2) of that covenant, which states: “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.” Article 36 of Kuwait’s constitution protects freedom of speech and opinion, stating that: “Every person has the right to express and propagate his opinion verbally, in writing, or otherwise, in accordance with the conditions and procedures specified by law.”

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No Charter Flight to Sri Lanka - only two days to act

26-09-2011 22:27


The UK Border Agency have detained over 50 nationals of Sri Lanka, in several Immigration Removal Centres and have set removal directions for all of them. They are due to be forcibly removed from the UK on Charter Flight PVT 030 @ 15:00 hrs on Wednesday 28th September to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is still in a dangerous/perilous state and not safe for any opponents of the present Sri Lankan regime to be returned.

Full article | 1 addition

Solidarity Demonstration for Banner Drop Anti-Cuts Activist

26-09-2011 20:49

Our view of today's demonstration in Birmingham...

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Austen Jackson - antifascist prisoner - moved

26-09-2011 19:46

Antifascist prisoner transferred

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La Selva Squatter

26-09-2011 19:33

SQUATTING IN SWINGING REGGIO EMILIA

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Khethiwe Must Stay - Last Chance to Help

26-09-2011 18:55

705833_photo_1.jpg

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Cinema Winstanley @ Land & Freedom Camp

26-09-2011 18:40

A1. Cinema Winstanley: C21 DigitalProjection, C20 Film, C17 Revolutionary Genius
Dateline: Clapham Common, London, UK, 20:00-23:30, Sat 24 Sep 11 – Land & Freedom Campers (  http://landandfreedom.squat.net ) and intrigued local folk get to share an al fresco cinema experience centred around the 1975 biopic of the great English revolutionary pamphleteer and Digger Gerrard Winstanley (  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrard_Winstanley ). Under the spreading London planetrees, we enjoyed reclaiming our C17 radical history, the better to empower ourselves for ensuring C21 continues to be a century of radical history in the making.

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International Reclaim the Fields camp joins Rosia Montana against the new Romani

26-09-2011 18:39

On the 24 September at 15:00 o'clock, the international participants of the Reclaim the Fields camp, together with the local association Alburnus Maior, from Rosia Montana, Romania, held a lively street demonstration in the village's Old Square. Local and international people are opposing plans to open Europe's largest open cast gold mine and a proposed new law on expropriation currently being discussed in the Romanian parliament. The law would enable private mining companies, instead of the Romanian state and judicial system, to carry out forced expropriation of residents, in a clear violation of human rights.