Direct action road protest veterans delegation to Dept for Transport

A delegation of veteran road-protestors visited the Department for Transport on Wednesday 21'st July at 2pm and delivered a letter stating that Labour's road building plans - and even the planning process that leads to new roads - will be met by protests similar to those of the 1990s. This is in response to the failure to scrap new road plans in today's 10 year transport plan. We demanded that no new roads should be built, or the government will face more direct action protests. The delegation was comprised of a representative from each of the major road protests of the 1990s, when direct action dogged road building across the nation, increasing the costs of road building by £ millions.

Rebecca Lush who, exactly 11 years ago in July 1993, was imprisoned for her part in the protests at the M3 through Twyford Down in Hampshire, and co-founded the national orgainisation Road Alert! said:

"The 10 year Transport Plan represented an opportunity to scrap the roads programme that Labour have been steadily building up by stealth. These new roads are a U-turn on promises Labour made when in opposition, when they accepted evidence that more roads create more traffic. Current road building plans will simply increase traffic, are in direct conflict with Labour's supposed commitments to protect the environment and combat climate change, and are starting to rival the Tories old road building programme"

The letter to Alistair Darling (reproduced below) warns of future protests that would disrupt both the planning and building of new roads, and the delegation also presented Mr Darling with a bicycle D-lock, as a symbol of the road protests of the 1990s. Locks such as these were used by protestors to attach themselves to bulldozers in order to prevent road construction from taking place.

Reading from the letter, Rebecca Lush continued:

"During the 1990's large scale protests laid siege to road developments, leading to a major shift in transport policy. We are not prepared to let those gains be sacrificed; if you plan new road building, you should expect protests of the same commitment. The difference is that these protests will occur throughout the entire planning processes; we will not wait for the bulldozers to arrive this time. Protests will follow these roads every step of the way."

Delegates were from the following campaigns:
Twyford Down, M3 Hampshire
M11 Link Road, London
Newbury bypass
Stanworth Valley, M65 Lancs
Fairmile, A30 Devon
Solsbury Hill, A46 Bath
Oxleas Wood, London
Birmingham Northern Relief Road
Wymondham, A11 Norfolk
Salisbury, A36
Jesmond Dene, Newcastle
Blackwood, South Wales
Road Alert!
Rising Tide
Reclaim the Streets
Earth First

They included 3 people imprisoned for the M3 protests through Twyford Down, that kickstarted the direct action roads protests, and also Eleanor "Animal" who spent days down the famous tunnels at Fairmile in Devon.

The letter delivered to Alistair Darling, transport minister:

Dear Mr Darling

We are here today to express our disappointment that new road building was not ruled out in your 10 year Transport Plan, and to demand that you scrap the road building plans you have already announced or approved, including the M6 toll road, all motorway widening, the A303 Blackdown Hills Road, and the A354 Weymouth Road. These roads are a U-turn on Labour's unequivocal promises whilst in opposition, when you accepted the logic that new roads meant more traffic. Your current plans will simply increase traffic and are in direct conflict with all of Labour's committments to reduce carbon emissions, and combat climate change.

During the 1990's large-scale protests laid seige to road developments, leading to a major shift in transport policy. We are not prepared to let those gains be sacrificed; if you plan new road building you should expect protests of the same level of committment. The difference is that these protests, will occur throughout the entire planning processes; we will not wait for the bulldozers to arrive this time. Protests will follow these roads every step of the way.

Accompanying this letter is a bicycle D-Lock. This is a reminder of the road protests of the 1990's when we used such locks to disrupt road building by attaching ourselves to bulldovers and other construction machinery.

This letter is delivered by a representitative from each of the following road protests and campaign groups:

Twyford Down, M3 Hampshire
M11 Link Road, London
Newbury bypass
Stanworth Valley, M65 Lancs
Fairmile, A30 Devon
Solsbury Hill, A46 Bath
Oxleas Wood, London
Birmingham Northern Relief Road
Wymondham, A11 Norfolk
Salisbury, A36
Jesmond Dene, Newcastle
Blackwood, South Wales
Road Alert!
Rising Tide
Reclaim the Streets