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Shepton Mallet Anti Tesco Protest Site UPDATE: March 2006

It’s been a topsy-turvy week for the anti-Tescos treesitters in Shepton Mallet (see SchNEWS 533). First, on Wednesday, the whole site was cleared by one hundred bailiffs at six in the morning. The trees used for the last camp were destroyed after the eviction, but there’s around 180 still waiting to be saved. The campaign is down but not out as activists have reclaimed part of the site and are sending out an urgent call out for people to get down there with equipment and general tat ASAP . The camp can be contacted on 07756 970472. Shepton Mallet is located on the A361 between Glastonbury and Frome. Nearest train stations are Castle Cary (about 8 miles) and Frome (about 9 miles). The camp is in a patch of woodland behind the Cenotaph (at the top of the High Street) at the south end of Townsend Road.

Today we finally received the high court verdict regarding the classification of the quarries at lees cross and endcliffe. the quarries are now (or still) officially dormant. This means that the quarries cannot re open until the peak park have agreed a set of working conditions for them. Stancliffe Stone still have the permission to quarry from 1952, and the peak park still have the power to revoke the permission, or to impose such restrictions that the re opening of the quarries would be financially unviable. Our protest site must and will continue to exist in order to protect our beautiful hillside (in the second most visited national park on the planet), as it is still quite possible that this awesome natural heritage of ours could be destroyed. Please dont let the media convince you that this is a victory on our behalf. Please send your comments on the proposals to re-open Lees Cross and Endcliffe quarries to The Peak Distric National Park Planning Authority and Lord Edward Manners of 'Haddon Hall' (who owns the land) or come and visit our protest community. Thank you (and a happy nearly-solstice) from the 9-ladies collective! x x x

History of the camp
The camp was set up in 1999 to help stop the destruction of Stanton Moor hillside in the Peak District National Park, which is under threat from the re-opening of two dormat quarries. The quarries, which would extract 3.2 million tons of rock from a 12.95 hectare site, will have a disastrous impact on the Nine Ladies Stone Circle and local wildlife. www.nineladies.uklinux.net Postal address: Nine Ladies Anti-Quarry Campaign, Lees Road, Stanton Lees, Near Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 2LQ.

Weymouth Bypass Protest Camp

UPDATE: December 2nd 2004

The camp is digging in for winter, and people are needed.Communal accommodation is currently being sorted out and all the usual tat and supplies would be very welcome! The council are currently preparing a court order against the site and are seeking contractors. They've gone for an Early Contractor Involvement scheme, whereby contractors are finalised and involved before the usual courtesies- such as a Public Inquiry- have been gone through. This means that actions targetting- and hopefully discouraging- potential contractors are a priority...

Background

A protest camp was set up in June 2004 against the Weymouth relief road in Dorset; a 6km long, £25m scheme that threatens to destroy one of the area’s only remaining ancient woodlands. Celebrating government approval for the road, Dorset Council reckons that the development of a ‘green park’ in the Lodmoor Valley (an old landfill site) will help offset any environmental damage caused by the scheme.But, aware of the difficulty justifying the road-building project on environmental grounds, Council bosses have chosen to promote the economic value of the scheme. They say that without the road many local businesses will leave Weymouth, putting workers on the dole. But spending £750,000 justifying the scheme didn’t stop the council’s own consultants admitting that the companies they surveyed said that any plans to close or expand would not be influenced by the building of the road.One of the UK’s rarest species, a Barbastelle bat, is known to live in the woods. The animal is on the government’s Biodiversity Action Plan, which means there is already official concern about its potential extinction. 25,000 vehicle trips are made in the area each day, 24% more than the national average and the council has spent naff all time looking into traffic calming alternatives.. Contact: 07800760257, weymouth@roadalert.org.uk www.roadalert.org.uk

Faslane Peace Camp

UPDATE: March 2006

Faslane Peace Camp has been a thorn in the side of the nearby nuclear submarine base, with a permanent peace camp outside the gates since 1982. Since then countless protests have come out of the camp including blockades of the base and military convoys, canoeing to the submarines, as well as the camp becoming a living community. The camp needs support and all are invited to come up and check it out.

* Camp address: A814, Shandon, Nr Helensburgh, Dumbartonshire, G84 8NT. Tel: 01436 820901 Web: www.faslane.co.nr

* Faslane 365: As Blair aims to spend £40billion to replace the current Trident nuclear weapons – housed at the Faslane base - there will be a year-long continuous blockade of the base starting on October 1st this year. (See www.faslane365.org)

Background

Faslane Naval Base is home to Britain's 4 trident nuclear submarines. The purpose of the Faslane Peace Camp is to oppose nuclear weapons and to live an alternative lifestyle to that of the mass of British society. The camp currently has about 20 permanent residents, spread around 11 Caravans, a Bus, a Tepee, a Bender, a Tree House and various sheds and self-built structures.

Directions: The Peace Camp is on the east verge of the A814 road, which leads to HMNB Clyde and beyond. FPC is therefore visible to all traffic coming towards the base from the direction of Helensburgh. The camp is about 30 miles west of Glasgow, by the Gareloch, a river Clyde estuary sea loch. Faslane Naval base is on the Gareloch.

Bilston Wood Anti Bypass Protest Camp

A camp has been set up to stop the construction a privately financed road at Bilston 8 miles south of Edinburgh. The road will destroy a local woodland part of which is an SSSI, the woods contain many mature trees and a medieval bridge and tower. Construction work has started on the road, but at the moment the camp remains untouched. The camp now has a kitchen/ cafe and infoshop. They welcome visitors to come for short or long stays, or even just to pop by for a cup of tea and a read. They'd welcome any literature that may be suitable for the infoshop (Anarchist releases, Earth First essays, protest flyers etc etc). Site mobile 07986 632429 Postal Address - Bilston Glen Anti Bypass Protest Site, c/o Autonomous Center Edinburgh, 17 West Montgomery Place, Edinburgh EH7 5HA info@bilstonglen-abs.org.uk www.bilstonglen-abs.org.uk

Directions: By Bus/Car -Take the A701 (number 37/37a) Towards Penicuik & you'll come to the village of Bilston (8 miles south of Edinburgh). Just as you come into the village there is a metal gated footpath (opposite the large VW garage), go through this & down the path till you come to the bridge, & you'll see us.

Fylingdale Star Peace Camp

Fylingdale in North Yorkshire is a US space command centre providing early warning for ballistic missiles aimed at the USA. A camp was established outside the base in June last year. The first camp was abandoned under threat of eviction in November . But there is now a mobile camp. More people are always welcome. Camp location: Layby @ Ellerbeck Bridge on A169 (down the hill east of Fylingdales' Main Gate access road). Info 01287 660067 neil_bye@hotmail.com www.freefylingdalesnetwork.co.uk

Postal address: (for donations) c/o Women's Peace Camp, Menwith Hill, P O Box 105, Harrogate. HG3 2FE. Bank account Yorkshire Bank a/c no. 32459834, sort code 05-06-61.

Aldermaston Women's Peace Camp

Monthly women only peace camp the second weekend of each month. Next camp 10-12th December. At the Falcon Gate, AWE Aldermaston, where Britains nuclear weapons are produced. Info 07904 450 307 www.aldermastonwpc.gn.apc.org

Linslade Bypass - Evicted Feb 2005

In a direct action protest run entirely by locals, the carnage to make way for the Linslade bypass between Milton Keynes and Aylesbury has been stopped since last Monday. It’s taken a group of 40 mothers and kids to defend the land against the combined efforts of contractors Fitzpatricks, Homegrown Timber Ltd and the police as they try to drag the digging equipment onto the site to begin work. And the destruction wouldn’t just end with the road as this is one of the Government’s “growth areas”, with Milton Keynes set to have 44,000 new houses by 2021 and Aylesbury 15,000.

Two women have been arrested and charged with Aggravated Trespass for chaining themselves to a digger. Bailed not to go near the Bypass route, they have a preliminary court hearing on Jan 28th, and hope to use the trial to call the legality of the scheme into question. Road Block claims there are around 200 road schemes planned countrywide, forming a roads programme to rival the Conservatives’ ‘Roman-style’ programme of the early 1990s.

07815 817108 vharvey@btopenworld.com

For daily updates www.linsladeprotest.org.uk

For more info about protests to stop more road building in UK see www.roadalert.org.uk

See Also A Great Protest Camp FAQ (from Indymedia UK)

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