At 10:00hrs today, the Under-sheriff of Staffordshire, John James, in league with 100's of bailiffs, police and security moved to evict the protesters from the Moneymore Cottage tunnels.
The protesters are resisting eviction in order to highlight the unnecessary and undemocratic nature in which the Birmingham Northern Relief Road (BNRR) construction is being brought about.
Over a dozen protesters have taken to a sophisticated network of tunnels, whilst others occupy tree houses and the roof tops of the cottages, in a move that is set to cost the contractors up to £5m.
The BNRR is set to be the UK's first toll motorway, and will permanently scar 27 miles of predominantly green belt land that cuts through three counties. At three times the length of the recently opened NewburyBypass it is reckoned that the consortium constructing the £700m will face additional costs of up to £50m as the protesters are intent upon setting up numerous sites along the proposed route.
There has been massive local opposition to the new road build, one of the so-called "dirty dozen" announced as going ahead by John Prescott earlier this year. The local electorate feel that after 18 years of opposing the road they have been lied to by the Labour Government. A local resident said "Before the election New Labour promised us that they would not build the BNRR. That was enough to convince thousands of us to abandon our traditional support for the Conservatives. This allowed for the landslide Labour election victory. But in the same fashion as all political parties they have proven themselves to be prepared to lie in order to satisfy their own egotistical desire for power. Over 100 sites of ecological interest will be affected in addition to the 27 that will be destroyed forever. What kind of future are we going to bequeath to our children in the desire for short-termopportunism and the pursuit of profit over that of the health of our young. In places the BNRR will be 18 lanes wide, much of this backing onto local schools. How many more must suffer from respiratory problems, how many more lives must be blighted before we realise that the car culture must end?"
Protesters are concerned that the Under-sheriff will seek to cut corners during the eviction process with subsequent risk to life. Muppet Dave, a veteran of the A30 and Manchester Airport campaigns said "Our immediate concern is for those people on site at the moment. We have a direct link to the tunnellers by way of intercom units. Repeatedly, we have asked that this line of communication should not be severed, much as we have asked that the air supply to the tunnels will be safeguarded against interference. At Manchester the air supply was disconnected for 5 hours during the eviction at the first camp. Why has Mr. James failed to give such an assurance?"
The BNRR, if constructed, will be operated by the Italian company Autostrada, and is set to be built by the struggling Norwegian multi-national, Kvaerner. A protester, known as Squidge said " Both these companies are ailing on the stockmarket, they are both structurally and financially unsound. Kvaevner have debts in excess of £1bn. It is possible that they will not be able to finance this road leaving us with a raped countryside and little else besides. John Prescott must have seriously lost the plot if he believes that these multi-national corporations have the interests of ordinary people in mind. They seek nothing other than to line their pockets with gold regardless of the consequences to us all. It would cost the Government £30m if they were to cancel this ill advised road now. It will cost us untold £100m's if it goes ahead, due to the impact it will have upon not just the local environment and additional health problems, but that which is ever more becoming apparent globally. Do these people notrealise that global warming is reality, a result of which will be the unpredictability of the weather, flooding of our coastal regions and increased cancer as a direct result of these ozone depleting pollutants? We are saying that enough is enough. Stop this madness now."
ENDS.....
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