16 January 2013
Police and bailiffs have been evicting protesters from the two remaining protestor's camps in Sussex where activists have gathered to to the construction of the £93.8m Bexhill to Hastings link road. Combe Haven Defenders reported two arrests this afternoon.
A statement on the Combe Haven Defenders website this morning reads:
Opponents of the Bexhill-Hastings Link Road (BHLR) are defending trees and occupying tunnels at their main protest camp in Crowhurst. Security guards and bailiffs, supported by police, began attempts to evict the camp at 8am today. The main camp, which has been in place since 21 December, is located on the proposed route of the BHLR close to Adam’s Farm, Crowhurst.
Further trees on route are occupied by protestors at nearby “Decoy Camp”. The peaceful protests against the road– which have now been running for a month, with 12 arrests – have seized national attention over the past week.
Tree-felling work for the road started on 14 December 2012 and represents the first significant work on the highly-controversial £100m road, one of over forty “zombie roads” that were declared dead years ago but have now been resuscitated as part of as part of Britain’s largest road-building programme in 25 years.
CPRE Sussex raised the question of the controversial Bexhill-Hastings Link Road with transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin when he spoke at the CPRE annual lecture in November 2012.
Challenging him on the need for the new road, CPRE Sussex director Georgia Wrighton asked him: “Why is the Government funding the Bexhill-Hastings link road when the Department for Transport declared it poor value for money, East Sussex County Council failed to adequately explore alternatives and when convincing evidence of its benefits had not been provided?”. McLoughlin didn't comment directly on the Bexhill-Hastings Link Road, but answered, "Decisions on road schemes will always be controversial,
we do it because the government think there are benefits to roads in some cases."
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FUTUREPROOFING
CPRE Sussex Countryside Trust
Spring Conference 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
9:30 AM -2:00 PM
Good planning must leave us with a living countryside for Sussex, putting people and the environment at the heart of decision making. We must get the balance right. The real costs of getting it wrong will be borne by future generations as our dysfunctional legacy. Do we want this? Can we plan to avoid it?
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Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham-By-Sea.
Transport drives the agenda at CPRE annual lecture
Written by Jessica Mayall
CPRE welcomed many positive comments from the transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, who spoke at the CPRE annual lecture. He spoke of better public transport for rural communities, making roads in the countryside safer and cracking down on unsightly roadside clutter. Transport was in the spotlight at this year’s lecture, indicating CPRE’s focus on this issue for the year ahead at a time when it is feared the Government may launch into a road building programme to drive economic growth, without due consideration for the countryside and sustainability in transport.
Horsham District Council: house building targets "excessive"
Written by William Shaw
13 December 2012
In a letter to the Mid-Sussex Times, CPRE Sussex representative Dr Roger Smith challenges the presumption of Horsham District Council’s Cabinet that it must adopt a house building target for the District that is equal to or greater than that set by the South East Plan
CPRE Sussex Review Winter 2012
National Planning Policy Framework, Fracking, the Bexhill-Hastings Link Road, Gatwick Airport... all this and more discussed in depth in the Winter Edition of the CPRE Sussex Review Winter 2012.
The Review is our quarterly magazine sent out to members. Download a free PDF below.
30 November 2012
We’re really worried by the Planning Minister’s latest announcement that he wants to increase England's built up area by a third.
This could equate to building over every square inch of a county the size of Devon.
We need your help to persuade the Government that this isn’t necessary – please write to your MP today.
30 November 2012
Planning Minister Nick Boles’s call to increase the urbanised area of England is provocative and unnecessary, and casts a shadow over at least 25% of our undisturbed countryside, say countryside campaigners CPRE.
Bewl Water eco-lodges rejected: CPRE’s letter of objection
Written by Jessica Mayall
2 December 2012
A controversial planning application for eco-holiday lodges at Bewl Water has been turned down. It was CPRE Sussex’s view that this development would be inappropriate and damaging to the tranquillity of Bewl Water, which is popular for recreational use and in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Respond to the CPRE's 2012 Annual Lecture by Secretary of State Patrick McLoughlin
Written by William Shaw
On 13 November 2012, the CPRE's 2012 Annual Lecture, delivered by Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin explored how the Government's transport policies can balance economic and social needs with protecting our countryside.
