The 2006 Road Block national conference is happening on Saturday 10 June in central Birmingham. Booking is essential. Come and learn from one another, share ideas, strategies and inspiration. Please book your place by emailing or download the booking forms here: http://www.roadblock.org.uk/action/2006_conference.htm

If any weblinks don't work, simply cut and paste them into your address bar. Please use the new Search feature on our website to look for more info on schemes.

 

Next e-bulletin deadline is 22 June, so please send us your campaign news before then.

 

******************************************************************

 

CONTENTS

(1) Transport and climate news –
Goodbye Darling, hello Alexander
Road Block challenges new local authority road schemes
Costs of motoring still down, and public transport up
Road transport emissions still rising
Transport Select Committee savages DfT on roads
Internal guide to Highways Agency consultation procedures
Newbury Bypass book published
Lyn Sloman ‘Car Sick’ book published
Scottish Executive launch transport strategy consultation
Roads u-turn revealed in the Times
Web help needed for roads groups

 

(2) Campaign updates –
A628 Mottram - Tintwistle Bypass (Peak District)
A14 Fen Ditton – Ellington (Cambridgeshire)
M74 Extension (Glasgow)
Connecting Derby
Weymouth Relief Road (Dorset)
M6 Expansion (Staffordshire and Cheshire)
No Widening M1 (Nottingham)
No Widening M1 (Sheffield)
Aberdeen Western Bypass
Heysham - M6 Link (Lancaster Northern Bypass
Tyne Crossing
M8 (Scotland)
M4 relief road across the Gwent Levels (Newport)
Bexhill to Hastings Link Road (East Sussex)
Lincoln Southern Bypass
South Bristol Ring Road
Thames Gateway Bridge (London)
A127/A1159 Priory Crescent, Southend (Essex)
Kingskerswell Bypass (Devon)
Durham Northern Relief Road
A303 Stonehenge (Wiltshire)
Titnore Lane (Sussex)
SEMMMS (South East Manchester ‘Relief Road’)
Kensey Link Road (Cornwall)

(3) Events

(4) http://www.roadblock.org.uk/action.htm

**************************************************

(1) TRANSPORT AND CLIMATE NEWS

Goodbye Darling, hello Alexander

Alistair Darling was shuffled into the DTI after a 4-year stint at the DfT. He had presided over an era of reverting back to 1990s style ‘predict and provide’ roadbuilding and aggressive aviation expansion, so Road Block is not sorry to see him go… He is replaced by fellow Scot Douglas Alexander who made his first speech within 2 days, displaying the same double-speak as Darling, repeating “Simply building more and more roads is not the answer. We need only to look at other countries which have built more and bigger roads in the past, only to see them fill up again to know that this is not a sustainable approach. And it is unacceptable in environmental terms”. Yet he then boasted about how “thirty five major road schemes have been completed since 2001”. He then restated how the solution to congestion would be road pricing. Blair’s letter to Alexander stated that “We cannot simply build our way out of these problems… transport will be critical to our long-term goal of reducing carbon emissions” and instructed him to press on with road pricing. Decisions on Regional Funding Allocations and new road schemes will now be “later in the year” according to the latest Parliamentary Questions.

Road Block challenges new local authority road schemes

Thanks to lots of volunteer help, Road Block has written to over 90 local authorities that are proposing over 100 new road schemes in their five year Local Transport Plans. Using the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations, Road Block is asking each council what alternatives to roadbuilding they are looking at. Road Block is pointing to extensive government guidance that insists on road building being a last resort, and that councils must show that they have thoroughly considered demand management measures (school and workplace travel plans, road pricing schemes, cycling and walking, bus priority etc) and public transport options first. The councils have been asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire which asks them to show how they are complying with the government guidance. Watch this space for the response….
See http://www.roadblock.org.uk/press_releases/2006-05-12.htm to see the press release, and questionnaire.

Costs of motoring still down, and public transport up

On 4 May, Roads Minister Stephen Ladyman revealed in a Parliamentary Question that between 1997 and 2005 the real cost of motoring declined by 9 per cent. Meanwhile bus and coach fares increased by 15 per cent and rail fares increased by 5 per cent.
See http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/cm060504/text/60504w04.htm#60504w04.html_wqn2
Road transport emissions still rising

The Office of National Statistics published its Environmental Accounts on 23 May for data up to 2004, which showed that overall CO2 emission rose by 1% since 2003, whilst transport emissions rose 4%, with road transport emissions up almost 1%. Most other sectors declined, demonstrating that transport is still the area that is letting the UK down on CO2 cuts.
See http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_environment/EAMay06.pdf

Transport Select Committee savages DfT on roads

In its annual report on the DfT’s performance, the Transport Select Committee said that “there is still far too much complacency on the part of the HA about cost overruns on road construction projects”. It also said that they should be prepared to “pull the plug” on schemes which went over budget. It concluded the consultation on the M6 expansion was “cosmetic”, when the response was 50:1 against extending the M6 Toll road north of Birmingham to Manchester and asked the DfT to “explain the point of consulting the public when it simply ignores the result.” See M6 report below.

Take a sneaky look into the hidden world of the Highways Agency consultation procedures…

Thanks to the Offords A14 Judicial Review against the Highways Agency’s lack on consultation, they have had to disclose their own internal guide to consulting. Please contact Road Block for a copy (691KB PDF). If you have time to study it for Road Block we would be very grateful.

Newbury Bypass book published

An inspiring account of the fight against the Newbury bypass and other road protests of the 1990s is available at www.ninemiles.co.uk. 'Nine Miles; two winters of anti-road protest' by Jim Hindle, was written to give some sense of how it felt to live in the woods for two winters and to be part of a movement that took the government head on. Jim lived for months up ‘Middle Oak’ at Newbury, one of the few trees to be actually saved and now volunteers at the Road Block office. See www.ninemiles.co.uk.

Lyn Sloman ‘Car Sick’ book published

Respected transport consultant Lyn Sloman has just published her book ‘Car Sick: Solutions for Our Car-addicted Culture’. It shows how ‘smart’ actions to cut car use (car clubs, car-sharing, travel plans etc), coupled with small-scale improvements for bikes and buses could dramatically reduce our dependence on cars. In the process, they could save lives, save billions of pounds that would no longer be spent on pointless road-building, and improve our quality of life. Copies can be ordered directly from the publishers on www.greenbooks.co.uk, or from your local bookshop, or (at a £1 discount and with free p&p) from www.guardian.co.uk/bookshop. It costs £10.95. There was also an article about it in the Guardian, which is at:
http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,,1735933,00.html

Scottish Executive launch transport strategy consultation

On 20 April the Scottish Executive launched a consultation on national transport strategy. Like the DfT they placed a heavy reliance on the potential of road pricing to sort out congestion at some point ten years away whilst ditching pledges to stabilise road traffic levels. Meanwhile the Scottish Executive seem even more hell-bent on road building than the DfT, with huge plans including the M74 in Glasgow, the Aberdeen Bypass, Dalkeith Bypass, and a new Forth bridge.

Roads u-turn revealed in the Times

In the last e-bulletin (18 April) Road Block revealed that the Highways Agency had doubled their roads budget by raiding other budgets for traffic management and technology. This was covered in an excellent whole page article in the Times newspaper “Spending on more roads hits £1bn in environmental U-turn”
See http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,175-2146384,00.html
And http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,175-2146385,00.html

Web help needed for roads groups

Do you have web expertise? Many local groups would like a website, but do not have the skills within the group. Could you volunteer a little time to build simple websites for groups? Please contact the Road Block office if you can help –

(2) CAMPAIGN NEWS

A628 Mottram - Tintwistle Bypass (Peak District)

Opposition is piling up against this horrific scheme through the Peak District National Park. Not only have the Peak District National Park Authority changed their position to oppose the road, but so have the Countryside Agency and English Nature. Also some local councils are now opposing the road too as the true impacts of the scheme (traffic, environmental, and safety) are starting to be revealed in the Environmental Statement, ahead of the Public Inquiry. The official objections period has now closed, but the Highways Agency will still accept them. Send in your objection by going to
http://www.saveswallowswood.org.uk/lineorders.shtml. The Highways Agency have reported that they are “overwhelmed” by the response and that the Inquiry is likely to be put back as a result. On 23 April, over 20 people turned out for a St. Georges day nature walk. More walks will be organised during the summer months. See http://www.saveswallowswood.org.uk/ for more info on the campaign and to get involved.

A14 Fen Ditton – Ellington (Cambridgeshire)

Courageous local campaigners against this monster £500 million road scheme round Huntingdon have won Leave to Appeal the refusal of their Judicial Review back in January (see RB bulletin 12 March 06). The Leave to Appeal was granted at the last minute as the government dramatically handed over an internal Highways Agency document on how the Highways Agency should conduct their consultations. Please contact the Road Block office to see a copy of the document. The legal case centres on the ‘legitimate expectation’ of local residents to be consulted about the route choice. Local residents face enormous costs, and need support. Recently they received an extremely generous donation of £5,000 from an individual donor and they raised a further £6,000 at a recent auction evening but need more money to bring the case.
See http://www.offordsa14actiongroup.co.uk/

M74 Extension (Glasgow)

The campaign was given a real boost when over 20 local GP's and health professionals, including the influential Prof Phil Hanlon expressed their support for the campaign and urged the Scottish executive to spend money on walking, cycling and public transport instead of £500 million on the M74.
See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/4757967.stm
and http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/press/pr20060502.html
The long-awaited court challenge has been set for 27 June, over Ministers' decision to overrule the independent inquiry which found that motorway should not be built. This is an important case which will decide whether politicians can overrule inquiry Inspectors. Contributions towards court costs are needed. Meanwhile the campaign have held fundraising comedy nights. At the end of April JAM74 have held a well attended public meeting in Gorbals, one of the communities worst affected by the M74 route.
See http://jam74.org/ for the local alliance

Connecting Derby

It seems the DfT have quietly given the go-ahead for this scheme without making it jump through the usual hoops that local authorities have to go through to acquire funding and approval. The scheme had its approval withdrawn in 2003 due to massive cost escalation, but instead of making the council reapply for funding, the DfT have simply let it slip in through the back door much to the anger of local residents group Derby HEART. The scheme would impact on listed buildings and generate traffic. http://beehive.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/default.asp?WCI=SiteHome&ID=8141&PageID=43582

Weymouth Relief Road (Dorset)

Local campaigners against this scheme which would trash an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), ancient woodland and bring noise to 3000 homes have been very busy rallying support for the Local Plan Inspector. The independent planning inspector agreed with campaigners and the Countryside Agency that the road scheme was an unjustifiable intrusion into the AONB and recommended it be deleted from the Local Plan (see RB bulletin 11 Feb 06). The council and some local businesses have been fighting back, and it’s getting dirty with some of them and the local media desperately lying that the road is needed for the sailing part of the Olympics (it was never in the 2012 bid, but sustainable transport measures were!). The county’s largest law firm even pinched the Olympics logo without permission to rally support for the road on its website! The deadline for responses closed on 19 May, and it is thought the response was very high (3000+) with an even split. More news next bulletin…

M6 Expansion (Staffordshire and Cheshire)

The Transport Select Committee published its annual report into the DfT. It heavily criticised the DfT for its bogus ‘consultation’ on the M6 in 2004. The over 9,500 responses to the consultation on the M6 expansion showed a 50:1 ratio against extending the M6 Toll road north of Birmingham to Manchester. On 19 July 2005 the DfT announced that further work would be commissioned into the feasibility of this option. The Select Committee concluded that “it appears the Department had already made the decision to proceed, and that the consultation was cosmetic. The Department should explain the point of consulting the public when it simply ignores the result”. The campaign have held almost weekly successful public meetings against the scheme, the latest had representatives from the Road Haulage Association (not known generally for being anti-road!) coming out against, saying “You probably think hauliers would be delighted at widening the existing motorway. In fact, we are totally against it." See http://nom6e.blogspot.com/

No Widening M1 (Nottingham) – URGENT OBJECTIONS NEEDED

 

You have until 29 June to register your objection this enormous £1.9 billion futile widening of the M1 from Leicester to Chesterfield (junctions 21-30). This is the largest scheme in the roads programme, and will generate massive amounts of CO2 and traffic. You can either object directly here:
http://m1eastmidlands.arup.com/questionnaire/questionnaire.php

 

Or go to the Take Action part of our website for more details
http://www.roadblock.org.uk/action.htm#M1A
Object to both Contract 1 and 2 (they are not consulting on Contract 1) and say that they are not being clear that the road will generate huge amounts of traffic and that CO2 emissions will no doubt be higher than the 688,302 tonnes a year they are currently predicting.
To get more involved see www.nowideningm1.org.uk or phone 07759 851073

No Widening M1 (Sheffield)

 

Sheffield No Widening M1 held a successful first public meeting on 18 May with speakers from Friends of the Earth and Road Block. The Highways Agency are not holding a consultation, but for some reason are calling it a ‘public information’ for Junction 30-42 on 15 June, and the campaign are planning to have a presence at this. The campaign is also meeting with the Highways Agency and other environmental groups. See www.nowideningm1.org.uk or phone 07759 851073

Aberdeen Western Bypass

The ‘preferred route’ was announced on 2 May to the fury of local residents (see RB bulletin 18 April 06 and 16 Dec 05). A total of 19 properties would have to be demolished for the 46km road to be built, including a school. An independent Scottish parliament ePetition against the road has been started by a local farmer, and you can sign at the link below until 31 May.
http://epetitions.scottish.parliament.uk/view_petition.asp?PetitionID=97
For the campaign against the road see http://www.road-sense.org/ and http://www.stopthebypass.com

Heysham - M6 Link (Lancaster Northern Bypass)

Objections to the planning application are piling up. Latest objectors are Lancaster & Morecambe College, which would be devastated by the road, and Sport England, which objects to the loss of playing fields. They join the ranks of the Environment Agency, English Heritage, the local MP and over 500 other objectors. The planning hearing has been delayed until August, and the regional government office has blocked LCC from granting itself planning permission. See http://www.road-sense.org/

Tyne Crossing

The legal challenge to the traffic generating tunnel has been turned down. The challenge centred on that the Environmental Statement (which is required under EU and UK law) did not cover the crucial issue of what would happen to the huge amounts of spoil from the tunnel. The Judge decided that it wasn’t necessary for the ES to contain this information as further details had emerged later in the public inquiry. Local resident Bryan Atkinson and his legal team are now considering seeking an appeal. The Judgement may be viewed at http://www.tyne-crossings.org/tunnel_judgment.pdf

M8 (Scotland)

 

TRANSform Scotland (the Scottish partner organisation to Transport 2000), have lodged a formal objection to the Scottish Executive's plans for the M8 motorway between Baillieston and Newhouse because measures to prevent the reappearance of congestion on the new road have not been included. This goes back on promises at the go-ahead in 2003 that measures to ‘lock-in the benefits’ and prevent traffic growth (such as ramp metering or high-occupancy vehicle lanes) would be implemented to stop congestion re-appearing. The project now features no measures to manage traffic growth. TRANSform Scotland have also objected on the grounds that providing for uncontrolled expansion in road capacity places the project in direct conflict with the Scottish Executive's commitments to reduce climate change emissions from the transport sector, as set out in March's Climate Change Programme. The objection letter is available at
http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/info/docs/2006-05-10_M8_objection.pdf

M4 relief road across the Gwent Levels

 

At long last the Welsh Assembly have issued more details on the route for the new M4 project, Magor to Castleton (the Gwent Levels) at public information exhibitions. CALM (Campaign against the Levels Motorway) produced a leaflet which was handed out at the exhibitions. The Welsh Assembly claims the route has a smaller environmental impact as it uses more brownfield land than the previous scheme. It still impacts on a number of SSSI's however.

Bexhill to Hastings Link Road (East Sussex)

The Scoping Report for the Environmental Statement for te road has just been published with campaigners given just days to respond to the huge document. The report illustrates the muddled thinking behind the Bexhill Hastings Link Road. It implies that the road would be important for improving regional accessibility, while at the same time descibing it as a very important element in a strategy to meet the need for the overwhelmingly large proportion of short, local journeys. That's car journeys of course!

 

Lincoln Southern Bypass

Despite the road not being selected as a regional priority for the next 10 years and therefore unlikely to receive government funding, Lincolnshire County Council are still pressing on with the scheme, much to the annoyance of local residents. They will face years of blight as a result from the road that will split the community of Waddington. Another road scheme in Boston was scrapped as it was not a regional priority, so why not the Lincoln Southern Bypass? See http://www.wasbo.org.uk/

South Bristol Ring Road

The South Bristol Ring Road which is in fact 3 separate roads featured in the Local Government elections in South Bristol. The Green Party believe that anti-Ring Road feeling increased their vote and in fact Southville ward elected Bristol's first Green councillor. At a public meeting on 2 May, it was agreed to form an alliance of groups against the entire road.

Thames Gateway Bridge (South East London)

After almost a year the Public Inquiry into the proposed Thames Gateway Bridge closed on 3 May 2006. The Inspector is due to forward his recommendation to the Secretary of State for Transport by the end of October 2006 and a final decision is expected in Spring 2007. Action Group Against the Bridge (AGAB) hope their campaign inspires others to get involved in their local community and be more aware of how precious our quality of life is and how important our parks, gardens and open green spaces are now and for future generations. See http://www.nobridge.org.uk/

A127/A1159 Priory Crescent, Southend (Essex)

 

Southend Borough Council have revealed in the local press that the cost of evicting the protest camp could be in excess of £500,000. The camp is still there and going strong. Southend Borough Council have failed to respond to Freedom of Information requests from local campaigners and Road Block about the costs of the road scheme, and will be reported to the Information Commissioner. For more info go to www.savepriorypark.org e-mail k or call .

Kingskerswell Bypass (Devon)

The council will be voting on 30 May whether to put in a bid for funding to the government for this horrific road scheme through downland and County Wildlife Sites, and the habitat of the very rare Greater Horseshoe Bat. They are opposed by the Kingskerswell Alliance. Devon County Council has so far refused to answer Road Block requests for information on the non-roadbuilding alternatives they are required to examine.

Durham Northern Relief Road

Durham County Council is currently drawing up a consultation document to outline how it could possibly use the Transport Innovation Fund. Options at present remain a general cordon of charging around in Durham City in some form, or a toll on the current route to divert traffic onto "new alternative routes." The uniquely explosive mix of the supposedly progressive TIF, destructive road building and damage to the environs of a World Heritage Site has been drawn to the attention of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on World Heritage sites, of which Durham's MP acts as Secretary. An article has also appeared in "World Heritage Alert"
See http://www.worldheritagealert.org/Pages/article5.htm and http://www.savethevalley.org.uk/ for the campaign.

A303 Stonehenge (Wiltshire)

The "public consultation" into five options for Stonehenge (all of them involving road-building) ended in April and the results are expected some time over the summer. If the consultation is anything like the one into the M6 expansion (where 98% of over 9500 respondents opted against road building but the government still gave the go-ahead for further studies) then we could see the government press on with what they want to do anyway. A group of major conservation organizations issued a joint statement opposing all five options (see RB bulletin 18 April 06), but a distinguished archaeological group, the Society of Antiquaries, has just opted to support the government's preferred option (a short bored tunnel). Meanwhile, English Heritage has resubmitted plans for a new visitor centre - identical to plans refused by the local council last year.
See http://www.savestonehenge.org.uk/

Titnore Lane (Sussex)

 

Worthing Borough Council, who recently agreed a plan to trash hundreds of trees including Oaks in order to widen an ancient lane for a housing development, has suffered the anger of voters in the local elections. Following an eve of election leaflet drop close to the lane urging voters not to vote as a way of showing their anger at the decision, campaigners were jubilant when it was announced only 22% had voted - one of the lowest turnouts in the county. See http://www.protectourwoodland.co.uk.

South East Manchester ‘Relief Road’ (SEMMMS) or Stockport Bypass

 

A local historian and well-respected fighter for his local community has suggested a different route for the A6 bypass, which would be less damaging to the area he serves, although it would still destroy the Goyt Valley at Stockport. Stockport Against the Bypass has challenged him to come on an organised walk down the Goyt Valley on Bank Holiday 29 May to see just how beautiful the area is that would be destroyed, which he bravely accepted. See http://stoptheroad.org.uk/

Kensey Link Road

Apparently Cornwall County Council have dropped plans to build the Kensey Link Road which would have trashed wet woodland (see RB bulletin 25 Feb 05).


(3) EVENTS

Climate Conference is organised by the Campaign Against Climate Change on 3 June in London. See http://www.campaigncc.org/

 

The 2006 Road Block National Conference must not be missed! Gain skills, knowledge and inspiration and meet other campaigners. Starts 11am on 10 June in central Birmingham. Booking essential. Email or download the booking form here: http://www.roadblock.org.uk/action/2006_conference.htm

Railfuture Campaigners Conference on 1 July in Stoke-on-Trent.
See http://railfuture.org.uk/tiki-index.php?page=Summer%20Conference

A huge camp for action around climate change is being planned for the North of England from 26 Aug to 4 Sept. See http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/ and email if you want to get involved in working groups.

(4) TAKE ACTION - http://www.roadblock.org.uk/action.htm

Sign the Aberdeen petition at http://epetitions.scottish.parliament.uk/view_petition.asp?PetitionID=97 . Deadline 31 May

Object to the M1 Widening at J21-30 by going to http://www.roadblock.org.uk/action.htm#M1A or seeing report above. Deadline 29 June

Object to the Mottram Tintwistle Bypass Draft Orders - Draft Orders have been published for the horrific Mottram Tintwistle Bypass through the Peak District (see above), despite there being excellent alternatives. Please write an Objection letter. Click here http://www.saveswallowswood.org.uk/lineorders.shtml to find out what to write and where to send it.

Object to the M6 expansion by going to
http://nom6e.blogspot.com/2004/01/write-to-alistair-darling.html