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Lead Green Party Euro Candidate to visit 'Camp Bling'

 
News From Essex Green Party
 
Thursday 3rd July 2008
 
Lead Green Party Euro Candidate to visit 'Camp Bling'

Rupert Read, Lead candidate to become a Green MEP for Eastern Region in June 2009, and a Norwich City Councillor, is to visit Camp Bling, the long running road protest camp in Southend on Sunday 6th July (all afternoon).

Camp Bling is one of the few long standing road protest camps in the country. It was set up to protect Priory Park and the many trees within it from being built over by a road scheme that it's founders believe is totally unecessary. The protesters believe that the park was left to Southend by a benefactor who stated that it should remain as a park.

The protestors also seek to protect the archaeological site of a Saxon King burial that was found there. The burial is believed to date back to about 650 AD, and is rated as one of the most important archaelogical finds in England in the past 100 years.
 
The camp residents also believe that their actions are demonstrating an alternative way of thinking that has successfully to date challenged the pro-road building policies of the Borough Council.  

Councillor Read said
 
"I would like to thank the organisers for inviting me to visit this important protest camp. At a time when climatologists are warning of impending dangerous climate change caused by excessive CO2 emissions, building more roads, to generate more traffic makes no sense. Furthermore, defacing this beautiful and historic park is unacceptable."

"I was proud to have been able to participate in the Newbury bypass protest  some years ago. 'Camp Bling' is now the frontline of efforts to stop unecessary and damaging road-building, right here in East Anglia."

Councillor Read will be given a tour of the Camp Bling site and will be shown the visitor centre to learn about the work they have done to date. He will also be shown a film in the visitor centre about "Peak Oil": the point, probably now reached, at which world oil consumption outstrips supply.
 
ENDS
 
Notes: the site of Camp Bling is at Priory Crescent (A1159), Southend-on-Sea, Essex (next to the railway line).
 

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