Camp Bling announces ‘the end’ as road scheme stopped.

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Long running road protest and counter-cultural campaign site Camp Bling, based in the middle of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, is set to be decommissioned by the summer, after the long awaited announcement that the controversial Priory Crescent road widening has now officially been cancelled. (1)

Members of the camp met with Council leaders last night with a view to resolving the situation, after the publication of an open letter from Transport Councillor Anna Waite, stating that £5m in central government funding would be spent solely on the Cuckoo Corner roundabout, with possible junction improvements – but no widening – to follow at the Prittle Brook industrial site at a later date. (2)

As a result, campaigners intend to honour their public pledge to clear and vacate the camp, now that their objective to stop the road has been met completely. It is expected that it will take a number of weeks to fully return the East Saxon king’s burial to its former condition, with all structures and materials on the site to be removed by the group, with the objective of incurring no cost to the local taxpayer.

Speaking from the camp Ginger said, ‘We would like to thank each and every one of the people who have been involved, not just with Camp Bling, but also with the ongoing campaign which ran from 2001 in opposition to the scheme. It’s not every day that you get to be part of an effort to stop a £25m road widening, with the added opportunity to warn people of the culmination of environmental and social crises that we now all face.’

‘For many of us this has been our first taste of an alternative, lower impact, and more compassionate lifestyle. We have shared our experiences – both good and bad – along the way, and often got people to acknowledge the real choices that we all have. It is time for everyone to confront reality, as western industrial society continues to overshoot the ecological limits of the Earth.’ (3)

People are still welcome to visit the camp whilst decommissioning is underway, and are also encouraged to check out some of the alternatives at: www.campbling.org

NOTES TO EDITORS:

(3) Climate, Peak Oil, Overpopulation, Mass Extinction, Overconsumption, etc.

In an open letter to Parklife, published today on the Southend Borough Council web site, Councillor Anna Waite states cetegorically that SBC has no plans for taking any part of Priory Park, nor carrying out any remodelling work on Priory Crescent beyond the junctions at Cuckoo Corner and the entrance to the proposed industrial park.

The letter reads as follows:

Dear Mr Qureshi,

It was brought to my attention last week that Parklife recently issued a press release which states-

Mr Qureshi issued a direct challenge to the councillor responsible for transport and planning, stating, ‘Cllr Anna Waite can resolve the situation here and now by publicly announcing that the road widening is no more. Road building should have no place as part of a sane and connected planning response to the unfolding climate catastrophe that we are beginning to witness.’

I am therefore responding to this statement.

In respect of your first request for an announcement re the widening of Priory Crescent, I can, and have previously said, that the proposal to widen Priory Crescent – which has never included taking land from Priory Park – is not going ahead. To be absolutely clear on this, the earlier scheme has been split into two – Prittlebrook Entrance and Cuckoo Corner. We are proceeding with Cuckoo Corner.

When, and if, the Prittlebrook Business Park goes ahead, it may be preferable to consolidate its current three entrances into a modified single junction.

Whilst we now have funding in place to improve traffic flows at Cuckoo Corner, as yet there are no firm proposals. However, I am hopeful that a roundabout can be retained and therefore there may be an extra west travelling slip lane at the roundabout, and/or a widened approach adjacent to the roundabout. This will not encroach into the park.

I have pledged to turn the burial site into a commemorative garden for the Saxon King and can assure you that the outstanding archaeological works will happen as soon as possible once the site is vacated, so as to enable the landscaping to occur.

In respect of the second request re Road Building, I clearly cannot promise that no new roads will ever be built in Southend. For example, if the Prittlebrook Business Park were to come forward, there would be a need for roads within the site. That said, road building is only one element of our strategy to improve access and congestion. We have successfully bid for SERT funding and are currently consulting on this. Likewise we have been awarded Cycling Town Status and considerable funding to roll out cycling facilities. In the forthcoming year I am looking to improve yet more footpaths and safety initiatives to aid walking. We are hoping to improve train and bus use through a number of schemes. We are also in the very early stages of looking at alternatively-fuelled vehicles, and incentives for employees to use alternatives to their cars. We are also looking carefully at planning applications and briefs to ensure that they are as sustainable as possible and our new Design and Townscape Guide has raised the build levels.

Given this considerable and genuine commitment to solving our congestion by a holistic and as sustainable an approach as possible, even if a new road was deemed essential, it would accommodate public transport, cycling, walking and where appropriate, SERT.
I trust this gives you the assurances you seek and that you will now vacate the site of the Saxon King Burial Chamber. Should you have any queries I suggest that you contact me to arrange a meeting and I will be happy to meet with you.

Yours Sincerely

Cllr A Waite, Executive Cllr for Planning and Transport, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council

Details of Parklife’s formal response to this letter will be published here, at www.savepriorypark.org, as soon as possible.

Press release:

Camp Bling ‘Save Priory Park!’ road campaign

Tuesday 13th January 2009

Contact Camp Bling directly on 07866 967601

Or e-mail camp.bling@yahoo.co.uk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

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Camp Bling prepares for Priory Crescent go ahead.

‘Prepare yourselves for large scale direct action in defence of the Earth.’ That is the message from activists at Camp Bling, road campaigners, and local residents, as approval for recommending funding of the controversial Priory Crescent road widening in Southend-on-Sea is expected to be given at a meeting of the East of England Regional Transport Forum this Friday. (1)

Contrary to widespread belief and recent comments from Southend council leader Nigel Holdcroft, the project has not been scrapped, and the local Conservative group headed by him are pressing ahead in the face of virtually total opposition from across the board, including within the council chamber from the other political parties who have vowed to scrap it. (2)

It is understood that £7.5m of central government funding is scheduled to be made available in two blocks from as early as April 2009, with the only outstanding requirement then being for concurrence from the Department for Transport which would respond to the finalised regional guidance to be provided by late February, and a council vote to formally approve the business case request for funds.

Speaking from Camp Bling, Ginger said, ‘we feel we have done pretty much all we can to both stop the road and provide an alternative view on the state of the planet. No doubt about it, if the go ahead is given then there will be anarchy on Priory Crescent which will be completely beyond our control. People are likely to arrive from far and wide to stop the destruction.’

The recent ‘emergency relaunch’ in September 2008 to address environmental catastrophe as it unfolds and accelerates, and new website: www.campbling.org have been well received, drawing ongoing attention from around the world with the message that fundamental and radical lifestyle change is needed more than ever. (3)

Ginger added, ‘future generations will look back at the people like those behind the Priory road scheme, and wonder what stopped them from making the simple connection to the radical changes that we now urgently need to make. This could still be the end of the road and a new beginning if the right choice is made, but we are running out of time.’

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ENDS.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1) Details for the East of England Regional Transport Forum, regional funding proposals, and forthcoming meetings (16th Jan/10th Feb) can be found at:

http://www.eera.gov.uk/meeting-and-events/regional-forums/regional-transport-forum/

2) The latest proposals were first put forward in 1998, and are now solely supported by the Conservative group, though the scheme has a history originally dating back to the early 1970’s.

3) A significant number of people have signed up for direct action via the Camp Bling ‘beat the bulldozer pledge’:

www.campbling.org/bulldozerpledge.htm

(Reprinted courtesy of www.campbling.org)

Things will be changing soon — keep your eyes open for the launch.