Twyford Down聽protest
Twyford Down, a chalkland meadow bisected by the M3 motorway, became the center of an environmental campaign against road building. We hear from those involved.
Sue MacGregor reunites the leading voices behind the campaign to stop the M3 motorway being built through an ancient chalk land meadow, Twyford Down on the outskirts of Winchester, Hampshire.
In 1992 after a twenty years struggle with the Department of Transport, protest spilled over into direct action. What followed next was to define the language of the anti-roads movement which grabbed the headlines between 1993 -1997, as a broad coalition of local, national and international protesters concerned by the governments鈥� evaluation of environmental issues came together to try to stop the bulldozers moving in.
Over a three year period thousands of people came down to take part in the protests at Twyford Down, some lived there for months others visited for the weekend, for all it was a defining moment in their lives. Earth First! the radical environmental campaign group came to public attention at Twyford as protesters chained themselves to machinery for the very first time.
Many of the Twyford campaigners, radicalised by their experience went on to lead protests in Salisbury, Newbury and Manchester Airport, and as a result of the Twyford Campaign and the protests it inspired 50 years of British transport policy was eventually turned on it鈥檚 head.
Included in this Reunion is ex- local councillor Barbra Bryant, Dr Chris Gillham a prominent member of the Friends of Twyford Down, veteran roads protester Rebecca Lush, the founder of Earth First! UK Jason Torrence, and Paul Kingsnorth author of 鈥淥ne No Many Yeses鈥�.
Producer: Emily Williams
Series Producer: David Prest
The Reunion is a Whistledown Production for 大象传媒 Radio 4
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