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Newbury Bypass Rally
26 July 1995
A mass protest at Donnington Castle on 29 July will demonstrate the strength of public opposition to the proposed Newbury Bypass. This major trunk road was given the go-ahead in July 1995, after just 7 months of a 1-year review. No attempt was made to look at alternatives to road-building, such as traffic reduction.
An alliance of local groups and major environmental and transport organisations is convinced that the Bypass is not the solution to the traffic problems of Newbury. An analysis of the Highways Agency review indicates that the main justification of the bypass is the need to cater for increasing traffic. Yet the Bypass itself will simply generate new traffic, making the road scheme a perfect example of the Government's self-defeating road-building plans (see attached briefing).
Tony Juniper, Campaigns Director at Friends of the Earth said:
The Highways Agency's own figures show that building the Bypass is an exercise in futility. The road will not solve Newbury's traffic problems. Congestion levels will be back to how they are now in about ten years."
He continued:
"If Newbury is to have a real solution to its dreadful traffic problems, a longer term view must be taken. This should include serious action on traffic reduction and traffic management."
Donnington Castle. Newbury. Saturday 29 July 1995. 2.00 pm
The Alliance of organisations opposed to the Newbury Bypass include: Alarm UK, Battlefields Trust, Council for the Protection of Rural England, Earth First, Greenpeace, Newbury Friends of the Earth, Plantlife, Road Alert, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Third Battle of Newbury, Transport 2000, Wildlife Trusts, Worldwide Fund for Nature
ENDS
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Sep 2008
