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Lord Kennet supports Newbury Bypass protest
22 February 1996
Former Labour Planning Minister, Lord Kennet [1], today hit out at Government proposals to build the controversial Newbury bypass saying that "road building in this country is in evident crisis".
Lord Kennet, who takes his name from the River Kennet, which the proposed bypass will cross, said [2]:
"I get my name from the River Kennet, but that is not why I support the protesters against the six-lane bypass that would destroy a large stretch of it at Newbury."
"Roadbuilding in this country is in evident crisis, and this particular road is a bad short-term answer to a tiny part of it. The Government knows that it costs too much money; and everybody else knows the cars, cars, cars' culture costs life, health, space, calm, natural resources and natural beauty. Some people know, and more should, that Railtrack is now having to buy back railway routes sold under the old Beeching cuts, to begin the necessary re-enlargement of our railway system."
"As to the protesters and obstructers at Newbury, they are expressing with passionate and often stylish vigour what is now absolutely required for the country's proper economic and technological development."
Tony Juniper, FOE's Habitats Campaigner, welcomed Lord Kennet's comments and said:
"The campaign against this road is gathering more and more momentum. People from all walks of life can see that the decision to build the Newbury bypass amounts to economic and environmental lunacy. The Government must reconsider its position before the construction contracts are signed."
NOTES TO EDITORS:[1] Lord Kennet was Parliamentary Secretary, Minister of Housing, and Local Government 1966-1970
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Sep 2008
