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Newbury Bypass in exceptional hearing at the court of appeal
27 February 1996
NEWBURY BYPASS IN EXCEPTIONAL HEARING AT THE COURT OF APPEAL.
The campaign to stop the Newbury Bypass will be the subject of an exceptional double' hearing at the Court of Appeal today. In the action,being heard by a bench of three Law Lords, major conservation groups are lined up with protesters and Newbury residents in a bid to show that the compulsory purchase orders that under-pin the construction work are illegal. Given the number of judges involved, the hearing could determine the outcome of most future legal challenges to the bypass.
The protesters are attempting to prevent eviction from their camps by showing that the Highways Agency do not own the land that the camps stand on. Then, in the same hearing, conservation groups including WWF,the Council for the Protection of Rural England and the Wildlife Trusts, will be requesting judicial review of the compulsory purchase orders because an Environmental Impact Assessment [EIA] was not carried out as required by European Law.
The extremely unusual step of having three Law Lords sit on what is normally dealt with by one judge on a reading of the documents, is a reflection of the high importance placed on the issue by the Government.
The anti-bypass campaigners are being represented by two teams of lawyers from EarthRights (an environmental law and resources centre) and the Environmental Law Foundation ( ELF - a network of environmental lawyers)
The hearing starts at 10.30 a.m. at the High Court where there is expected to be a small peaceful demonstration outside from 10 a.m.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Sep 2008
