Archived press release
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NEWBURY SNAIL: HIGH COURT HEARING
18 June 1996
The court hearing to protect the Desmoulin's Whorl Snail on the route of the Newbury bypass will take place on Tuesday afternoon (18 June) "not before 2 pm" in front of Mr Justice Sedley in open Court [Court 28]. The case is being brought by a coalition of local people and local, national and international environmental organisations. They believe the Government has failed in its obligations under the European Habitats Directive to propose parts of the Newbury bypass as Special Areas of Conservation and to carry out an appropriate assessment of the road's impact on the snail and its habitat.
The coalition will ask the judge to permit a judicial review against the Secretaries of State for the Environment and Transport following the decision to proceed with the road by awarding the construction contract to Costains. If a judicial review is allowed it is expected to take place at a later date. An injunction, stopping work on the bypass pending the outcome of the judicial review, may also be sought at tomorrow's hearing.
The coalition members are BBONT (The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Naturalist's Trust), Friends of the Earth, The Wildlife Trusts.World Wide Fund for Nature-UK and Mr Richard and Mrs Janet Stephens.
Representatives of the coalition attending the hearing are:
Clive Faulkner, BBONT/Wildlife Trusts
Matt Phillips, Friends of the Earth
Chris Tydeman, WWF-UK
If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.
Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Sep 2008
