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Protest march - Saturday 7th June
The mood was good humoured but resolute in condemnation of the plans to destroy over 640 acres of Grade 1 agricultural land and replace it with 5000 houses, thus merging the villages of Ford, Yapton and Climping into one giant concrete conurbation after hundreds of years of individual character. It’s not that we don’t like our neighbours (protestors came together from all the local villages and towns within a 7 mile radius) but we treasure the ‘personality’ of our own distinctive community and appreciate that of others. We don’t want to become another faceless ‘New Town’ hiding behind an increasingly torn and tatty eco label.
Messages of support were read out from Duncan Goodhew, Nigel Farage (MEP) and Caroline Lucas (MEP). Also lending her support was the Duchess of Norfolk who, with the other VIPs, led the March along the public footpaths that cross the proposed site, currently fields of wheat, barley and peas. Young and old, short and tall, thin and fat, four legs and two – we covered the 2 mile route, appreciating the beautiful South Downs and wondering whose back yard (literally!) we’d be walking through if the proposal goes ahead. T-shirts, home-made banners, balloons, even decorated dog-collars were used to reinforce our message to the Government and in particular to Caroline Flint the Minister for Housing…..”This isn’t an eco-town it’s an eco-con!” South Today and Meridian TV covered the March as their lead story on Saturday evening. Local radio stations including Southern Counties Radio also reported on it as did BBC Radio 4, The Sunday Telegraph, Daily Telegraph and The Argus. The March highlighted the strength of local feeling and the high level of resistance to the Government’s attempt to impose their will on the local community without the least understanding of the issues we face on a daily basis.
Speaking for myself, and I’m sure for everyone in CAFÉ, I was intensely
proud of our community - it’s time to listen Gordon! |
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They
say that “the sun shines on the righteous” and it was certainly true on
Saturday 7th June when approximately 2000 of us turned out to
take part in a protest march against the proposals for an eco-town at Ford.
We
listened to speeches from Terry Knott, Chairman of CAFÉ, Ben Fogle, TV
Personality and Presenter who spent part of his childhood in Ford, Nick Gibb
MP for Bognor Regis & Littlehampton and Nick Herbert MP for Arundel and
South Downs.