Rise Waters Rise! Campaigners stage New Year’s Day rain dance in Combe Haven

January 1, 2014 by combehavendefenders

Campaigners unfurl their umbrellas on the route of the Link Road.

Press release
1 January 2014
Combe Haven Defenders [1]

LINK ROAD CAMPAIGNERS STAGE NEW YEAR’S DAY “RAIN DANCE” IN COMBE HAVEN

1 January, Combe Haven: Campaigners against the Bexhill-Hastings Link Road (BHLR) have held a New Year’s Day “rain dance” in Combe Haven to “wash away the wickedness” of the environmentally-disastrous £113m project.

Over thirty people dressed in facepaint and animal masks braved high winds and heavy rain to stage the dance on the route of the road, before spelling out the words “Rise Waters Rise” using sixteen specially-painted umbrellas.

Andrea Needham, a spokesperson for the Combe Haven Defenders, said: “Today we’ve called upon the rain spirits to wash away the wickedness of this £113m white elephant road – a ‘low value’ [2] scheme that should never have been funded. More roads mean more traffic and and therefore more carbon emissions, contributing to the unfolding catastrophe of climate change. It is therefore highly appropriate for us to be calling on the weather to slow down those who are helping to destroy both our beautiful valley and our climate.”

The spirit of the newts in the car park at the Crowhurst Recreation Ground.

Campaigners are also calling on the Department for Transport not to carry over its £57m grant for the project into 2014 on the grounds that: (a) rising costs mean that the project is now “low value for money” [2]; and (b) East Sussex County Council’s failure to spend the grant in 2014 as planned contravenes the grant’s conditions [3].’

NOTES
[1] http://www.combehavendefenders.org.uk
[2] See https://combehavendefenders.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/rising-costs-mean-link-road-is-now-low-value-for-money/
[3] See p.166 of the 10 December 2013 ‘Council Monitoring Report’ where it is noted that ‘We will not be able to spend the DfT grant this year as planned. Although we have received verbal
reassurance that the grant will be carried over the risk remains that this contravenes the stated grant conditions.’ http://tinyurl.com/10decmonitoring