Combe Havenroad protestfilm released

Opponents of the Bexhill-Hastings Link Road have released a new film about the ongoing campaign against the project.
Haven protestHaven protest
Haven protest

The film features residents from Crowhurst and protestors, some of who are from the Rye area.

The 18-minute film, ‘Standing Our Ground’, has been made by St Leonards-based filmmaker Marta Lefler and claims to debunk many of the myths surrounding road building.

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It features footage from a wide variety of creative actions against the road, including January’s treetop direct action protests, the building of a 50m-long “dual carriageway” on the doorstep of George Osborne’s countryside retreat in Derbyshire and the now famous “Granny Tree” action .

It also includes interviews with environmental campaigner Sian Berry and residents of Bexhill, Crowhurst and Hastings, and breathtakingly beautiful footage from the Combe Haven valley.

The Bexhill Hastings Link Road is the first of over 200 new road projects that the Government, big business and local councils are pushing throughout England and Wales, including 76 bypasses, 56 widened roads, 48 link roads and 9 bridges and tunnels

Andrea Needham, a spokesperson for the Combe Haven Defenders, said: “Spending £113m on a road that is set to generate barely 500 local jobs – and won’t address our local transport problems - is clearly a colossal waste of public money.

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“It’s also just the tip of the iceberg: the government’s new national roadbuilding programme represents a massive threat to our countryside and our climate, as well as to the public purse.

“However, as this film makes clear, these disastrous schemes can – and will – be successfully resisted.”

The film can be viewed for free online at the Combe Haven Defenders web-site (www.combehavendefenders.org.uk) or on Vimeo

Last week the Observer reported concerns that the link road is affecting badgers.

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