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Date: Wed, 29 Sep 1999 10:48:06 +0100
From: hogweed (heather@bannerheather.freeserve.co.uk)
Subject: eviction

update on Arthur's Wood eviction : Tuesday 28th September

A protester who had already been evicted / left the site returned during the night coming through the river and making it back up the trees. So much for security !!

The climbers have continued to take down treehouses and walkways and had put a safety net underneath the net that protesters were in. It is not clear this evening if there are still protesters in the net. There is only one treehouse left and there are now 6 or 7 people left in the trees. 2 people have been evicted at the end of today.

Today the tunnelling men in black dug under the tunnel going past the first door, to then come back towards the door where one of the tunnel occupants was locked on. They have now removed that person from the lock-on and he has been taken off site. In the coming days they will be continuing to dig, amid calls from camp supporters that they stop digging and wait for the other 3 to come out.

This afternoon the undersheriff was grilled by the press as to why they had not been allowed access to film the eviction instead being cooped up in a pen a quarter of a mile away. He was also asked by a green infiltrator to the press pen(!) why the safety officer appointed by the protesters had not been allowed on the site contrary to what had been agreed at the Safety meeting before the eviction began.

The undersherriff replied by saying that she had not asked to come on. This blatant lie prompted the appointed Safety Officer to call the chief Inspector who rang her back 5 minutes later with the news that the undersherriff now seemed have decided to keep his promise and allow her on site.

The siege mentality continues with no food being sent in to the tree-dwellers despite continuing requests from the safety officer.

Arthurs Wood is being damaged by the climbers and by the bailliffs even before they have started to fell trees. The climbers have been using spikes to climb trees that are not coming down.

Newly appointed Manchester Green Party Chair Vanessa Hall was today asking the question why are the National Trust failing to live up to the spirit of the licence granted to Manchester Airport, and the assurances given to the Court that every step of the way the National Trust would be controlling the cutting of trees and other work within their property at Arthur's Wood.

Miss Hall said: "Clear assurances were given that the work to be carried out at Arthur's Wood was to be done by contractors appointed by the National Trust, and that they would have a representative on site to supervise that work, yet we now see that trees are being climbed that are not included in the work schedule by climbers appointed by the Under Sheriff which are fitted with harmful spikes, thereby causing damage to trees that will be hard to cure."

The OLS, the licence and the assurances given to the Courts including the Court of Appeal are such that a clear obligation was put on the National Trust, that obligation has proved to be valueless, the National Trust must then step in and stop work until the damage being caused by the use of spikes is put an end to. In this respect the NT have many tools, the first of which is a revocation of the licence, the second is the occupation of the site, which would in effect prevent the Under Sheriff from proceeding, due to his obligation to evict the world, including those that are lawfully on the site, which obviously he cannot do, therefore he would have to hold off.

Miss Hall continued: "If the National Trust are as caring about this woodland as they say, then they will take immediate action to stop this mindless vandalism. They can no longer hide behind the shield of a body corporate, their part in this is clear, that part must be called to account."

It is likely that they will finish evicting from the trees in the next couple of days, as for the tunnel - who knows !

More news soon.

Camp dwellers have asked people to do National (mis)Trust actions, please contact me or pp3mo@aol.com for more info on the National Trust.

Likely to be an NT action in / from M'cr soon.
Watch this space,
Post eviction party somewhere in Manchester sunday or monday night,

Love
Purple
pixi@redbricks.org.uk
ICQ#50497685
0161 227 9014 / 0797 4803732
Seize the Day !


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