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From: "SACKS,RAY E." (SACKSRE@apci.com)
Subject: Crystal Palace Campaign
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 08:23:01 -0500

CRYSTAL PALACE CAMPAIGN

National Anti-UCI action day - 26th February 2000 - 3pm to 6pm

We need your help to save our Park at Crystal Palace and, incidentally, help to prevent all Parks from potentially suffering the fate we face.

For more than two and a half years the Crystal Palace Campaign, which is an organisation consisting mainly of local residents and traders, has been fighting to prevent a huge commercial development in our Grade II* listed park on Metropolitan Open Land (the urban equivalent of Green Belt Land) and adjoining a conservation area. Crystal Palace Park is at the highest point in south London and was home to Joseph Paxton's famous Crystal Palace from 1852 until 1936.

The Local authority, Bromley Council, has brought in developers to create a new building - a £58 million, 12 acre scheme with a roof top car park for 950 cars. It would house an 18 cinema screen multiplex, nine large restaurants and various (undefined) "leisure boxes". The building has been described as an airport terminal look-alike by the local press. It would destroy the wooded ridge of the hill, destroy the views and dominate the Victorian Park. It would be a floodlit edifice the size of two football stadiums and could be seen from as far away as Hampstead in the north.

Since the council has already granted planning permission we are putting pressure on the prospective tenants UCI Cinemas. The miltiplex is not needed and not wanted by most of the local people - a 20,000 signature petition supports our claim. For nine months local groups have demonstrated against UCI twice weekly outside their Leicester Square and Surrey Quays cinemas in London. Recently the management has removed the UCI logo from the facades in an attempt at damage limitation.

NOW WE PLAN a National anti-UCI day at all of their cinemas in the UK on Saturday 26th February 2000 - from 3pm to 6pm. Will you join us in a legal and peaceful demonstration and help People-Power overcome commercial greed?

If you would be willing to join a demonstration at one of the venues, or would like to find out more please take a look at our website www.crystal.dircon.co.uk which contains a form, more details, venue addresses
and/or contact Lorna English at 0171 - 274 7566 or at lorna@burbage.u-net.com

Summary of venue list:

ENGLAND

Basildon: Essex. - Bracknell: Berks. - Derby Meteor Centre: Derby - Dudley: Dudley, West Midlands - Gateshead: Tyne & Wear - Hatfield: Herts. - Huddersfield: W.Yorks - Hull: Humberside - High Wycombe: Bucks. - London Lee Valley: Picketts Lock Lane N9 0AS - London Plaza: Regent Street - London Surrey Quays: - London Leicester Square: (Empire) - Milton Keynes: Bucks. - Norwich: Norfolk - Poole: Dorset. - Portsmouth: Hampshire - Preston: Lancs. - Sheffield: S. Yorks. - Silverlink: Newcastle-on-Tyne - Solihull: W. Midlands - Sutton: Surrey - Tamworth: Staffs. - Telford:Shropshire - Trafford: Cheshire, Foregate - Warrington: Lancs. - West Thurrock: Kent.

WALES

Cardiff: Hemmingway Road, Cardiff - Swansea: Parc Tawe, Swansea

SCOTLAND

Clydebank: - East Kilbride: Glasgow - Edinburgh:

IRELAND

Coolock: Dublin - Blanchardstown - Tallaght

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Please forward this note to people and groups you may think would be willing to help.
We thank you in advance for your help and hope to see you at one or other of the UCI cinemas.
Webmaster, Crystal Palace Campaign
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