Greenpeace purchases land earmarked for Heathrow expansion.

Run_to_da_hills

Environmentalist campaigners fighting the expansion of London's Heathrow airport opened a new front on Tuesday when they announced they had bought land earmarked for the construction of a third runway.

High profile celebrities including Oscar winning actress Emma Thompson is among those involved in the purchase, which environmental group Greenpeace said threw a "massive spanner" into the nine-billion-pound expansion plan.

They said they would fight any attempts to buy the land by compulsory purchase, and Thompson added: "We'll stop this from happening even if we have to move in and plant vegetables."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7825169.stm

Alun

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

They said they would fight any attempts to buy the land by compulsory purchase, and Thompson added: "We'll stop this from happening even if we have to move in and plant vegetables."

What bit of the word "compulsory" in compulsory purchase don't they understand exactly?

Run_to_da_hills

Alun wrote: »

What bit of the word "compulsory" in compulsory purchase don't they understand exactly?

At least they can't be done for protesting on their own land.

robtri

A bit rich from your one Emma... considering all the travel she has done in her career......

but I am sure the Uk government is crapping themselves, they might plant vegtables there!!!!!!!!!!!!

humanji

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

At least they can't be done for protesting on their own land.

But when the compulsory purchase order comes through they won't own it any more. I do like the fact that their biggest threat is to grow vegetables, though. That made me smile.

Run_to_da_hills

humanji wrote: »

But when the compulsory purchase order comes through they won't own it any more. I do like the fact that their biggest threat is to grow vegetables, though. That made me smile.

The planning process will take time. In the meantime they could always grow some fast growing coniferous trees and hug them when the time comes .

Húrin

humanji wrote: »

But when the compulsory purchase order comes through they won't own it any more. I do like the fact that their biggest threat is to grow vegetables, though. That made me smile.

Surely the tactics of ecoterrorism.

Run_to_da_hills

Looks like it will be more than Greenpeace that will be opposing the Heathrow expansion. The Battle is just about to start.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jan/16/heathrow-third-runway-sipson

humanji

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

The planning process will take time. In the meantime they could always grow some fast growing coniferous trees and hug them when the time comes .

lol

CtrlSource

Saw on the news earlier that one of the main justifications BAA is using is the "competition from other airports" line. Yeah, so my company has some competition from a few other companies and therefore i'm going to ask the government to bulldoze your villages so that i can get richer :rolleyes:

Oh and the Great British economy... blah blah

sarahirl

i read into it that it won't halt the expansion, although that would be nice, but that it will delay the process as the land will be split between hundreds of people all of which the uk government will have to negotiate with/draw up hundreds of legal contracts. great idea!! if the management of heathrow airport actually looked at making heathrow more efficient there would probably be no need for the expansion. have you ever sat at the end of the 'rat tunnel' in heathrow and hear all the flights to dublin (10 a day or something by aer lingus). if they made sure each plane left full it would be an interesting experiment.

PeakOutput

sarahirl wrote: »

all of which the uk government will have to negotiate with/draw up hundreds of legal contracts.

is the idea of a compulsory purchase order not that it stops all that. a price per acre or whatever is arrived at or a price for a 3 bed 4 bed or 5 bed house on the land is arrived at and then the court rules everyone has to sell. they dont get to negotiate individually or anywhere near it as far as i know

DarkJager

Maybe they can just tarmac over the hippies?

Húrin

It's a gesture that gets a lot of publicity, but thousands of people own land in Sipson and most of them are opposing this runway.

sarahirl

oh yeah i get that the clue's in the title - compulsory purchase - but as far i'm aware that doesn't mean that the Government send you a letter, quote you a price n kick you out all in the same week. especially in ireland where most things to do with planning are so drawn out and complicated you can argue that the price quoted in unfair/unrealistic and so on and so forth...