List of road protests in the UK and Ireland
Encyclopedia
This article lists individual current and past Road protests in the United Kingdom and in Ireland.
wishes to increase capacity on the busy section of the A14 between Ellington and Fen Ditton. to reduce congestion and improve safety
The Offords A14 Action Group formed to oppose the proposed route (the Orange route) for the scheme, favouring the Brown route which would have taken the new road further away from their villages. Cambridgeshire County Council
have backed the scheme, and there is reported to be widespread support within the local communities for the plans.
) to tackle congestions problems in Mottram
, Hollingworth
, and Tintwistle
. and residents of these villages have campaigned for a bypass since the 1970s. Four groups: the Save Swallows Wood campaign, the Friends of the Peak District, the Council for the National Parks, and South Yorkshire group WAIT oppose the scheme, which will pass through the Peak District National Park, and the Swallows Wood
nature reserve. In December 2007 the inquiry was adjourned for the fourth time at the request of the Highways Agency who requested time to adjust their correct their traffic modelling, the inspector commented that it was the fifth iteration of the traffic model since the original announcement in February 2006..
to be built around Boston
, Lincolnshire
, took control of Boston Borough Council
, wiping out the Labour Party
majority.
have planned for some time to extend the M74 by five miles to link it to the M8.. The M74 Extension, also known as 'M74 Completion' and 'M74 Northern Extension', will extend the M74 northwards by 5 miles (8 km) through the south-eastern suburbs of Dalmarnock
, Polmadie
, Rutherglen, Govanhill
and parts of the Gorbals
to meet the M8 near the Kingston Bridge
in Glasgow on an elevated embankment. The required land was purchased and the road is currently under construction with a completion date of June 2011 at a cost of £445 million. The Scottish Executive report that the scheme will lead to a wealthier and fairer, healthier, safer and stronger, and greener future. However, JAM74, a coalition of community, environmental and sustainable transport groups, believe the scheme will be detrimental.
In May 2003, the Green and Socialist MSPs joined local campaigners in their fight to stop the project. A public inquiry
for the scheme ran from December 2003 until March 2004 and the report, not published until March 2005 recommended against the building of the road, saying that it would "be very likely to have very serious undesirable results". The transport secretary at the time Nicol Stephen
simultaneously announced that insufficient weight had been given to the economic benefits that the scheme would bring and that they would proceed with the scheme and Friends of the Earth Scotland
said that it was "probably the worst environmental decision ever taken by the Scottish Executive" and that they would challenge the decision in court but then withdrew it in June 2006 on legal advice. In September 2004, the EU ruled that land on which the road was to be built should be classified as hazardous due to chromium dumps buried underground.
and Norwich International Airport
to the A47
which is attracting opposition from both local and national groups.
/Priory Crescent in Southend in a dual carriageway.
The Camp Bling
protest camp was established in 2005
and was still active in October 2008 and intending to stay in place until the road is scrapped.
At a meeting with the council in April 2009 the authority told the protesters that the road widening scheme had been abandoned and the protesters agreed to leave.
and Moulton
to made a top priority. This call followed another fatal collision on the A151 road
in Moulton. Measures which have already been taken on the road, including lower speed limit
s and speed cameras, haven't stopped the increasing death toll. The current campaign to have a bypass built started in 2002. In June 2004 the campaign group WRATH (Whaplode Residents Against Traffic Horror) was launched to lobby for the bypass. In January 2005 WRATH submitted a proposed route for the bypass to Lincolnshire County Council. In July 2007, WRATH organised a three-mile (5 km) protest march through the villages to publicise their campaign. A Lincolnshire county councillor was reported to have said that there were twenty one other villages in Lincolnshire saying they had a need for a bypass.
ancient monument.
was now open. The report went on to quote a Transport Minister
as saying "The Temple Sowerby bypass will make a significant difference to the community. It will remove through traffic, noise and pollution and breathe new life into the village." The bypass aims to reduce traffic in the village by 95%. Locals had been calling for a bypass since the 1960s. In 1974 the government announced plans to build one, but these were abandoned in 1983. This was followed by years of increasingly vocal protests.
A14 Ellington to Fen Ditton
The Highways AgencyHighways Agency
The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in England. It has responsibility for managing the core road network in England...
wishes to increase capacity on the busy section of the A14 between Ellington and Fen Ditton. to reduce congestion and improve safety
The Offords A14 Action Group formed to oppose the proposed route (the Orange route) for the scheme, favouring the Brown route which would have taken the new road further away from their villages. Cambridgeshire County Council
Cambridgeshire County Council
Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council currently consists of 69 councillors, representing 60 electoral divisions. The Conservative Party has a majority on the council, having gained control in the 1997 local elections...
have backed the scheme, and there is reported to be widespread support within the local communities for the plans.
A514 Swarkestone Causeway protest
During 2009 a protest group campaigning for a new swarkestone causeway was set up.A57/A628 Mottram in Longdendale, Hollingworth and Tintwistle Bypass
The Highways Agency (HA) have planned to provide a section of bypass (also known as the Longdendale BypassLongdendale Bypass
The Longdendale Bypass was a controversial road scheme in England by the Highways Agency. The aim was to alleviate traffic congestion on the A57 road/A628 road/A616 road routes that presently pass through the villages...
) to tackle congestions problems in Mottram
Mottram in Longdendale
Mottram in Longdendale is an unparished village within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in the valley of Longdendale, on the border with Derbyshire and close to the Peak District neighbouring Broadbottom and Hattersley. Mottram in Longdendale Parish was...
, Hollingworth
Hollingworth
Hollingworth is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is about twelve miles east of Manchester on the Derbyshire border at Glossop...
, and Tintwistle
Tintwistle
Tintwistle is a village and civil parish in the High Peak district of the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,401. The village is just north of Glossop at the lower end of Longdendale Valley...
. and residents of these villages have campaigned for a bypass since the 1970s. Four groups: the Save Swallows Wood campaign, the Friends of the Peak District, the Council for the National Parks, and South Yorkshire group WAIT oppose the scheme, which will pass through the Peak District National Park, and the Swallows Wood
Swallows Wood
Swallows Wood is a nature reserve near Hollingworth, north Derbyshire. The reserve, which contains semi-natural woodlands, meadows, ponds and marsh areas, is owned by United Utilities who are responsible for its management...
nature reserve. In December 2007 the inquiry was adjourned for the fourth time at the request of the Highways Agency who requested time to adjust their correct their traffic modelling, the inspector commented that it was the fifth iteration of the traffic model since the original announcement in February 2006..
Boston Bypass
In May 2007 a single-issue political party, the Independent Bypass Group, campaigning for a bypassBypass (road)
A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....
to be built around Boston
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, took control of Boston Borough Council
Boston (borough)
Boston is a local government district with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Boston. It lies around N53°0'0" W0°0'0"....
, wiping out the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
majority.
M74 Extension
Transport ScotlandTransport Scotland
Transport Scotland was created on 1 January 2006 as the national transport agency of Scotland. It is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government's Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department and accountable to Scottish Ministers...
have planned for some time to extend the M74 by five miles to link it to the M8.. The M74 Extension, also known as 'M74 Completion' and 'M74 Northern Extension', will extend the M74 northwards by 5 miles (8 km) through the south-eastern suburbs of Dalmarnock
Dalmarnock
Dalmarnock is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde. It is bounded by the Clyde to the south and east, Parkhead to the north, and Bridgeton at Dunn Street to the north west...
, Polmadie
Polmadie
Polmadie is a district of Glasgow, a city in Scotland. Polmadie is situated south of the River Clyde, and adjacent to the Gorbals....
, Rutherglen, Govanhill
Govanhill
Govanhill is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde between the Gorbals, Mount Florida and Queen's Park...
and parts of the Gorbals
Gorbals
The Gorbals is an area on the south bank of the River Clyde in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. By the late 19th century, it had become over-populated and adversely affected by local industrialisation. Many people lived here because their jobs provided this home and they could not afford their own...
to meet the M8 near the Kingston Bridge
Kingston Bridge, Glasgow
The Kingston Bridge is a balanced cantilever dual-span ten lane road bridge made of triple-cell segmented prestressed concrete box girders crossing the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. The largest urban bridge in the United Kingdom, it carries the M8 motorway through the city centre...
in Glasgow on an elevated embankment. The required land was purchased and the road is currently under construction with a completion date of June 2011 at a cost of £445 million. The Scottish Executive report that the scheme will lead to a wealthier and fairer, healthier, safer and stronger, and greener future. However, JAM74, a coalition of community, environmental and sustainable transport groups, believe the scheme will be detrimental.
In May 2003, the Green and Socialist MSPs joined local campaigners in their fight to stop the project. A public inquiry
Public inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
for the scheme ran from December 2003 until March 2004 and the report, not published until March 2005 recommended against the building of the road, saying that it would "be very likely to have very serious undesirable results". The transport secretary at the time Nicol Stephen
Nicol Stephen
Nicol Ross Stephen, Baron Stephen of Lower Deeside in the City of Aberdeen is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Aberdeen South, and was leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2005 to 2008...
simultaneously announced that insufficient weight had been given to the economic benefits that the scheme would bring and that they would proceed with the scheme and Friends of the Earth Scotland
Friends of the Earth Scotland
Friends of the Earth Scotland is an independent member of the Friends of the Earth international network of environmental organizations, and operates separately from Friends of the Earth in England, Wales and Northern Ireland . There is no single Friends of the Earth .Since 2011, Stan Blackley has...
said that it was "probably the worst environmental decision ever taken by the Scottish Executive" and that they would challenge the decision in court but then withdrew it in June 2006 on legal advice. In September 2004, the EU ruled that land on which the road was to be built should be classified as hazardous due to chromium dumps buried underground.
Norwich Northern Distributor Road
A controversial road scheme to the north of Norwich linking the A1067 roadA1067 road
The A1067 is an English A road entirely in the county of Norfolk. It runs from Fakenham Northern By-Pass to Norwich inner ring road .-A47 to A1067 Link Road:...
and Norwich International Airport
Norwich International Airport
Norwich International Airport , also known as Norwich Airport, is an airport in the City of Norwich within Norfolk, England north of the city centre and on the edge of the city's suburbs....
to the A47
A47 road
The A47 is a trunk road in England originally linking Birmingham to Great Yarmouth. Most of the section between Birmingham and Nuneaton is now classified as the B4114.-Route:...
which is attracting opposition from both local and national groups.
Priory Park, Southend
Southend Borough Council wishes to build road to upgrade A1159A1159 road
The A1159 road is a short road skirting the north of Southend-on-Sea from Prittlewell to Southchurch, in Essex, England.-A127/A1159 Cuckoo Corner & Priory Crescent:...
/Priory Crescent in Southend in a dual carriageway.
The Camp Bling
Camp Bling
Camp Bling, the long running UK based road protest camp was set up in Southend-on-Sea in Essex during September 2005 to obstruct a £25m plan to widen the Priory Crescent section of the A1159 road over the Royal Saxon tomb in Prittlewell...
protest camp was established in 2005
and was still active in October 2008 and intending to stay in place until the road is scrapped.
At a meeting with the council in April 2009 the authority told the protesters that the road widening scheme had been abandoned and the protesters agreed to leave.
Whaplode and Moulton bypass
In May 2007 the Spalding Guardian reported again that campaigners were calling for a bypass around the Lincolnshire villages of WhaplodeWhaplode
Whaplode is a parish in South Holland District, Lincolnshire, England, just west of the Prime Meridian.-Geography:In old documents, it is sometimes called Whapload. The main village lies on the marine silt ridge, known as the Townlands, which rises between the former salt marsh and the former fen...
and Moulton
Moulton, Lincolnshire
Moulton is the primary village of an extensive Fenland parish, over in length, and encompassing the smaller hamlets/villages of Moulton Chapel, Moulton Seas End and Moulton Eaugate....
to made a top priority. This call followed another fatal collision on the A151 road
A151 road
The A151 road is relatively minor part of the British road system. It lies entirely in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Its western end lies at coordinates otherwise, 1...
in Moulton. Measures which have already been taken on the road, including lower speed limit
Speed limit
Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
s and speed cameras, haven't stopped the increasing death toll. The current campaign to have a bypass built started in 2002. In June 2004 the campaign group WRATH (Whaplode Residents Against Traffic Horror) was launched to lobby for the bypass. In January 2005 WRATH submitted a proposed route for the bypass to Lincolnshire County Council. In July 2007, WRATH organised a three-mile (5 km) protest march through the villages to publicise their campaign. A Lincolnshire county councillor was reported to have said that there were twenty one other villages in Lincolnshire saying they had a need for a bypass.
Others
Other active protests include the ones against the following schemes: The South Bristol Link Road, Weymouth Relief Road, Bilston Glen http://www.bilstonglen-abs.org.uk, M6 widening, Bexhill to Hastings Link Road, Heysham to M6 Link, Kingskerswell Bypass, M1 Widening, Aberdeen Bypass, and the Westbury Bypass. In Ireland there is a protest opposed to bypassing the town of Slane with a new N2 dual carriageway which will pass a few kilometres from the NewgrangeNewgrange
Newgrange is a prehistoric monument located in County Meath, on the eastern side of Ireland, about one kilometre north of the River Boyne. It was built around 3200 BC , during the Neolithic period...
ancient monument.
1950-1979
1979-1997
1997- the present day
A66 Temple Sowerby bypass
It was reported in October 2007, that this bypass around Temple SowerbyTemple Sowerby
Temple Sowerby is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, northern England. It is close to the main east–west A66 road about east of Penrith in the Eden Valley....
was now open. The report went on to quote a Transport Minister
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
as saying "The Temple Sowerby bypass will make a significant difference to the community. It will remove through traffic, noise and pollution and breathe new life into the village." The bypass aims to reduce traffic in the village by 95%. Locals had been calling for a bypass since the 1960s. In 1974 the government announced plans to build one, but these were abandoned in 1983. This was followed by years of increasingly vocal protests.