Press Release
Campaign Against Stevenage Expansion Mid and North Herts Friends of the Earth

Don't Let them Make a Monkey Out of you, Mr. Prescott!

Next Tuesday Lunchtime (23rd February 1999 at 12.00pm), members of CASE (Campaign Against Stevenage Expansion) and Mid and North Herts Friends of the Earth will be holding a demonstration outside the entrance of the Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions, Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1.

Three Protestors will be dressed as Monkeys and will be handing out bannanas to staff going in and out of Eland house. Other supporters will hand out leaflets explaining why the demonstration is being held.

The purpose of the demonstration will be to highlight the way in which both Herts County Council and Stevenage Borough Council have mislead the Deputy Prime minister John Prescott about plans to build 10,000 houses in the Green Belt west of Stevenage and thus gained his approval. The councils have mislead Mr. Prescott into believing that the development will be 'sustainable' and that the town of Stevenage will be enhanced by this plan.

Local Resident Terry Figg (Friends of the Earth Campaigner and CASE member) said: " I am appalled by the way in which Stevenage Council wants to expand the town. For what purpose is this being done, other than to satisfy the egos of a few councilors? It will not help with jobs, or homes for local people, the extra cars will clog up our roads and our precious greenbelt countryside will be destroyed forever. How can this be called sustainable?"

The same evening Peter Lilly, local MP (and deputy opposition leader) will present a petition to North Hertfordshire District Council calling on them to hold a referendum on the plans to build 10,000 houses in Green Belt west of Stevenage.

The petition was signed by 7,300 local people and calls for any new housing in the green belt to be limited by environmental and traffic constraints.

CASE supporters want the arbitrary figure of 10,000 houses to rejected by North Herts District Council and a proper independent environmental assessment carried out. Local resident John Urwin, who helped organize the petition said: "The idea is to involve local people more directly in their democracy as currently many feel that they are too easily ignored."

CASE is calling on its supporters to assemble outside the council offices in Gernon Rd Letchworth Hertfordhsire next Tuesday 23rd February and 7.30pm. John Urwin added "All we are doing is taking a lead from the governments White Paper on Reforming Local Government which supports the idea of local referendums. "