News Release

30th June 2008

CURBOROUGH PROTESTERS AT PARLIAMENT

Around 30 eco town protesters from Curborough, Fradley and Lichfield joined protesters from other proposed eco town locations at a rally at Parliament on Monday 30th June. The protesters first assembled at 11.30am at Abingdon Green opposite the House of Lords and then, at 1pm, attended a Meeting of all eco-town protesters in a Committee Room of the House of Commons. Just under 300 protesters packed the seats and sat in the aisles of Committee Room 14. A petition was then handed in to 10 Downing Street and later two representatives from FACT (Fradley Against Curborough Town) met Housing Minister, Caroline Flint.

"If Caroline Flint had any doubt about the strength of feeling against her proposed locations for eco-towns, she won't have now" says Michael Fabricant. "In the packed Committee Room, Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps told the audience that we do need extra homes and more affordable housing. But the Government's eco towns are environmentally unfriendly and he said that it should be local elected people who decide where housing developments should be constructed not an ever centralising Government. I explained to the meeting that Lichfield District Council has made a formal complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority against the Department of Communities and Local Government for making factual mistakes in an advertisement promoting the Curborough Development and that the Government's own eco-town Panel had criticised the Curborough proposals for being eco-unfriendly and just a rehash of previous planning applications. The audience were united in opposing these developments.

"The Government claims it is consulting. It is time they react and announce that the Curborough development will not proceed" adds Michael. "We do not have the infrastructure or road capacity to support such a huge development on the outskirts of Lichfield."

The photos show protesters outside Houses of Parliament and in the House of Commons Committee Room. On the top table in the Committee Room are, left to right, John Maples MP, Geoffrey Clifton Brown MP, Edward Garnier MP, Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps MP, Michael Fabricant MP, Nadine Dorries MP, and Nick Herbert MP.