Green Momentum - Your Protest Starts Here » 2012 Olympics

Weymouth Relief Road: no relief at all

admin — Mon, 10 May 2010 07:28:56 +0000

We all know that the Weymouth Relief Road which is currently tearing through the Dorset heaths, coastal areas of outstanding natural beauty, sites of special scientific interest and irreplaceable ancient woodland once owned by the Woodland Trust, is no relief at all and is in truth a terrible idea.

So is there any hope that when we finally get a new government in place, they will learn from this nasty mistake and remember party promises to slash road budgets?

The message coming from national campaigns such as Campaign for Better Transport is loud and clear: “ignore the pet projects and outdated road schemes, and spend what little money we have fixing the roads we’ve already got.”

Whilst the maintenance Verses expansion argument is a compelling one, it appears it doesn’t win elections. Especially when faced with the prospect of an effective lobbying backlash from motoring lobby groups like the AA and the freight industry together with business interests such as the CBI and Regional Development Authorities, it’s not surprising that most politicians turn and run for the hills on this issue.

Obviously with the prospect of the 2012 Olympics tipping the scale, Weymouth’s areas of outstanding natural beauty didn’t stand a chance, but given the fractious economic climate any new government will inherit, then surely it makes sense to spend money on jobs and manpower to fix existing roads rather than machines and faceless contractors to build new ones people don’t want?

Cramming Everyone In…

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:29:30 +0000

The unrelenting driving force behind the Weymouth Relief Road project is the so-called Green 2012 Olympics. Despite campaigner’s insistence and the findings of independent research body Transport Research Laboratory, that the town’s infrastructure cannot cope with the huge expected influx of people and traffic to the area, it seems the government and local councils remain hell-bent on shoehorning everyone in somehow.

Work began late last year on identifying a site for the Olympic Sailing Village after plans for using an off-shore cruise ship were rejected. It is estimated that with the arrival of approximately 400 international athletes, around 500 to 600 bedrooms will be required to accommodate all the competitors and officials…

With 3,300 people already on the housing register in Weymouth and Portland local councils area hoping that any new developments will be turned into affordable homes for locals after the 2012 Olympics.

Government now imposes strict environmental standards upon new council building projects, including legislation on insulation, energy efficiency standards, double glazing and the use of sustainable materials. However taking into account government actions to date, it seems where the 2012 ‘Green’ Olympics are concerned, environmental interests fly well and truly out the window.

Irresponsible and Unacceptable

admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:50:22 +0000

Irresponsible and unacceptable – this was how environmentalist Rebecca Lush described the building of the Weymouth Relief Road which got underway last year. The views of thousands of environmental protestors and locals were ignored, irrevocably scarring an area of natural beauty and dramatically increasing traffic, congestion and Co2 levels in the area. Even the incredible discovery of an ancient Roman burial site during clearance work, did nothing to slow the destruction process…

For more pictures and information visit the Bypass The Bypass website where you can also register your support and/or make a donation.

Green Homes For Portland

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:29:57 +0000

Not only can Portland boast hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic sailing events, but also in September of this year work will commence to create an eco-friendly, low carbon community.

This new development will be sited at the former Royal Navy Air Station’s Osprey Quay. The 77 new homes promise to reduce carbon emissions by more than half compared with conventional properties.

Features will include wood pellet boilers, rainwater harvesting systems, solar water heating and solar panels to generate electricity. In addition to this residents will have the opportunity to pay for access to an electric smart car which will be kept on site.

The developers are expecting the work to take two years to complete. Let’s hope it is successful and the first of many!