THE LAND IS YOURS

Are you ready to take radical action to change this planet?
If you are up for living free and responsibly in the urban jungle, This Blog will cover all aspects of setting up and maintaining a low-impact, sustainable community EG: spotting derelict land, building structures, compost toilets, growing food and alternative energy sources.

please email any ideas or project which you feel are relevant to this blog but most importantly If you spot some derelict land in your area take some photos of it do a bit of research (if you can) and send the info to growyourownvillage@yahoo.co.uk we will be building up a database of sites but we need your help. At Kew Bridge Eco Village we have a court case on the 7th May 2010 we are optomistic but any pieces of green disused land that you know of in London or around the country then email them in !

Location: 24 Kew Bridge Rd, Brentford.
Directions: the entrance is next to the Wagon and Horses pub. The nearest over ground train station is Kew Bridge (trains from Waterloo). Nearest tube is Gunnersbury (District Line). Buses from Hammersmith (237&267).

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Site phone: 07967 864 370

Thursday 29 April 2010

GROW HEATHROW



Back on the 1st of March, community activists from the group Transition Heathrow [1] moved into an abandoned market garden in Sipson. [2] Around lunchtime, about 20 people "swooped" [3] on the land in Sipson, one of the villages due for demolition if the third runway at Heathrow goes ahead. [4] After securing the site, the group immediately informed their new neighbours and local residents of their intention to reopen the old market garden for the benefit of the local community.

The 'Grow Heathrow' project aims to encourage and support locally grown produce in an area that once had some of the most fertile soils in Britain. Transition Heathrow has launched the project to highlight the need for a community controlled food supply in order to remain resilient to the impacts of peak oil and climate change. It intends to use the old market garden not only for growing, but also for activities such as bike workshops, clothes making, solidarity support for local workers and direct action workshops for people trying to stop the third runway.

Transition Heathrow member and local resident Joe Rake, described the events of the day. "Around lunchtime, a group of us walked onto the site. Once we had secured the gate, we set about telling local residents why we were there and inviting them to join in. We also had to start tidying up as it appeared to have been used for scrapping cars. Since the last tenants were evicted, the site has attracted unsavoury characters, so we wanted to restart the market garden for the good of the local community."

Many of those involved in the 'swoop' see today's action as a positive way of resisting the third runway whilst building an alternative community solution in its place.

Heathrow resident Amy Summer said "We've been fighting the threat of the third runway for years, and its blighted our community. This kind of action not only helps stop expansion but also helps regenerate the area, providing local skills, green jobs and organic produce instead."

She added, "This form of direct action is just as important as sitting on a runway, blockading the bulldozers or striking for more green jobs. There's no point in growing your own veg if it's going to be covered in tarmac by BAA. At the same time there's no point in community resistance if there's no community left to defend. We have to do both."

1 comment:

  1. Good for them, we need more people like this, people willing to take a stand and do more for their local communities.

    ReplyDelete