Easter land occupation - Pembrokeshire

Mon Mar 22 20:17:41 GMT 2004

The Land Is Ours and Chapter7 invite you to a

Land Occupation and
Low Impact Dwelling Convention
in Pembrokeshire National Park

Easter Weekend 8 -13 April

TONY WRENCH¹S
ROUNDHOUSE
MUST NOT BE DEMOLISHED

Tony Wrench of Brithdir Mawr has been ordered to pull his turf-roofed round=
house down by Pembrokeshire National Park Planning authority. After paying £=
1000 of fines, he is planning to take it down over Easter.
His eco-house is a national treasure, a historic relic and an inspiration t=
o thousands of other people. It must be preserved.
Meanwhile, in a gobsmackingly blatant display of double standards, the Park=
¹s planning committee have given outline permission to Alfred McAlpine to er=
ect 350 holiday chalets imported from Estonia and 60 holiday flats at his ³B=
luestones² site in the Park.
You are invited to join our Easter protest camp in the Park, to persuade To=
ny to change his mind and the planners to change their policies.

THIS WILL BE A GOOD-HUMOURED, FLUFFY EVENT  RADICAL ARCHITECTURAL THEATRE,=
 IN THE TRADITION OF ³PURE GENIUS², 
WANDSWORTH 1996

EVENTS WILL INCLUDE:
 Construction of another turf-roofed roundhouse in the National Park.
 The first Ideal Low Impact Home Exhibition (see overleaf).
 March with local people in a march to the gates of Brithdir Mawr (no furt=
her), with signs saying ³TONY, PLEASE DON¹T DO IT,² musical incantations and=
 magic spells designed to incapacitate reluctant demolition workers. Saturda=
y 10 April.
 Join local people in a protest at the Planning Offices at Haverfordwest o=
n Tuesday 13 April.
 Actions to expose and ridicule the Bluestones site.
 A collection to help Tony and the folks at Brithdir Mawr pay off any futu=
re fines, which we will present to Tony on Saturday.
 Talks, discussions, workshops, music, and a holiday atmosphere.

Planning Hypocrisy

REFUSED: Tony Wrench¹s turf-roofed ecohouse on the farm where he and his pa=
rtner Jane Faith tend woodlands, keep goats and grow vegetables. The house w=
as only discovered after two years when a survey plane spotted the reflectio=
n of a solar panel. Recently, 30,000 people e-mailed BBC¹s Open Country to s=
ay that it should not be demolished.
ALLOWED: The Bluestones enclave of 340 imported wooden chalets, plus a ³tra=
ditional² village of 60 studio flats, only accessible to paying guests. The =
Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales have described it as a ³new settl=
ement of up to 2000 residents and 5,000 day visitors . . . The permanent dwe=
llings would take up nearly all of one year¹s allocation for new housing in =
the Park² . 

A CAMP WILL BE SET UP AT AN AS YET UNDISCLOSED LOCATION IN THE PEMBROKESHIR=
E COAST NATIONAL PARK 
(NOT ON BRITHDIR MAWR LAND).

The folks at nearby Glaneirw housing co-op have generously allowed us to us=
e their land as an assembly point, before we move onto one of a number of su=
itable sites we have identified in the Park. There is a field to park and ca=
mp in and a large room we can use for meetings. Please arrive on Thursday af=
ternoon/ evening, if possible before 8 pm, or else on Friday morning. If you=
 arrive late, directions will be left at Glaneirw; if you plan to come later=
, you can phone any of the numbers below to find out where we are.
Glaneirw is about 6 miles north-east of Cardigan, on the A 478, between Bla=
enporth and Tan-y-Groes. If you are coming from Cardigan, it is on the right=
, 100 yards before the junction with the B4333 going to Newcastle Emlyn (the=
 north-easternmost junction; beware! the B4333 crosses the A 478 twice). If =
you need information about public transport, or any other matter, please giv=
e us a ring.

IDEAL LOW IMPACT HOME EXPO

One of the objects of this gathering is to show that, in the face of soarin=
g house prices, many of us are capable of housing ourselves cheaply and sust=
ainably, provided there is access to land and planning permission. Obviously=
 there are limits to what can be erected overnight or in a couple of days; b=
ut if you can bring and erect a temporary low impact structure however small=
 or big, please do. Yurts, tipis, domes, benders, painted pig-arks etc are a=
ll welcome; if you haven¹t anything else, you will at least 
need to bring a nylon tent.
Please do not expect to dig up the National Park for turf, or dismember its=
 trees for timber. You may have to lug everything 100 yards or so on foot. I=
f you want to know where to get hold of materials nearby (eg straw bales, tu=
rf etc), or have any good ideas or problems, give us a ring, we may be able =
to help.
As at Wandsworth, we intend to make this site open to the public to visit. =
Do bring photos and display boards of anything you have built or created els=
ewhere. 

COME PREPARED  PLEASE BRING:

 banner making material, paints, decorative effects  acoustic musical ins=
truments 
 cooking equipment, water container and good supplies of food and drink (w=
e will provide a communal kitchen area, but it is Easter and you could be so=
me way from a supermarket)
 warm clothes and boots;  torches or lamps.

WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU . . . 

*   if you have a van, trailer or minibus which could, on occasion, be used=

for transporting people or materials;
*   if you want to bring a stall, present a workshop, perform music, 
or provide any other kind of service over the weekend.
*   if you can offer first aid or medical help, in the event of an emergenc=
y.

MOST OF ALL PLEASE BRING YOURSELVES  
THIS IS THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO LET PLANNERS KNOW THAT WE WILL NO LONGER=
 TOLERATE THEIR MISGUIDED POLICIES.

If you are planning to come it will help if you phone us in advance, so we =
can estimate numbers. And if you want any further information, please give u=
s a ring (if no reply, leave your number) on 
01460 249204, 07786 952037, 07855 350164, 0117 373 0346

Address: C7, The Potato Store, Flaxdrayton Farm, South Petherton, Somerset,=
 TA13 5LR