Here are some of the local issues on which Shepway Friends of the Earth have campaigned on since it's inauguration in 1989:
Sewage in the sea
Our former Secretary, David Horsley, was campaigning against the short sea outfall many years before Shepway Friends of the Earth was formed in 1989. He consistently refused to pay his Southern Water services bills, using the magistrate’s court as a platform from which to air his views. He considered the court costs good value for money! Southern Water have now completed the of building a new sewage system - earlier than planned because of the pressure we brought to bear. - We campaigned strongly and forced Shepway District Council to display public warning notices on the beach, telling users that under certain weather conditions there may be sewage in the sea and bathing is not recommended.
Dungeness nuclear power stations
Dungeness, with its dissolution plant, is the dirtiest nuclear power station in the country. We are constantly drawing the public’s attention to the dangers of radiation - and in particular the appalling output record of Dungeness ‘A’ and ‘B’ - via television and radio interviews and other media. Our recent campaign publicised the impossibility of distributing potassium iodate tablets - the only known protection against thyroid cancer provided they are distributed within two hours of exposure to radiation - to the population of Shepway. Despite the offer of a £10 reward to anyone who could tell us where the tablets could be obtained in the event of a catastrophic discharge of radiation from Dungeness, we seriously embarrassed the authorities, as no-one - not even the local and county police and fire brigades, local and county emergency planning officers, Nuclear Electric’s PR officer, local doctors and hospitals - knew where the tablets are kept. We discovered that sufficient tablets for 2,500 people are kept on the power station site and that enough for 250,000 people are held at Nuclear Electric’s HQ in Barnwood, Gloucester. However, we are still waiting for the DTI to tell us how the tablets would be distributed. The theory is that a Chernobyl-style disaster cannot happen here ...
Roads: the South Coast ‘Superhighway’
We are affiliated to SCAR (South Coast Against Roadbuilding) and contributed a substantial proportion of the cost of professional representation at the public enquiry on the stretch of the A259 called the ‘Romney Marsh Bypass’. The scheme has now been abandoned (despite protestations from Shepway District Council).
The Newbury Bypass
Shepway FoE made many trips to Newbury, taking donations in cash and in kind, building bird boxes and supporting the on-site protesters.
Cycle paths: the ‘Cycle-logical’ campaign
We have submitted proposals for a number of cycle paths to Shepway District Council. Two have been put in place, but this was more than three years ago and since then the Council have been noticeably long on words and short on action. More work is needed in this area.
Recycling
Shepway FoE pioneered a household ‘source separation’ scheme in Saltwood, focusing on 150 homes. Shepway District Council said that such a scheme would not work, but when it became obvious not only that it would, but that the householders were enthusiastic and committed, they suddenly introduced their own pilot scheme in Broadmead Village. Cans, paper and cardboard, bottles, plastics and putrescibles were collected and recycled or composted.
Genetically modified foods
We have long had concerns that genetic modification of food breaks nature’s safety barriers. Now not only has Prince Charles publicly agreed that genetically modified foods reduce consumer choice and damage the environment, but all the major supermarket chains have now banned their use in their own-brand products. Friends of the Earth are calling for a five-year moratorium on their use, and there is increasing public concern about the possible dangers. We have demonstrated outside and inside of all our local Supermarkets in a combined action with the local Greenpeace group.
