Four members of Lancaster United, an opposition group to Centros’s now infamous canal corridor development, will begin their defence at Westminster Magistrates court on the 8th and 9th April. They face charges of aggravated trespass following a peaceful protest staged at the Centros offices in London last December (see news story).
The group say their defence will be based upon the fact that the development would contravene laws and policies on climate change and that the process by which it was approved was fundamentally flawed.
“The council continues to be a puppet for Centros and neglects its obligations to the people of Lancaster,” the protestors said in a joint statement. “Throughout the planning process [for the proposed Canal Corridor development] the council repeatedly ignored concerns raised by citizens and a minority of councillors about the legality and viability of the proposal.
“It is outrageous that they are now spending £100,000 of tax payers’ money to defend business interests at a public inquiry, when Centros are financially unable to defend themselves. It’s a perfect example of the councils continuing bias preventing a fair and accountable decision making process regarding the canal corridor development.”
“We didn’t intend to subvert the democratic process, we intended to save it,” added Matt Wilson, 32.
“I raised the issue of climate change at the planning meeting back in October 2008,” said Aurora Trujillo, 29. “Neither the planning officers nor the councillors responded in anyway to my concerns. We were left with know other options.”
The four protesters were arrested after entering the Centros offices in London in December and locking themselves to one another to ensure they would not be immediately removed. They then proceeded to read out a list of questions about the proposed development that had not been asked by councillors at a recent planning meeting where outline planning permission for the development was given.
The protesters were not acting in the name of the Carnival of Culture, It’s Our City or any other group campaigning against the Centros plan.
After the original protest, a Centros spokesman said “Our staff felt very intimidated by the seven who broke into the office.”