29th November 2006 updated 15th January 2007

In the village of Trebanos in the Swansea Valley protestors have resorted to a sit-in to prevent the construction of the 200-mile (322km) gas pipe being built from Pembrokeshire to Gloucestershire. This blow to Pipeline contractors National Grid comes on top of news last month that their plans for a six-acre gas pressure reduction plant on this pipeline at Corse were thrown out by the Forest of Dean District Council's planning committee.

See BBC video
See Citizen/Echo report

See the campaign continues BBC January report

Cllr Philip Booth, a Gloucestershire Green party spokesperson said: "Greens welcomed the decision on Corse. It was the wrong site. National Grid are now facing a sit in at Trebanos that has already lasted over two weeks severely disrupting work on the pipeline. Villagers have also managed to get the Department of Trade and Industry to order contractors not to use explosives to route the pipeline through that area as they fear landslides and damage to homes. This will further delay work."

Philip Booth, a Stroud District councillor, said: "This pipeline will carry a fifth of all UK gas supplies at a pressure level unprecedented in Europe. Protesters are fearful of it's safety and are also angry at the environmental damage being done to miles of countryside including the Brecon Beacons National Park. It really has been an ill-conceived project from start to finish."

Philip Booth added: "Energy supply will be a serious problem for this country in the future. Our Government have dithered and dallied the last ten years away. The recent Stern report points out that gas distribution accounts for a huge proportion of our emissions. So why on earth are we creating the infrastructure for continued fossil fuel dependency? It is no wonder there is so much protest: this dangerous climate change causing pipeline is just not the right answer. The green, clean, safe, economical renewable options need to be developed so that we don't have to rely on gas from dodgy regimes. This is sadly yet one more example of our Governments complete lack of understanding about the need to tackle climate change and energy security."

Swansea and Llanelli Green Party (Plaid Werdd Abertawe a Llanelli) have made a statement on 22 November 2006 calling for a halt to the pipeline. Their statement reads:

"The current furore over the LNG pipeline is the consequence of short-sighted free-market energy policies promoted by both Tory and New Labour governments over the past quarter century. It is these policies that created the “dash for gas”, squandered our North Sea gas resources and left us dependent on importing gas – whether by overland pipeline from the former Soviet Union or by ship via Milford Haven.

"Unfortunately, we cannot escape from this dependency overnight. We can build up alternative renewable energy resources as rapidly as possible, including the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, home-based micro generation and energy conservation. We can and must do so with the urgency and commitment that the Green Party has been demanding for the past 25 years. Nevertheless, it is an inescapable fact that natural gas remains the least bad of the available fossil fuels, and will continue to have a part to play in the transition to truly sustainable society over the next 20 years. The pipeline protestors do, however, have a valid case in regard to the way this pipeline has been foisted upon the people of Wales. The DTI has bypassed the normal planning process, failed to consult with local people, failed to convince people that the planned pipeline will be safe and failed to pay due regard to environmental concerns.

The protestors are right to criticise the politicians in Cardiff who have stood mutely by while this process has gone on.  

Green Party National Assembly Candidates for the South Wales West Region, Rhodri Griffiths, Brig Oubridge, Jane Richmond and Jonathan Spink are therefore calling for a moratorium on construction of Phase 2 of the pipeline until such time as proper environmental impact and safety reviews can be subjected to an open public process of examination so that justified fears can be properly addressed."
  

Philip Booth concluded: "It is clear as Swansea Greens say, this pipeline should be halted and a proper open assessment made."

Group spokesman for the protesters, Gordon Main, who is also the owner of pembrokeshiretv.com, is quoted on his website as saying that the protestors are highlighting the lack of public information around the LNG risk assessments. He said the protestors had no intention of leaving. "Everybody there lives within a mile of the terminal,” he said. “Part of the problem is that this whole project has never been treated as such - one project, and that's why there are so many difficulties now. We've tried everything to get this made public. We've gone through the courts, through politicians, and through elected members of the council. The only thing that's made any difference and got the issue noticed is people standing in its way through peaceful protest."

The other protest

It should be noted that there is another major protest in South Wales against this pipeline - the other one is at the terminal site and was joined by local Green party members. Last week there were two accidents at the LNG terminals - spokesperson Gordon Main of Pembrokeshire tv said in the local press that this highlights the absurdity of claims that the storage site and terminal are 100% safe - that's what they said about 3-mile island. See report here.


Notes:

See news items:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/6165646.stm
http://pembrokeshiretv.com/content/templates/v6-article.asp?articleid=3007
http://pembrokeshiretv.com/content/templates/v6-article.asp?articleid=3019
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/356374.html

Photos and more info at:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/356545.html
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/356219.html

Corse action group: jlgabbott@yahoo.co.uk

Previous news release re Corse:
http://www.glosgreenparty.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1272&Itemid=2