Demonstration to Save Rimrose Valley

Demonstration to Save Rimrose Valley

Ervín Szabó reports from the demonstration which took place on February 4th to Save Rimrose Valley from a new bypass road which will connect the Port of Liverpool with Switch Island and the motorway network.

Residents from the Rimrose Valley area gathered yesterday at noon to show their resistance to the plans to build a dual carriageway through the green park. Highways England have recently started with exploratory drilling and residents have found 18 boreholes along sections of the proposed route. Runners, cyclists and dog owners use the parkland on a daily basis. The park is also used by children for walking to school, playing football, by families for picnics and by local schools for nature learning. This wild green space in the heart of a densely populated and industrialised South Sefton includes two Sites of Special Local Biological Interest. Stuart, one of the organisers, said:

“Road building on this scale is hugely destructive, not only to our health but also the environment. It will drive up carbon emissions at a time we need to be reducing them. Climate change continues to dominate the headlines, but this Government’s transport policies haven’t caught up with its own declaration of a ‘climate emergency’ nor its desires to preserve green space and improve air quality.”

The point of the new bypass road is to connect the Port of Liverpool with Switch Island and the motorway network. Highways England announced the plan in 2017, after the lorry traffic in South Sefton massively increased due to the expanded port operations. Rimrose Valley residents comment: “Decisions are being made for the benefit of powerful, profit-driven companies and the rights and needs of the people are being ignored. Only last month, we shared communications between Highways England and Peel Ports and their joint efforts in pushing this scheme through.”

Please support the campaign by sending a message to Highways England and the Government to leave Rimrose Valley alone.

For more details, visit Save Rimrose Valley or facebook.com/SaveRimroseValley.

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