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From: 3As reporting
Subject: TITNORE PROTESTERS SERVED TO APPEAR AT HIGH COURT HEARING (THURSDAY 27TH JULY 2006)
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2006 02:51:23 +0200 (CEST)

TITNORE PROTESTERS SERVED TO APPEAR AT HIGH COURT HEARING

THURSDAY 27TH JULY 2006

Protesters campaigning to save ancient woodland and countryside have been served with eviction papers to appear at the Royal Courts of Justice on Thu 27th July 2006.

Twelve daring protesters occupied part of Titnore Woods and built two tree houses 30-feet-high in a brave bid to halt the cutting down of 210 trees and a massive planned development of 875 dwellings and road widening. The protesters set up their protest camp in Titnore Woods, Durrington near Worthing on 28th May 2006 claiming squatters rights. The protest group who call themselves 'Protect Our Woodland', formed in January 2002 by Worthing residents concerned over the threat of a housing development damaging their unique local area.

Landowner Clem Somerset said he wants to move the protesters where three developers are set to build 875 homes. The Somerset family are reported to be selling the land for over £70Million.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/5027738.stm

The protesters claim one of the property developers behind the Titnore Lane scheme in Durrington is a convicted criminal who has been jailed. Gerald Ronson is the head of Heron Group, one of the three firms involved in the West Durrington Consortium - the others are Bryant Homes (part of Taylor Woodrow) and Persimmon Homes. Ronson was found guilty of one charge of conspiracy, two of false accounting and one of theft in August 1990, as part of the notorious Guinness insider share dealing scandal. He was fined £5 million and sentenced to one year in prison, though he served only six months, being released in February 1991.

GREEN Party Euro-MP Caroline Lucas has given her support to the tree-top protest. Dr Lucas said, " Worthing Council, the landowners and the developers should sit down with local environmentalists and look again at plans to build almost 900 homes in West Durrington" (on June 13th 2006).
http://www.greenpartywestsussex.co.uk/pr3.htm

The protesters were subject of the Tonight with Trevor Macdonald current affairs programme with presenter Jonathan Maitland on Fri 21st July 2006 at 8pm (no info available contact ITV).

Police raided the camp dubbed 'No 1 Titnore Woods' on 24th July 2006. Subsequently a protester claimed he was assaulted by police. Protesters said they were served with court papers by Clem and Fitzroy Somerset, the landowners, as part of a civil process regarding land ownership although these papers were in fact issued on 12th July 2006 and should have been passed to the protesters 12 days earlier, it was reported. The protesters said,"they have been given only 3 days to go through over 100 pages of paperwork to prepare for the court case".

The protesters will appear at a hearing at the High Court, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL on Thursday, 27th July starting at 11.30am. There is likely to be an attendance in support of the 'Protect Our Woodland' group, inside as well as outside the court. The protesters plan to fight the landowners and developers plans. The protesters said, "the Somerset family will attempt to convince the court our home is on land belonging to them".

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Protesters contact address -

Protect Our Woodland,
PO Box 4144
Worthing
England
Phone - (campsite) 0780 4245324
Email - info@protectourwoodland.co.uk

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