Campaigners say they will sue over 'unlawful' bypass

0 Comments | Sunday Herald, The, May 1, 2005 | by Frank Gilfeather

THE Scottish Executive, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils are being threatened with legal action over the proposed Aberdeen western bypass.

Campaigners have revealed they will take the agencies to court if transport minister Nicol Stephen approves any of the five proposed routes being considered. Bruce Stevens, of Aberdeen Greenbelt Alliance, said: "We would take them on on human rights grounds, and for breaking their own legislation on [legally protected] greenbelt use. We have put together enough funds to fight it in the courts for several years - and we are very determined that we would win."

The public consultation on which of the five proposed routes is the best option closed on Friday, with the Executive now sifting through thousands of objections to the western peripheral bypass.

The Greenbelt Alliance will meet the transport minister's aides to press the Executive to consider a sixth route, which would include an upgrade of the Netherley-Westhill corridor, a new bridge over the River Don, and a tunnelled eastern bypass running from the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre to Altens underneath the beach.

Stevens said: "Our plan would cut congestion by 40-per cent, not the 2-per cent that the proposed route would allow for. We are serious about our threat of legal action if our proposal is not heard - and we have about 3000 campaigners who would support us in that."

If the Executive pushes on with the preferred route, the cost of around pounds-280 million would trigger a public inquiry.

The road is pencilled for completion by 2010.

Friends of the Earth Scotland is continuing its protest against any road being built at all because of environmental concerns, and also cited the influence of developers. "The biggest supporters of this road are the developers, " said Duncan McLaren, the environmental group's chief executive.

"The politicians have been led by the nose in the belief that, if you build roads, economic growth will follow. We would not be surprised if one of the groups involved in the campaign against the western peripheral route will decide to take legal action over that because he seems to have become judge and jury. No matter what happens it will go to a public inquiry."

The preferred Murtle route is one of three on the drawing board that cuts through the Camphill community for adults with special needs.

Yesterday, Camphill's Dr Stefan Geider was adamant this should not happen.

"The Murtle route not only involves demolition of part of the Camphill Rudolf Steiner School's estate, it would pass less than 100m from the bedrooms of severely learning disabled and autistic children and less than 50m from the fields where special needs adults at Newton Dee work.

"Disturbance and noise, which the rest of us can take in our stride, can trigger regressive, disruptive and sometimes extreme behaviour in people with severe learning difficulties and autism. That is why life alongside a major construction site and then six lanes of heavy traffic would be impossible."

A number of high-profile celebrities have backed Camphill's campaign against the Murtle route, including BBC Newsnight host, Jeremy Paxman, Lorraine Kelly, the TV personality, ITV Pop Idol judge, Neil "Dr" Fox and Rolf Harris.

Harris is a friend of the former children's TV presenter Timmy Mallett whose older brother, Martin, has been a resident for 18 years.

Harris said: "I hate to think Newton Dee and the work with the special needs kids at Camphill Rudolf Steiner Schools could be damaged by a new road. The quality of life of 200 special needs children and adults must surely be more important than putting a road right there."

A spokeswoman for the Executive said it was committed to having the route and if people wanted to object to any part of it, including having a bypass at all, they had the opportunity under the consultation process.