On Monday 1st December, nine campaigners from Lancaster travelled to London to protest at the offices of Centros, the development company behind the plans for the canal corridor shopping centre. The protesters who were not acting in the name of any campaigning group said “After having sat through the pretence of a council planning meeting, where most councillors (excepting the Greens) happily swallowed the often absurd claims made by Centros, we felt utterly disempowered.” The protestors entered the Centros offices in Mayfair, some protesters quietly held up a banner and handed out fliers, four protesters locked themselves to one another, so that they could not be moved. They then proceeded to read out a list of questions to engage Centros’ members of staff in a dialogue and handed out a leaflet titled ‘Centros…at the heart of urban degeneration’.
Following misleading stories in the local papers the protesters issued the following statement “Articles in the press this week have called the protest an anti-development campaign; but the people involved would love to see this area developed in a genuinely sustainable way, restoring existing historic buildings, building sustainable and affordable housing, providing real green spaces, and ensuring that the existing city centre and its many small, independent shops remain viable.”
For further details of this story see: http://virtual-lancaster.blogspot.com
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