A30 HONITON

There be fun and frolics on Beltane at Fairmile, the so-called 'university for road protestors'. Followed by eviction? Apparently security and those nosey-parkers Brays Detective Agency have been booked for the beginning of May. Although Fairmile is probably safe for the time being (kids on site mean eviction procedures are more lengthy) Allercombe and the Trollheim hill-fort will be under threat immediately.

M66 MANCHESTER

Despite the recent eviction of Daisy Nook, two news camps have been set up - one at Daisy Nook and another at Audenshaw (buses from Piccadilly, Manchester- 219/220/221) A campaigner told SchNEWS "local support has been excellent".

However May1st could see the possible eviction of a privately owned long-standing caravan park-up site for Showman's Guild travellers. No alternative site has been offered. Burns security were told by contractors to control their thugs! 0161 628 4727.

M74, SCOTLAND.

Preliminary work is set to begin on a ten-lane motorway thru' the south of Glasgow. One of the campaigners told SchNEWS "The campaign has now gone hard-core and a camp is to be set up soon". 0141 424 1797.

SHERWOOD FOREST

Beautiful homeland of outlaws, pixies and the Green Man. Soon to be turned into a major trunk road linking the A1 and M1, including 5 major industrial developments en route. Robin Hood is mighty pissed off and invites you all (apart from the 1% who 'own' 75% of our land, thank you) to a mass action from 23rd April to 1st May, with the emphasis on FUN! He says enuff is enuff- no more chopping down forests to make way for 'civilised' society, no more destruction, no more CJA. Unite and celebrate the start of summer! Contact Freedom Network 0171 582 3474; Action Line 0171 793 7343; The Land is Ours 01865 722016. THANET WAY, KENT Its been quiet down in Kent with a lot of people active at Newbury. Weekly actions continue and there's a camp at Convicts Wood which is crying out for bodies (!).

* There are plans for a new camp at Selar in South Wales, the proposed home of the largest open-cast mine in Europe. 01639 720884.

* Don't forget the land is Ours urban land occupation somewhere in London on May 5th. More details on 01865 722016.

One objective of the camp is to create a market garden. John Terry, one of the Diggers said: "The community hopes to embrace all those opposing the Newbury By-pass. We plant seeds of hope, and reject the wanton destruction of the Department of Transport. Just as our seeds will grow, opposition to the by-pass grows. The action for today's Diggers mirrors that of their forebears in seeking to establish a just, equitable and sustainable future for the people of this land."

Get involved! Sunday 21st April.

Meet 2pm by the Gotan Camp, Wantage Road (B4494), beside (what was) Snelsmore. Bring tools and seeds.

Third Battle office 01635 45544

Info-line 01635 550552 All the camps have the usual wish-list of wood, rope, tools, nets, chain-link fencing blah, blah, blah but most importantly they need YOU!

*One to watch for the summer - The Rank Organisation are planning to build a 432 acre holiday village in the ancient Lyminge forest an area of Outstanding Beauty near Folkestone, Kent.

Forward thinking Kent Police have taken to nicking people's instruments! An impromptu musical demo at Dover Port wound up coppers so bad that made off with one mans drum!

The main contract has still not been signed, but COSTAIN are by far the most likely firm to clinch the deal. Here are the phone numbers of some of the people involved:-

*Highways Agency: Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham B15 1BL. Switchboard: 0121 275 8000 / 275 8237 / 275 8392. Fax: 0121 275 8184 / 275 8424.

*Direct Lines to the Newbury Team: Steve Rowsell, (Project Director) 0121 275 8007. Other team lines: (all 0121 275) 8273 / 8008/ 8131.

*Costain: Costain House, Nicholson's walk, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 1LN.

Switchboard: 01628 842444. Fax: 01628 74477.

*Roger Jones, Contracts Director 01628 842285, or Stephen Hall 01628 842325.

If these switchboard, faxes and post boxes were jammed solid for the next few weeks, they couldn't get much work done on the contract. Contract the contractors, today and every day:

Some handy hints:

*Ring and demand that they justify the by-pass.

*Ring and say nothing/ feign a wrong number/ talk in a foreign language/ propose marriage/ pretend to be a colleague etc.

*Fax them something surreal.

*Place adverts in free-ad mags and local papers, offering bargain goods or tempting services with their phone numbers attached.

*Send them junk mail, book clubs, porn catalogues etc.

"In a congested, polluted world, short of energy, efforts to make transport cleaner and more efficient should be welcomed- but only if these efforts are made in the context of policies that give absolute priority to those forms of land use and modes of transport- walking, cycling and local bus services- that promote a human scale of living. Present priorities are fast creating a bleak, alienated, polarised and de-humanised world." John Adams, reader in Geography, University College, London. (Taken from a paper on World Transport Policy to be published in June.)

Two recent government decisions clearly showed that their rhetoric on transport policy is exactly that. Whilst giving the go-ahead for a five or six lane M25 widening, they scrapped the �2.7b London Cross-Rail scheme. Proposals for the M25 mean cutting a huge swathe through the Metropolitan greenbelt between Thorpe and Colnbrook, near Staines (Junctions 12-15). As usual, SSSI's are under threat (two), a Bronze Age settlement, and a couple of ancient monuments or two- all must GO. Meanwhile the Cross-Rail project, conceived in 1988, has so far cost �140 million, money now effectively down the drain forever. Conversely, there is a fantastic new government transport solution in the pipeline. Transport minister Steven Norris is to chair a working party to develop a National Policy on...walking! There has been a 16% drop in the amount we walk in the last three years. This policy is then sorely needed, as if these trends continue, in 12 YEARS TIME NO ONE WILL WALK ANYWHERE! If you have forgotten how to walk, then ring the DoT FeetFirst Helpline (0171 271 5000).

The third Reclaim the Streets (RTS) extravaganza will be held on July 13th. The 'Festival of Resistance' promises to be a biggie. More details as we get them. 0171 281 4621 to find out yourselves.

The arresting officer admitted during the proceedings that the policing of RTS was a shambles and contributed to the disorder of the day. 'We employed an arrowhead formation, intending to paddle people out to the side of the road. I don't think we'll be using it again.'

Well known man-about-town Tony Rebel-Green was found guilty under Section 5 of the Public Order Act at Brighton Magistrate's Court this week. He is appealing against the sentence at Crown Court and desperately needs witnesses who saw him get nicked. Another victim of the police's arrest 'em all attitude on the day was an Asian bloke who wasn't part of the party and was only waiting for friends outside a shop! Approached by some cops and told to move on, he refused. He was then pushed and threatened with arrest, and as he walked off was overheard muttering "This is fucked up" - 'You're Nicked! ' under the old chestnut section 5 of the Public Order Act. If anyone saw the arrests ring the Justice? office 01273 685913

In December, three Stoke Newington officers were acquitted of perverting the cause of justice and perjury in two separate trials. This saw the end of the Met's �Operation Jackpot' which had investigated allegations of drug dealing and theft by Stoke Newington PCs.

45 police officers were investigated by 'Operation Jackpot' between Dec 88 and Nov 92. Only one officer, DC Lewadowski, was convicted, on charges of theft. Not one officer was charged with a drugs offence, despite an acceptance in court that Lewadowski had earned up to �2,000 a week supplying drugs, and official recognition by senior Met officers that Stoke Newington police officers had been engaged in supplying drugs. The Police Federation have set aside �1m to fight allegations of corruption and are suing the Guardian and Time Out printing stories about the case.

It now transpires, in an unrelated further matter, that one of the acquitted officers faces proceedings for allegedly smuggling �2.5 million worth of cannabis into the country in collusion with his father-in-law. Ooops!!

*The family of Brian Douglas, who died after his skull was smashed during a struggle with police, plan to bring a private prosecution after being told that no officers are to be charged with his death. He died five days after being arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of drink and drugs.

And now for a new feature to show that it's not all bad SchNEWS out there - send us your clips so we can say NICE ONE!

The first nine miles of the National Cycle Network have opened! The �180 million project will create designated cycle ways, bike lanes on roads and other measures for pedal-powered vehicles linking Inverness to Cornwall via Belfast! "Only 6,491 miles to go!" said Lucy Thorp of the networks organisers Sustrans.

Peter Lilley, Social Security Secretary has kindly decreed that Britain doesn't need a plan to tackle poverty, as it doesn't exist! He plans to back out of promises to the UN that Britain would play a part in the current International Year for the Eradication of Poverty by drawing up a national action plan. How does he draw this conclusion? By insisting that the bottom 20% have acquired more consumer goods over the past decade. More fridges, freezers, VCRs and cars obviously means that we are not poor now. Don't be misled. These figures are generated from his own figures. The measurement of poverty in terms of availability of consumer goods is crass. Fridges don't create training, Freezers don't ensure good education, VCRs don't provide adequate health care and cars don't feed the kids. This definition of poverty is restrictive. Access to good redistribution of wealth, education, training, health care, and a definitive social structure are far more important than the acquisition of consumables.

The trial of three Lincoln people accused of refusing to leave a city warehouse roof during a road building protest was halted when magistrates walked out.

The bench declared that 'the interests of justice [were] not being served' after exploding at defence lawyers cross-examining the police in a test-case of section 69 of the CJA.

"Suddenly the chief magistrate told us all to stand up and gave us a bollocking, " solicitor Nick Wise told SchNEWS. "The next minute they just walked out of the courtroom. My questioning was totally fair - it's not as if the police are just going to collapse and agree with you. She just lost it." The protesters, from the Brayford Road Action Group, cheered and shouted at the departing wigs: "We don't need you anyway!". A re-trial is set for May 7th.