What's the problem?

Dorset County Council are preparing to build a four lane "Relief Road" (The Brown Route) through the Weymouth countryside, causing unjustifiable environmental damage.

If built, the road will:

• Slice through The Ridgeway, destroying several sites of archaeological importance
• Increase noise and air pollution and be a visual intrusion to the residents of Littlemoor and Preston
• Pass close to three primary schools
• Cut through the middle of Horselynch Plantation (a.k.a. Teddy Bear Woods), a 200 year old woodland which is home to beech trees, badgers, foxes, woodpeckers, and a place much loved by many local people
• Cross Lodmore Nature Reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), home to the rare Cettis Warbler and Bearded Tit
• Pass through Lodmore North landfill site, a toxic waste tip containing pollutants such as asbestos, pesticides, biocides chemical leachates, and at least 11 other dangerous substances that are included on the European Red List (a list of the most hazardous waste found on landfill sites). The tip also releases large volumes of methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

Rather than providing relief, the new road will increase congestion in Weymouth town centre, and will lead on to the building of a second road, The Western Route. This will also run close to schools, residential areas and The Fleet (the UK's second oldest nature reserve).

The County Council readily admit that they are unlikely to gain the funding required to build the road (an estimated £30 million), and it may be years before work commences. They have also acknowledged that they will have to look at alternative solutions to Weymouth's traffic problems. However, they do have funds available for clearance work along the route.

News Update!

The road scheme will become a P.F.I. (Private Finance Initiative) so a private company will get rich from building these roads. The more roads, the more money...

The estimated cost of building the road is £60 million. Dorset County Council have applied for a Compulsory Purchase Order...

What Are We Doing About It?

Friends Against the Brown Route are a group of local people who have been campaigning against this road for many years. We believe there is still time to stop this destructive scheme.

A protest camp has been established in Teddy Bear Woods in order to prevent clearance taking place and to highlight the destructive nature of this pointless road. Due to the presence of badgers on site we have no dogs living at the camp (but dog- walkers are always welcome), and a no vehicle policy. We are prepared to stay here indefinitely, but to do this we need your help!

What YOU Can Do!

• Visit us at Teddy Bear Camp (parking and access from Louviers Road, Littlemoor)
• We welcome donations of food, clothing, tools and money for our fighting fund
• Perhaps most importantly, come and join us.

To find out more about the campaign, and for information on how to make a donation, you can:

• Phone the camp on 0468 221454
• Email vince@wdi.co.uk
• Check out the No Brown Route website.

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