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Lake protesters make a splash
9:22am Wednesday 3rd January 2007
A GIANT water vole was an unusual visitor to Swindon energy company RWE npower's headquarters.
Nearly 30 protesters, including 10 children and one dressed as a giant water vole, arrived at the firm's head offices in Windmill Hill Business Park yesterday.
They were protesting against the company's plans to fill a lake in Radley, Oxfordshire, with ash from its power station in Didcot.
The members of the Save Radley Lakes group made the 30-mile journey from Abingdon to the Swindon offices to present a petition against the plans.
Nine-year-old Olivia Mann started the petition when she heard of npower's plans. She said: "We decided to do this petition because Radley lakes are beautiful and I don't want to see them destroyed."
Olivia, who cycles and walks around the lake, got almost 200 signatures. The protesters chanted Save Radley Lakes outside the offices with a banner showing a kingfisher, one of the birds that visits the lakes.
The group is concerned that npower's plans will destroy the habitat for wildlife and for those using the lakes for swimming and fishing.
Olivia presented the petition to Steve Waygood and Leon Flexman, from npower.
Mr Flexman, head of external affairs, told Olivia: "We will have a look at it. We are very keen to protect the environment and we have plans to restore the area to a nature reserve after the development - although there will no longer be a lake there and we know that Save Radley Lakes perhaps aren't happy with that."
Your Say YourSwindon
Eleanor Dangerfield, says...
5:28pm Fri 5 Jan 07
lynda, says...
2:16pm Sat 6 Jan 07
They operate an ageing power station which was supposed to have been removed from use when the Didcot Gas Powered Station came on line. Gas powered energy produces less CO2 and no waste for landfill. However, NPower discovered "cheap coal" and chose to continue to operate Didcot A instead of closing it down. Unfortunately coal comes with a waste product - other power stations recycle their ash. NPower have dumped theirs to landfill since they took over the power station. They formed a Company, National Ash, which duck all the issues when asked about the amount of ash being taken from Didcot. The truth is, Didcot's ash is too dirty. It contains unburnt coal and doesn't recycle well. There are Companies out there that can use their dirty ash - at a cost to NPower who don't want to go down that route. Instead, they prefer to dump to landfill and leave a legacy for future generations, which, when they sell up, like they have done with Thames Water, will be left for someone else to sort out the problem they have generated - in more ways than one.
Dot Bonding, Oxford says...
8:55am Sat 17 Mar 07
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SaveRadleyLakes/
Your sayYourSwindon
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Jason, says...
6:47pm Wed 3 Jan 07
How disgusting that a firm in Swindon can make such decisions on a lake in Oxfordshire.No surprise that a Kingfisher will not survive in the area if the lake is altered, but RWE npower have the audacity to claim they're converting the area into a nature reserve.
On this basis then, the first stage of creating a nature reserve is to drive out or kill nature?????????