29.3.2010
Hours after the Black Wood Solidarity Camp successfully pushed back its eviction hearing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court this afternoon, members of the National Eviction Team including Martin Leyshon, Head of Resources, visited the site to document its defences and presumably to begin the process of evicting the camp.
The Black Wood Solidarity Camp is just over a week old so the appearance of the National Eviction Team at such short notice and before the eviction order for the site has even been granted shows that UK Coal want rid of the camp as soon as possible. Further still, the court papers are full of references to the recently evicted Mainshill Solidarity Camp, with police advising UK Coal that the longer the camp exists, the harder and more costly it will be to remove it.
And of course, they’re right, but numbers matter too. Please come and join the camp for as long as you can – even if just for a day, it will be greatly appreciated. The vibe on the camp is good, with defence-building and barricading happening all over the place with plenty of opportunities for people to get involved and lend a hand. See here for details of how to get the the camp.
The hearing for the eviction order of the Black Wood Solidarity Camp will take place on Thursday 1st April at Dunfermline Sheriff Court at 14:00. Come down and show your support for the occupation if you can.
Finally, UK Coal have claimed that the occupiers of Black Wood have caused fire damage to the site, disrupted a Great Crested Newt habitat and closed access to a footpath. The Solidarity Camp finds it ironic that a company about to provide fuel to a coal-fired power station, fanning the flames of catastrophic climate change, causing the forced migration of a protected Newt species and trashing their habitat on site, and permanently removing a right of way for the duration of the mine should accuse the camp of these things. The camp suggests that hypocrisy and deceit will get UK Coal nowhere.
Black Wood Solidarity Camp
coalactionscotland@riseup.net
http://blackwood.noflag.org.uk/