Our submission to the Regional Rail Link

Here it is at last - our submission to the Regional Rail Link team. We've included a PDF version of our submission (1.5MB) as well as a Microsoft Word version (8.3MB), in case you'd like to cut and paste from our submission into your own and the PDF version doesn't let you do this. (Formatting may go askew when you open the Word version, however).

We're all writing individual submissions as well - we want the Department of Transport to be snowed under by community feedback! Submissions are due this Thursday (19th August) and can be sent via email (rrl@transport.vic.gov.au) as well as post.

Our submission to the RRL team...

...is taking a bit longer than we thought to put it together! You might see some flyers of ours around town, encouraging others to write submissions of our own. We said we'd put up ours on this site once it was finished, which may take a little longer, but in the meantime here's a brief summary of what we'll be asking for.

• An impact study on the options for the track flyover next to the wetlands and Maribyrnong River – noise, visual impact, privacy
• Noise control measures, taking future development plans for Footscray into account
• Keep Fordham Reserve intact as possible & improve its facilities
• Greening measures, heritage retention and public art along the track and on the river foreshore
• Testing for and management of contaminated soil during construction
• Transparency during the planning process & project updates every two months. Footscray is making sacrifices for this project & we should not have to beg for access to government files and personnel.
• Upgrades to the Footscray Station to allow for better access from Joseph Road precinct.

Remember - submissions are due by 19 August.

Indicative track alignments

The State government has published PDFs of indicative track alignments on the Victorian Transport Plan website. There are 13 separate plans, showing different parts of the track. Map #3 relates most directly to Railway Place; Map #2 shows the river crossing. Maps #5 and #6 show the preliminary plans for Buckley Street.

If you want to make comments on the proposed track alignments and the project in general, don't forget to make written submissions to the Department of Transport. Submissions are due by 19 August. Address your submissions to Mr Corey Hannett, Executive Director, Regional Rail Link, Department of Transport, PO Box 2797, Melbourne VIC 3001.

Asked to make a sacrifice

The local papers, especially, have been full of articles about the effects of the Regional Rail announcements on residents of the inner west. We were particularly struck by the comments of Nick Fahey (The Mail, 21/7/10):

"I'm clearly in support of public transport and this project. As much as its painful to be affected by it, somebody has to be affected. But if we've got a group of people who are being asked to make a sacrifice you show them some gratitude and respect."

Elsewhere he expresses shock at the lack of compassion shown by many Victorians (including government representatives) for those who will lose their homes.

Gratitude, respect, compassion - is that really too much to ask?

Confusion, lack of explanation, "on the nose"...

A great article by Clay Lucas in the Age on Saturday deserves a read. A few quotes:


"[Footscray resident] Illich... has been bewildered by the lack of open process behind the probable demolition of the 440-square-metre warehouse conversion her family settled on in April...Illich knows the railways need improvement, and does not want to be portrayed as being only interested in her backyard. She just wants to know why the process for deciding where a new rail line would go was so secretive.

"As Footscray residents learnt this week, the government's plans appear to evolve rather than be carefully evaluated and publicly reviewed. Projects such as the Regional Rail Link, which gained federal funding last year, are rammed through without much explanation, while others such as a freeway link between the Eastern Freeway and CityLink are ignored or put in the ''long-term'' basket.

"...Victoria [is] bucking the world trend on planning big projects. ''Normal practice is to go in for full public consultation, including involving the public in writing the brief for the studies. That is the way that has been found over time to reduce the amount of concern and reduce the potential political backlash at a later date.''

"Melbourne University transport academic John Stone did his PhD on ''community consultation''. He says the chaotic scenes this week as residents learned from reporters that their homes could be swept away are a direct result of the government being so guarded about releasing information."

Where next for the Regional Rail Link?

A number of us have been to visit the information sessions about the Regional Rail Link. We've been pleasantly surprised by the staff who have been at the sessions to answer questions, who have been friendly and frank. See, answering our questions makes us feel better, not worse!

Though the general route has been released, finer details are yet to be determined. (The final plans are due to be complete in about three months). For example:

• The RRL team will be discussing with the Salvation Army exactly how much of their land is required (the site of the old Footscray pool) and will investigate the possibility of curving the lines so that the railway reserve on the other side of the tracks is used instead.
• It's not yet clear which track will cross over which for the flyover near the Maribyrnong River and exactly where the flyover will occur.
• They aren't sure yet exactly how much land along Buckley Street will be required.

Apart from the residents of Buckley Street, the other places affected that we know of are the two auto businesses either side of the Hopkins Street underpass, part of the land attached to the block of flats at the corner of Fordham Reserve, a sliver of Fordham reserve and of course the businesses adjacent the railway in the Joseph Road precinct. The car park on Irving Street next to the station will be used for new platforms. West Footscray station will be moved further west.

Anyone who is affected by the new route should make a written submission to the Department outlining your concerns. Also include any ideas you have, however small, on how the effects of the new tracks on your property & neighbourhood could be lessened. (For example, if your house will now face a railway line, how can its visual impact be reduced?). Include photographs if they help make your point.

Submissions are due by 19 August 2010 and should be sent to Mr Corey Hannett, Executive Director, Regional Rail Link, Department of Transport, PO Box 2797, Melbourne VIC 3011.

Also, Colleen Hartland from the Greens held a meeting with residents from Buckley Street and elsewhere about their legal rights. A community group has formed to take up the compensation fight.

Our houses are safe, but...

Yesterday everyone on our street received letters from our State representative, Marsha Thompson, telling us that our houses would not be demolished to make way for the new Regional Rail Link tracks.

Naturally we were relieved. But as the day wore on, we learned of the other houses in Footscray that would be demolished. Their owners learned of this through the media, rather than from their government. It's a terrible way to find out your home is going to be destroyed.

Precise details of which parts of Footscray will go are still to be released. Also, there is still very little transparency to the decision-making process, which continues to be of concern to us.

We've put together a media release on our views. We encourage everyone along the railway corridor to attend the upcoming information sessions the government are running, to find out more.

We'll probably re-jig this blog a little in the coming weeks to become something that keeps track of the long construction process that will now begin. We're still concerned about the effects of this project of Footscray and want to make sure the government does everything it can to ensure the best outcome for our community.

More information:

• Route animation
• Track routes
• Works packages (open for tender)
• Premier's media release
• Coverage in The Age

Last week we received a letter from Justin Madden. We do appreciate his response to us. Unfortunately, it didn’t answer any of the questions in the letter we sent to his department 84 days ago. (Hence the clock keeps ticking).

When the RRL project started, we assumed the government would be open about their decision-making process. We asked them how they were going to decide where the new tracks would run, rather than where they would run.

However, the workings on this project were deemed to be ‘not in the public interest’. There is no discussion. There is no transparency.

Without transparency, how can anyone judge whether the government is using its $4.3 billion of taxpayer money wisely? How can we sure they are putting adequate weight on the value of neighbourhoods, community, heritage & livability when considering route options?

If the government believes they are making the right decisions for the right reasons, they should be willing to defend them. Their reasoning needs to stand up to public scrutiny and debate.

We can accept our homes might be knocked down for the greater good (though it would make us very sad). What we’re most worried about is that the government’s idea of ‘the greater good’ is very different from ours.

Where am I?

So where is Railway Place anyway? And what on earth is the Joseph Road precinct?

To work out exactly where we are and what’s at stake, take a look at our interactive map. You can learn more about our neighbourhood and take a virtual tour of the development land other side of the tracks. Just click on the markers, shading and lines to view images, video and captions.

A reader has alerted us to a very interesting article in The Age: Government denies right to know ripoff. Kenneth Davidson discusses the current planning process in Victoria, whereby many public projects are run by 'public private partnerships' (PPPs). These arrangements are designed to curry favour with powerful business interests, who then enjoy the protection of the State government. If managed poorly, these projects may be "privately profitable but socially wasteful".

These projects generally have very poor transparency. Any cost-benefit analyses conducted are rarely published, and, even if they are, the public is not given access to the underlying data. Commercial confidentiality is used as an excuse to limit the disclosure of information. Consider the following quote:

...[the system] lend[s] both legitimacy and authority to arrangements that would be entirely questionable if subject to any reasonable and authentic scrutiny. That is why the government has frustrated attempts to gain any meaningful information by classifying the contractual detail as ''confidential''.

The Regional Rail Link may not be a PPP, but this is beginning to sound familiar...

More on our trip to Parliament

There's coverage of our parliamentary exploits in The Mail today, in an article by Grant Reynolds.

Also we thought you might like to see the transcript of the question time session, from Hansard. (Just the Regional Rail Link bits, that is).

Our trip to Question Time

Well goodness wasn't that exciting?

Today a group of about ten of us made our way into Parliament House to attend Question Time for the Legislative Council. (The upper house). Colleen Hartland had promised to ask a question on our behalf - for which we thank her!

The seats were all plush velvet, the mood rather tense and most parliamentarians talked to each other while someone asked a question and then heckled each other during the answer. Some guy kept calling everyone a 'princess'. There were some points of order. It was all rather strange.

But near the end of the session Hartland asked our question and Pakula made quite a lengthy response, which was appreciated. In short, he said he understood our concerns but noted that in projects of this size, private land aquisition is inevitable. (I don't think we've ever disupted that; we're just hoping they will place more value on neighborhoods and communities than on development interests).

As the route through Footscray isn't finalised yet he said it wouldn't be 'improper' for him to 'side' with one street out of the many that will be affected by giving assurances only to us that our houses wouldn't be taken. He thought people in other areas would be upset if he did that, which is quite likely but not necessarily a good argument for not giving any answers at all. We're quite sure everyone along the railway corridor want the same answers we do. In case any of you have doubts, we're for Footscray, not just for ourselves - please get in touch if you'd like to join forces!

He wouldn't give a timeline or a date for announcements on the final route, but did say they were at the 'pointy end' of the project and that there would be an announcement 'within weeks'.

He also noted that the term 'shovel ready' in relation to the RRL referred only to the platforms being built at Southern Cross and not to the whole route.

We also met him on the steps outside after Question Time, where he reiterated his statements and assured us we would be able to meet with the Regional Rail Link team soon.

Also interesting - he quoted a bit of our press release, which we sent out to the media only this morning! We're not quite sure where he found it, but are pleased he's taking note.

More soon...

Meeting Mr Pakula outside after Question Time

Our FOI rejection is in The Star

Charlene Gatt of the Footscray Star has written an article remarking on the visit of Regional Rail Link workers to the Bunbury Street tunnel and on our refused Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

Her article states that Rob Mair from the Regional Rail Link would not reveal on what grounds the request had been refused. (In their letter to us they "explained" that the information we requested was not a final version of the route and apparently therefore 'not in the public interest').

So not only won't they tell us anything, they won't tell us why they won't tell us!

The documents refused to us were the Kellog Brown & Root report (the Maribyrnong River to West Footscray part is Work Package 3) and the value management report by Simon Lane.

Blink and you'll miss it

After months of waiting for something - anything - from the State Government to answer our list of questions on the Regional Rail Link, we thought for a moment there might be some movement.

On the same day that Channels 10, 9 and 7, ABC's Jon Faine, The Age and our three highly valued local papers interviewed Railway Place residents about their plight, the Department of Transport called one of our residents.

On offer was a meeting with an engineer. The catch: the meeting had to be the very next day, at 4.30 on a Friday afternoon just before a long weekend.

To do this meeting justice, we believed our technical expert as well as two residents representative of the community should attend. Unsurprisingly, we family and community focussed people at Railway Place were not able to reorganise our lives for this at such short notice just before the long weekend.

But surely, after waiting 58 days for such a meeting, the Department of Transport could give us more reasonable notice and reschedule for this week?

No such cooperation. The offer appears to have been withdrawn and no meeting is currently on offer.

So our clock continues to tick.

67 days and counting ...

Freedom of information request denied

The Department of Transport has refused to release information sought by one of our residents under the Freedom of Information Act.

In their letter, the Department acknowledged plans have been drawn up to compulsorily acquire property but refused to release any details of which properties they are likely to take. They also refused access to a 362-page report by consultants Kellog Brown & Root which includes details relating to noise and vibration assessment, archaeological issues and geotechnical reports.

As reasons, they state that the speculative work done to date is 'not in the public interest' and that release of such preliminary work (which may not represent the final route and schedule) could be misleading and 'create unnecessary public confusion, debate or alarm'. Hmm...because telling us nothing is deeply reassuring and in fact clears confusion, prevents debate and soothes alarm? Since when has that strategy worked for anyone??

We're disappointed but not surprised with this answer. We'll challenge their decision not to release the information...maybe we'll see them later at the Victorian Civil and Administrative tribunal...

In the meantime, here's our press release on the matter.

More coverage...and the Bunbury Street tunnel has visitors!

There's a great full-page double-story piece by Grant Reynolds in today's Mail (here and here) about the potential use of the Bunbury Street tunnel as part of the Regional Rail Link.

The first article quotes ARTC spokesman Brad Emery, who said that while the short section of track might appear underutilised, it was used by particularly long trains of 1500-1800 metres which not only took longer to traverse the area, but also required a 15-minute safety gap on either side.

The second quotes Department of Transport spokesman Rob Mair, who said in a written statement that more trains could run on new, dedicated tracks than sharing with the freight network.

And yet...the Bunbury Street tunnel received some visitors today, all wearing shiny "Department of Transport - Regional Rail Link" jackets! Are they seeing the benefits of using existing infrastructure, that doesn't require the destruction of homes and communities...?

Checking out the tunnel exit

Colleen Hartland visits

Colleen Hartland and Janet Rice of the Greens came to meet with us today to talk to us about their views on the Regional Rail Link. Colleen is the upper house member for the Western Metropolitan region. She's offered to ask questions on our behalf in State Parliament next week.

We need to craft questions that will return useful answers. If you have questions to suggest, please let us know! Email us at saverailwayplace@gmail.com.

Let us know too if you're interested in joining us in the gallery to watch question time! We'll give you the details...

And in 'The Star'! And 'The Leader'!

An article by Charlene Gatt in the Footscray Star highlights our hopes for the Bunbury Street tunnel, as does Linh Ly's article in the Maribyrnong Leader.

In the Star article, resident Ben Howard also notes that “we’re doing a survey to fill in the gaps of what we’ve been told by the Regional Rail Link team. We haven’t had a great deal of information forthcoming from them...they’ve told us they’re looking at a number of options, but they won’t tell us what they are, or what it means, or when they’ll tell us, or anything, really.”

It's been 62 days, people!

Another article in the Age

Clay Lucas has written about the Regional Rail Link the The Age today, noting a submission to the government that claimed the Regional Rail Link would not speed up regional rail services.

The article also mentions that neither the route of the Regional Rail Link or the Westlink road tunnel has been decided yet, despite the government entering into 27 separate contracts with consulting firms to manage the project. Surely, to enter into a contract, the consulting firms must have been given an idea of the scope of works required, including the proposed route?

The government has also said the Regional Rail Link "cannot share the Bunbury Street tunnel with freight trains because of the huge projected growth in rail freight and commuter train trips". On average, the tunnel currently sees traffic of two trains per hour.

Community meeting - Colleen Hartland

It's not about the Regional Rail Link, but it is about another State-run planning project involving Footscray which has failed to truly consult the community in any way. It also appears to ignore all the previous strategic work of the Maribyrnong City Council. You've probably receive a letter about it in the mail, which, as Colleen has said, was presented in a manner that was "just gobbledygook to most people".

The meeting is being run by Colleen Hartland, the Greens member currently serving in the Western Metropolitan electorate. Please attend if you're concerned about zoning changes and excessive building heights in Footscray.


When: Wednesday 16 June, 7pm
Where: Colleen Hartland’s office, 75 Victoria St Seddon
RSVP: colleen.hartland@parliament.vic.gov.au or 9689 6373

We're meeting with Colleen separately about the Regional Rail Link - we'll keep you informed.

Trainspotters on the television news

You might have seen us on all three commercial television stations this evening - our efforts made the news on Channels 7, 9 & 10! We also spoke to John Faine on Radio 774 and to print journalists from local and metropolitan newspapers. Quite a day's work! Thanks to all the journalists & photographers who talked with us today.

Early morning view

Talking with Grant Reynolds from The Mail

Television crew!

Keeping our train tally...and some essential supplies for early morning train-spotting

Bunbury Street Tunnel barely used in peak hour

There is an alternative for the Regional Rail Link that would save money and protect our community.

After rising before dawn this morning to count trains using the Bunbury Street Tunnel under Footscray we are at a loss to understand why this option is not being considered for the Regional Rail Link.

We have spent two consecutive weeks surveying the use of the tunnel in the busiest period of the busiest day of the week. This morning only 9 trains used the tunnel in the whole two-hour period. Across the whole 24-hour day, just 48 trains are scheduled to go through.

So why will the Department of Transport not consider this option? We did ask them – about 57 days ago – but as yet there has been no response to this or anything else we’ve queried.

Read our full analysis of the use of the Bunbury Street Tunnel here.
Find out more about options for RRL here.

Tunnel count – 7am Thursday 10 June

Save Railway Place will be out with our clipboards at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning to count the number of trains using the Bunbury Street Tunnel in peak hour.

It has been suggested that country trains could use this tunnel under Footscray instead of digging a new one or carving up the suburb for the Regional Rail Link.

The government is apparently not considering this option but has not told us why. So we’re going out to do our own analysis to see if it could be viable.

Look out for us in the morning chill: corner of Bunbury and Moreland Streets, Footscray, 7-9.30am.

Who takes responsibility for the train network?

A report tabled in State Parliament today found that poor strategic planning and a fragmented management system are the cause of the significant increase in late and cancelled trains in recent years. (See Clay Lucas' article in The Age for further information).

Let's hope that the Regional Rail Link and other transport plans for the west are not also at the mercy of poor strategic planning. As no one is passing on any information at all about how this project is being managed, it's very hard to tell.

We are not alone

The people of Manor Lakes further up the line are also calling for the their bit of the Regional Rail Link to go into a tunnel.

They want to stop their suburb being cut in half by the railway and also protect one of the local schools.

Read more in this article from the Wyndham Leader.

They're talking about some pretty radical stuff - chaining themselves to trees! Food for thought for Footscray...

We're on Twitter

Keep up to date with our campaign on Twitter! We tweet as @Railway_Pl.

We'll post links to articles, new blog posts and other information on Twitter, but you'll be able to find it all here as well.

What does consultation look like?

Community consultation is a big part of any major project, such as the Regional Rail Link (RRL).

There are a variety of groups with whom the government might consult - businesses, residents, community groups, public transport authorities, heritage organisations, local councils and other government departments.

A group called the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) sets standards (PDF document) for how community engagement for such projects should be conducted.

 

IAP2 uses a spectrum to describe the different levels of engagement, ranging from "inform" (where people are told things and have no opportunity to contribute to decisions) to "empower" (where people are allowed to make decisions).

This project is too big for "empower" to be a realistic option - we're not expecting that. However, so far, we've been given very little chance to have any say in the RRL decision-making process. The Department of Transport website page only commits to "keeping the community informed as the project develops." 

We'd like to be invited to comment on options and alternatives. We'd like to see our concerns acknowledged and to see that our input does affect what decisions are made. This would reassure us that the Victorian government values communities as well as costs. It would also prove that the government is sincerely committed to seeking the best route option for the very people that this new rail link will serve.

Footscray - the 'Cinderella' suburb?

Footscray has a long history of community action.

In the 1980s, residents from Cowper Street, Newell Street and nearby defeated a planned extension of Whitehall Street. This would have connected Ballarat and Dynon Roads but many homes - and an entire community - would have been destroyed.

During the campaign, historian Dr John Lack made the following observation: "[The road plan]...would continue the pattern of Footscray making sacrifices for metropolitan problems for which metropolitan solutions should be found.

"It presumes that if you want to do something cheap and nasty, let Footscray do it for you.

"Footscray is the Cinderella suburb, which will get you out of any difficulty you are in."

There is no question that modern Melbourne has transport difficulties. We, too, want to see them solved. (Then maybe we'd be able to fit on a rush-hour train!).

But why is it so often residents of the inner west that are asked to pay the price, when other options are available?

What price a home? Footscray residents protest the Whitehall Road extension

[1] An article from The Times, 9 May 1984, quoting Dr John Lack

Marsha Thomson visits Railway Place

Today we were visited by Marsha Thomson, State Member for Footscray. Marsha met with some of our residents to discuss the heritage and community value of Railway Place, as well as possible Regional Rail Link route options. We've asked her to raise our concerns with the Planning and Transport Ministers and to give us an opportunity for real consultation. We look forward to working with Marsha further!

We're in The Mail

Today's issue of The Mail contains a front-page article about Railway Place, by Grant Reynolds. Also, there's a rather nice picture of part of our street!

The article describes how we're hoping the Regional Rail Link will utilise a new tunnel, the existing goods tunnel under Bunbury Street or land on the other side of the railway cutting to Railway Place, which is already earmarked for development.

Footscray has heritage, history and community - and we'd like to keep it. Email us if you'd like more information, or if you'd like to add your story to ours!

Can you help us?

We're looking for stories and images of Railway Place, the parks and surrounds, old and new. What do you value about the place you live? How long have you lived in Footscray, and how does it compare to where you lived before? How has Footscray itself changed since you arrived? What would you be sorry to lose?

We'd like to show these stories to ministers, council members, the media and other decision-makers to help them realise what changes to this area could cost our community.

Can you help us? Please get in touch!

Or, download our questionnaire and tell us your story.

We're in The Age

Clay Lucas from The Age spoke to some Railway Place residents this week - read his full article.

The article quotes RMIT's transport planner Dr Paul Mees, who said the government's inability to say where the train line would run 18 months after it was announced was proof the project had not been properly thought through. The Rudd government last year gave the line $3.2 billion in public funding because it was ''shovel ready''.

Options for the RRL path through Footscray include a rail tunnel under the suburb, use of the little-used rail tunnel that already runs under part of Footscray (an option proposed by Dr Mees and backed by former World Bank rail planner Ed Dotson but apparently not by the Department of Transport), and bulldozing the rail corridor so it can be widened to accommodate new tracks.

Oh, and we issued a media release (PDF document).

Victorian budget released - Regional Rail Link details

The Victorian State budget was released today - see also the coverage on the ABC website.

One of our intrepid readers has found details relating to the Regional Rail Link, in "Appendix E: Victorian Transport Plan". The funding committed is as follows:

• 2009-2010: $42m
• 2010-2011: $510m
• 2011-2012: $863m
• 2012-2013: $1389m
• 2013-2014: $1245m

By comparison, the budget allocated for the Westlink road tunnel is $5m this financial year and $5m in 2010-2011 (presumably for consultants and consultation) even though the total allocation is $2.8bn.

And in "Chapter 3: Department of Transport" it shows the Regional Rail Link steps "commence land acquisition process" and "tenders sought for first works package" both scheduled for the second quarter of 2010-2011, in other words by the end of 2010.

Activities update

If you live in our area you might have seen some of us out doorknocking the past couple of weekends. We're handing out information leaflets and asking people for their stories about Railway Place. We'll be out and about for the next few weekends too, no doubt, so keep an eye out for us! If you'd like to help or if you'd like some of our brochures, please email us.

There was also an interesting article published in today's Age, about the proposed Westlink road tunnel that may run under West Footscray. Residents in this area are also having difficulty getting answers from the State Government. The Government has also confirmed that Westlink is their 'number 1 priority' for federal funding. Does this means roads are getting more resources than rail and public transport, again?

You might also like to go to the Transport Hub at 61 Irving Street to ask for information about The Regional Rail Link, Westlink and the Metro Tunnel, and how it might affect our community. Staff working on the RRL will be present at the Hub on Wednesday 5 May, Saturday 8 May and Thursday 13 May (11am-2pm). You can sign up for updates from the Department of Transport and fill out a feedback form...every bit of community pressure helps...

Save our street!

What's going on?
The State Government plans to add two new train tracks between Deer Park and the city, going right through Footscray.

How does it affect me? 
If you live on Railway Place or Leunig Place, your properties could be acquired by the government for the project, even though there is commercial land destined for development available on the other side of the tracks.

If you live nearby, there will be even less green open space in Footscray, train tracks right up to your property, loss of the heritage character of the area, and many of those friendly faces you pass on the street forced from their homes.

Is it too late to change it? 
It's not too late - the Government hasn't yet decided which side of the tracks it will expand on and there is even talk of digging a tunnel instead.

If we act now we can pressure the Government to find a better solution than bulldozing our homes. A group of Railway Place residents is working together to do this.

But better public transport is a good thing, isn't it? 
Yes, yes, YES. We Support this plan overall, which is called the Regional Rail Link. But we want a fair decision on the location of the track, based on what's bets for the community - not property developers.

So what can we do? 
First we're contacting local politicians to demand they help stop this. Then we might go to the press, stage a rally, start an online campaign...we've got a lot of ideas.

How can I help? 
Add your name to the protest list we're sending to politicians and give us a statement about what this place means to you - we'll use this to show them they're threatening a great community.

Get involved with the campaign - any way you like.

Spread the word to you neighbours, your friends, your family - everyone!