Lady Godiva Rides Again

Villagers from Stanton-by-Dale in Derbyshire came up with an unusual way of drawing attention to a monster housing development that threatens to overwhelm their community. A modern-day Lady Godiva led residents and protesters through village streets to confront local councillors as they arrived for a preview of the developer's plans. Local action group Green Squeeze are campaigning for the site -- the largest brown-field site in the UK - to be used for job creation rather than exclusively for housing, something they claim would provide a much-needed boost for a flagging local economy.

Developer Saint Gobain plans to submit an application to Erewash Borough Council for 3,000 houses to be built on the former ironworks site adjoining the village. It is a number that Green Squeeze claim are not needed in the present economic climate and that traffic generated by the development would destroy surrounding communities. Amid concerns that local councilors are not listening to residents views they are also sceptical that a proposal to build an access road through the local countryside has been scrapped as the developer claims.

'Lady Godiva made her historic ride to draw attention to the plight of ordinary people facing indifferent officialdom', explains Green Squeeze leader Paul Harvey. 'Nine hundred years on, the people of Erewash have exactly the same problem, I suppose you could say that it's one way of demanding more transparency from local government', he adds with a smile.

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Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Lady Godiva
• Stanton
• Stanton regeneration
• Green Squeeze
• Stanton-by-Dale
• Girl on Horse
• Road to Ruin
• Erewash
• Stanton Protest
• Stanton Ironworks