SSE to Hold Third Community Conference

WORKING TOGETHER TO WIN

Community Conference set to reinvigorate fight against Stansted Expansion

 With the government’s new consultation on expanding capacity at Britain’s airports just around the corner, the campaign team at Stop Stansted Expansion is gearing up for its Community Conference to ensure that it is ready for the battle ahead.

The emphasis will be on Working Together To Win and tickets for the afternoon event which will take place at the Stansted Hilton Hotel on Sunday 9 February are now available from the Stop Stansted Expansion campaign office. Demand for places at the conference, capable of accommodating 200 people, is expected to be high.

Supported financially by Uttlesford District Council, the conference aims to reinvigorate, refocus and remotivate those who will be affected by the massive development and major urbanisation which would accompany the addition of between one and three runways to the airport.

Said Stop Stansted Expansion campaign chairman Norman Mead: “We’re organising the conference to show members of the local community as well as campaign supporters where we are up to and to show how we’re taking the fight forward.”

The programme will begin with a short summary of the campaign’s response to the consultation, particularly on the key areas of health, noise and the environment, with fuller details of why demand management and offshore options must be given greater prominence in the government’s plans for the future.

Meanwhile, plans for the year ahead will be explained and a panel session held with members of the main working group. This will include an outline of how the key campaign areas of grass roots activities, Parliamentary lobbying, legal routes and media relations will be integrated to achieve maximum results.

Guest speakers at the event will include Sally Oliver, mother of celebrity chef Jamie who has done so much for the campaign in raising awareness at national level. Local MPs Mark Prisk and Sir Alan Haselhurst have also been invited to give feedback from Westminster while there will be a report from one of the region’s MEPs on the close attention which the European Parliament is paying to the consultation debate. There will also be an opportunity to put the politicians on the spot and ask them how they intend to help persuade Alistair Darling to rule out further expansion at Stansted.

Workshop discussions and feedback will round off the afternoon, providing a mechanism to explore and gather ideas as well as support for particular initiatives. These include raising awareness of the expansion threat, letter writing to politicians and others, including the media, who might support the cause, boosting membership, developing the events programme and fundraising to sustain the campaign.

Tickets are available from the Stop Stansted Expansion campaign office, with a nominal charge of £5 each towards costs. This will cover refreshments, delegate pack, CD copy of the campaign song by composer Barrington Phelong of Inspector Morse fame, due to be released shortly, and free parking at the conference venue.

To book or obtain further details, call 01279 870558, email info@stopstanstedexpansion.com or visit the website at www.stopstanstedexpansion.com.

ENDS