Greenpeace buys land to foil London runway plans

[January 13, 2009]  LONDON (AP) -- Plans to build a third runway at London's congested Heathrow Airport hit a snag Tuesday when Greenpeace and other environmental activists announced they had purchased a substantial plot of land where the planned runway would be built.

The coalition, including actress Emma Thompson, comedian Alistair McGowan and environmentalist Zac Goldsmith, purchased property that is about half the size of a football field in the village of Sipson, where hundreds of homes will be razed if runway plans go ahead.

The property is directly on the site of the proposed runway, Greenpeace director John Sauven said Tuesday.

"The legal owners of the site will block the runway at every stage through the planning process and in the courts," he said. "They will never sell the land to Spanish-owned airport operator BAA, and if it comes to it many thousands of people will be prepared to peacefully defend their field in person, standing in front of bulldozers and blocking construction."

The new owners believe the government will eventually be able to take control of the land through "compulsory purchase" laws, but they believe they can slow the process down substantially.

The coalition announced its surprise purchase as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Cabinet were grappling with the issue of the proposed new runway, which business leaders say is vital if Heathrow is to maintain its status as Europe's busiest airport.

The Cabinet appears divided over the issue, which pits environmental concerns -- and Britain's commitment to controlling climate change by reducing carbon emissions -- against economic growth and job creation.

The group that bought the land slated for the runway plans to use it as a focal point for mounting public protests against the planned airport expansion. It was not immediately clear how much they paid for the land.

Thompson, an Oscar-winning actress, said activists are ready to move onto the land and plant vegetables to protect it from being bulldozed for airport use.

"I don't understand how any government remotely serious about committing to reversing climate change can even consider these ridiculous plans," she said. "It's laughably hypocritical. That's why we've bought a plot on the runway. We'll stop this from happening."

Greenpeace posted a notice on its Web site Tuesday urging supporters to sign up to become legal owners of the property on the deeds in a bid to make it more complicated for the British government to take the property or negotiate its purchase.

[Associated Press; By GREGORY KATZ]

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