Here’s a sprawl-busters story submitted by residents in the United Kingdom: “Citizens of York, England are fighting to stop the building of the Coppergate II shopping mall next to the scheduled ancient monument of Clifford’s Tower and the Castle Museum in York..?? Clifford’s Tower, originally built by William the Conqueror, was the site of genocide against the Jewish citizens in York in 1190. The people of York were never properly consulted about the development and the only independent poll in the Yorkshire Evening Press produced a 5-1 landslide against the development.??It seems that the City Planners have made a cosy pact with the developers, Land Securities, and contrived to push the plan through with the support of some forceful Council Members arm-twisting others to go along with it.The Public Inquiry into the shopping mall proposal at Clifford’s Tower ended in blackmail and intimidation when the City of York Council’s barrister threatened citizens of York, who wanted a “green and open space”, with punitive costs if their objections were not withdrawn.
“York is a city known and loved by people around the world.?? You can help us now.?? Please see the new online petition linked from this page, which was set-up by some American supporters of our campaign to stop the building of this tawdry shopping mall at one of York’s most sensitive historic locations. http://www.geocities.com/cliffordstower/pages/petition.html Please add your voice to the international body of protest and pass on to anyone you think would be interested. There is a vast catalogue of the events over the past two years on our News Page.?? Just scan down this to get a real idea of what has been going on in York. http://www.geocities.com/cliffordstower/pages/news.html Contact: Dave Gorman, [email protected]. Castle Area Campaign, York, England.”