Photos / Climate Camp 2008 / Kingsnorth Power Station
Kingsnorth Power Station
7 Images
Kent, UK
28 July 2008
Climate change protesters are due to arrive at Kingsnorth power station on the Hoo peninsular in Kent, next week. Although the exact location of the camp is being kept secret Kent Police, local residents and E.ON the company that operate Kingsnorth are worried about their plans.
Campaigners have said they are going attack the 1,985-megawatt coal fired power station by land, sea and air. Protesters plan to sail small boats and rafts up the Medway whilst other groups will be attempting to scale fences around the site.
E.ON has responded to these threats by taking out an injunction at the high court giving Police extra powers to stop protesters from disrupting operation of the plant which supplies 1.5 million homes and businesses in the south east. A second security fence is also being constructed around the plant, topped with razor wire and in some places has been electrified.
Local farmers are also worried about damage to their crops, Mark Batchelor who owns most of the land around the power station said "Potentially they could end up destroying my crops which are nearing harvest. They could ruin my business." At a public meeting earlier this month with camp organisers and local residents they would not say exactly where they planned to hold the week-long camp but that it would be 'somewhere near'.
Last years camp near Heathrow attracted around 2,000 protesters, organisers this year are planning to accommodate around 3,000 people. A previous camp in Yorkshire near Drax power station in 2006 only had 600 protesters but the movement seems to be gathering more supporters.
Climate Camp runs from the 3rd to the 11th of August with a mass day of action against Kingsnorth on the 9th. There is also a day of action planned on the 6th against Bio-fuels.
Campaigners have said they are going attack the 1,985-megawatt coal fired power station by land, sea and air. Protesters plan to sail small boats and rafts up the Medway whilst other groups will be attempting to scale fences around the site.
E.ON has responded to these threats by taking out an injunction at the high court giving Police extra powers to stop protesters from disrupting operation of the plant which supplies 1.5 million homes and businesses in the south east. A second security fence is also being constructed around the plant, topped with razor wire and in some places has been electrified.
Local farmers are also worried about damage to their crops, Mark Batchelor who owns most of the land around the power station said "Potentially they could end up destroying my crops which are nearing harvest. They could ruin my business." At a public meeting earlier this month with camp organisers and local residents they would not say exactly where they planned to hold the week-long camp but that it would be 'somewhere near'.
Last years camp near Heathrow attracted around 2,000 protesters, organisers this year are planning to accommodate around 3,000 people. A previous camp in Yorkshire near Drax power station in 2006 only had 600 protesters but the movement seems to be gathering more supporters.
Climate Camp runs from the 3rd to the 11th of August with a mass day of action against Kingsnorth on the 9th. There is also a day of action planned on the 6th against Bio-fuels.
All Images & Text © Jonathan Warren 2006-2010