Difference between revisions of "Euston Square Gardens"
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A worksite for [[High Speed 2]] and the proposed Euston St Pancras railway station is situated at the gardens. This is to construct an underground pedestrian link between Euston railway station and Euston Square tube station. | A worksite for [[High Speed 2]] and the proposed Euston St Pancras railway station is situated at the gardens. This is to construct an underground pedestrian link between Euston railway station and Euston Square tube station. | ||
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| + | ==Emblematic plane trees== | ||
| + | {{QB|The plane trees of Euston Square Gardens are emblematic of all the trees that will be destroyed in the building of [[HS2]]. | ||
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| + | According to the [https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/ Woodland Trust,] between London and Birmingham, “32 ancient woods will be directly affected. A further 29 will suffer secondary effects such as disturbance, noise and pollution.” | ||
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| + | This sacrifice demanded of the trees is in order to slightly shorten the train journey between those two cities for those who can afford to pay the fare.<ref>''[https://fitzrovianews.com/2021/02/05/the-trees-of-euston-square-gardens-are-emblematic-of-all-the-trees-that-will-be-destroyed-in-the-building-of-the-high-speed-rail-link/ "The trees of Euston Square Gardens are emblematic of all the trees that will be destroyed in the building of the high speed rail link"]''</ref>}} | ||
==Protest camp== | ==Protest camp== | ||
| + | [[File:HS2_Tree.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Plane tree wrapped in scarfs and ribbons: emblematic of all the trees that will be destroyed]] | ||
An [[HS2 Rebellion]] protest camp was set up in September 2020 – on land compulsorily acquired for [[HS2]]'s Euston station upgrade – to protect 20 healthy, very old and very large trees in Euston Square Gardens that HS2 Ltd deemed necessary to cut down for a temporary taxi rank. | An [[HS2 Rebellion]] protest camp was set up in September 2020 – on land compulsorily acquired for [[HS2]]'s Euston station upgrade – to protect 20 healthy, very old and very large trees in Euston Square Gardens that HS2 Ltd deemed necessary to cut down for a temporary taxi rank. | ||
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==Charges dropped== | ==Charges dropped== | ||
| + | [[File:HS2_Tunnellers.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Charges against six [[HS2 Rebellion]] activists, including "Swampy" (2nd left), were dismissed]] | ||
On 6 October 2021, six environmental protesters who occupied a tunnel close to Euston station in protest against the [[HS2]] high-speed link earlier this year walked free from court after charges in connection with the occupation were dismissed by a judge. | On 6 October 2021, six environmental protesters who occupied a tunnel close to Euston station in protest against the [[HS2]] high-speed link earlier this year walked free from court after charges in connection with the occupation were dismissed by a judge. | ||
Revision as of 15:11, 23 November 2021
 Euston Square Gardens      | |
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 Tree protectors in Euston Square Gardens | |
Euston Square Gardens is a public garden on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden.
The gardens are the northern gardens of the former residential Euston Square, the southern gardens were renamed Endsleigh Gardens.
Euston Square Gardens are enclosed by railings and covered with grass and London plane trees. The two lodges at the gardens date from 1870 and were once the entrance to Euston station. They are inscribed with the names of the London and North Western Railway.
A worksite for High Speed 2 and the proposed Euston St Pancras railway station is situated at the gardens. This is to construct an underground pedestrian link between Euston railway station and Euston Square tube station.
Emblematic plane trees
The plane trees of Euston Square Gardens are emblematic of all the trees that will be destroyed in the building of HS2.
According to the Woodland Trust, between London and Birmingham, “32 ancient woods will be directly affected. A further 29 will suffer secondary effects such as disturbance, noise and pollution.”
This sacrifice demanded of the trees is in order to slightly shorten the train journey between those two cities for those who can afford to pay the fare.[1]
Protest camp
An HS2 Rebellion protest camp was set up in September 2020 – on land compulsorily acquired for HS2's Euston station upgrade – to protect 20 healthy, very old and very large trees in Euston Square Gardens that HS2 Ltd deemed necessary to cut down for a temporary taxi rank.
It was revealed in January 2021 that protesters had built a 100ft tunnel under the gardens as part of protests against the planned High Speed 2 railway. Nine activists occupied the tunnels starting 27 January as part of the protest. The first protester left the tunnel on February 5th. A second protester left on the 6th. A third left on the 15th and a fourth on the 17th. A 5th was evicted on the 23rd and a further 3 left on the 25th. The final protester left on the 26th.
In March, a freedom of information request revealed that the Metropolitan Police had spent £140,000 on policing the tunnels during the removal of the protesters.[2]
Charges dropped
On 6 October 2021, six environmental protesters who occupied a tunnel close to Euston station in protest against the HS2 high-speed link earlier this year walked free from court after charges in connection with the occupation were dismissed by a judge.
Daniel Hooper, 48, also known as “Swampy”; Dr Larch Maxey, 49; Isla Sandford, 18; Lachlan Sandford, 20; Juliett Stevenson-Clarke, 22; and Scott Breen, 47, faced charges of aggravated trespass at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court in central London for their 31 days underground in January and February of this year. A separate charge against Maxey of damage to a mobile phone was also dismissed.
An HS2 spokesperson said they were “bitterly disappointed” with the outcome of the case.
The protesters dug a 100ft tunnel network secretly over a period of months and stored up enough food and water supplies to last throughout the subterranean protest. During the tunnel occupation they spent much of their time digging and shoring up the structure they had created.
District Judge Susan Williams dismissed the charges in relation to the high-profile protest on the basis that HS2 was not carrying out any construction work on the site at the time the charges were levelled against the protesters. Instead, their aim was to clear the site of protesters and then begin the construction work.
She said: “There is no evidence of any constructor or construction taking place on the land at that time.”[3]
References
This page imported content from Wikipedia on 18 November 2021.Wikipedia is not affiliated with Wikispooks. Original page source here
