Forest Hill Twinned With Heathrow Village As Lib Dem PPC Alex Feakes Joins Greenpeace To Plant 'Runway Tree'

9.59.32am GMT Sun 29th Nov 2009

Cllr Alex Feakes plants an apple tree in Forest Hill in symbolic twinning with village threatened by Heathrow expansion

A ceremony at Kelvin Grove School on Saturday, November 28th, saw local Greenpeace members join forces with Cllr Alex Feakes, Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Lewisham West & Penge, to plant an apple tree and 'twin' Forest Hill with the threatened village.

This month celebrities and politicians planted an apple orchard on the runway site as a mark of opposition to the plans for a new runway, and this weekend the planting of an apple tree in Forest Hill will be a symbol of solidarity with the residents of Sipson.

The Cox apple was first bred near Sipson in the 1850s by Richard Cox, who is buried on the site earmarked for a new runway. The planting of the orchard represented the re-introduction of the breed into the area and was designed to act as a potent symbol of the local community's determination to stop the runway and save their homes and schools. Now Forest Hill will have its own apple tree to show the people of Sipson they have support up and down the country in the fight to save their community, and save the climate.

Cllr Feakes commented: "I'm proud that Forest Hill is recognising the campaign against Heathrow's unwelcome and destructive third runway. Our link with Sipson - symbolised by the planting of an apple tree - is strengthened by Forest Hill's own history of orchards and woodland, and the huge interest amongst residents here for protecting our environment."

Local Greenpeace campaigner, Kate Shipp, said: "We're planting an apple tree in Forest Hill so we're twinned with the new apple orchard on the runway site. The people in Sipson have fought a brave campaign to save their village from the bulldozers, and to save our environment from the climate-wrecking effects of a new runway at Heathrow. We hope their orchard will be bearing fruit in years to come, instead of being under tarmac, and as long as their orchard stands then we hope our tree in Forest Hill will grow as well, and show that people here care about the environment."

Actors Alison Steadman and Richard Briers, politicians including Nick Clegg MP, local residents and poet laureate Carol-Ann Duffy planted the orchard in Sipson, while Alain De Botton - who was famously recruited by BAA to spend a week at Heathrow and write about his experiences - has adopted a Cox apple tree in the orchard. They were joined by the Woodland Trust, RSPB, WWF, the World Development Movement and other groups representing a total of three million members.

The orchard was planted on the third runway site on land purchased by Greenpeace from under the noses of BAA and the Government earlier this year. The plot was then offered to members of the public. Nearly 60,000 people from across the world now co-own the land targeted by BAA's bulldozers.

An expanded Heathrow would become the single biggest source of CO2 in Britain and threaten what chance we have to slashing our emissions and Britain playing its part in beating climate change.

Related Link:

Greenpeace AirPlot campaign.