Stop the road in its tracks

The (Glasgow) Herald
Leader Article
Wednesday August 11, 2004

Our most vulnerable citizens need their safe haven

The Herald says:

"ONE telling measurement of a humane society is the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens. The news that the Scottish Executive is threatening to take court action against the Camphill Community as a prelude to the possibility of building a dual carriageway cutting it in two must be the equivalent of this barometer sinking to a new low. In the part of the dial reserved for "storms" in the meteorological version, there should appear a legend such as "crass insensitivity".

Nobody denies that traffic congestion in Aberdeen is getting worse or that the proposed western peripheral route would relieve it but it is a perverted set of priorities that dictates that this should take precedence over a unique project that allows people with profound disabilities to lead remarkably normal happy lives."

The Herald continues:

"These residents have complex needs, not easily met in the hurly-burly of modern life. Many are easily irritated and stressed by noise. Some have sleeping difficulties. Others have conditions, such as asthma or allergies, aggravated by pollution. Continuity is vitally important to their health and happiness.

If this road is allowed to go ahead, Camphill will be about as restful as a motorway service station. Its inestimable therapeutic value will be lost. Staff and supporters of Camphill are right to resist the development on behalf of those not able to speak for themselves. The same applies to the ground-shaking drilling rigs that the Scottish Executive is seeking to foist on the community as part of the preliminary survey work. Another route must be found.

If Camphill was the habitat of an endangered toad or a rare wild flower or the site of an historical battle, statutory bodies would be queuing up to oppose the development. As it is, the Scottish Executive and Aberdeen councillors appear to be treating Camphill as the line of least resistance. Now a high-profile campaign, ~ backed by abrasive Newsnight anchorman, Jeremy Paxman and others, is proving them wrong. Camphill is an SSHI - a site of special human interest. It must be saved."