Environmental direct action in the United Kingdom After the eviction of Claremont road in 1994 protesters from the Flowerpot and Dongas tribes joined the protest at Stanworth valley to build an "Ewok village" of the tree houses. There were many subsequent road protests including Newbury bypass, the A30, Swampy became well known during the eviction at the A30 camp, although there were many other smaller road protest camps. Some camps did actually result in roads being cancelled, the first such cancellation occurring in London. The government slashed the roads programme 3 times, each by a third, in response to direct action techniques and associated public opinion. The
Newbury bypass the "Newbury Weekly News" (10 March 1996) found that 53% of respondents thought that "work should stop immediately to allow time for alternatives to be tried". Despite the protests, site clearance and road construction proceeded under heavy security provided by the Thames Valley Police led by the Assistant Chief Constable Ian Blair, the Hampshire Constabulary, and private security firms. The road was eventually finished after thirty-four months in November 1998 and now provides a high-speed section of the A34. It cost £104 million, against an original contract price of £74 million. The Highways Agency blamed the cost blow-out on the