Activists from Extinction Rebellion (XR) threw their support behind the campaign to reverse development at the Seething Wells site in Surbiton with a banner drop this morning (August 27).
On the A307 road that runs parallel to the former Victorian water works, a banner hung by the climate protesters declared the group's support for an ongoing campaign to end development at the site.
The banner read: "Save Seething Wells. Stop the Harm. Extinction Rebellion."
A short statement posted by the group's Kingston branch after the banner drop read: "This once-thriving nature spot has been stripped bare - so sad."
Banner at #seethingwells this morning. This once-thriving nature spot has been stripped bare - so sad. #ExtinctionRebellion #stoptheharm #saveseethingwells pic.twitter.com/hGj7Vob0R1
— XR Kingston upon Thames (@KingstonXR) August 27, 2020
As the Surrey Comet reported previously, campaigners in Surbiton and Kingston have lobbied Kingston Council (RBK) to bar any future development at the Seething Wells filter beds site and instead encourage a nature reserve there.
In June, RBK handed the Seething Wells Action Group (SWAG) a major boost when they refused planning permission for "storage there" submitted by the owners of the site through the Icon Planning and Environmental company.
Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for the Seething Wells site, which formerly hosted a large number of trees, to be converted into a nature reserve.
The climate crisis has the potential to cause enormous damage and upheaval. In fact, a climate emergency is already upon us.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 22, 2020
How the world recovers from the #COVID19 pandemic is a make-or-break moment for the health of our planet. https://t.co/Bgc8Ds1jj3
XR are planning a number of actions in London and across the UK starting tomorrow (August 28) designed to pile pressure on the government to take decisive action against the climate crisis and reduce carbon emissions drastically down to zero in the next five years.
Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said earlier this year the world had just the remainder of 2020 to avert some of the most catastrophic impacts of climate change that the Earth is currently on course for.
Increasing numbers and intensity of extreme weather events like floods, heatwaves and droughts, plus widespread crop failure and massive displacement of people due to the climate crisis are all currently expected by many in the scientific community in the coming decades,as per a landmark report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
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