WEIDEL, Janine. Eco Warriors: London 1998 – 1999.

(UK): Cafe Royal Books and Janine Wiedel, 2023. First edition. Softcover. 20cm by 14cm. Unpaginated. For one year, Eco Warriors established a camp on public parkland on the site of the former Crystal Palace, the highest point in South London. In 1986, the site and park had been taken over by Bromley Council, who had watched over what many local residents felt to be a strategy of managed decline. Just over a decade later, approval was granted for a £56 million leisure complex, with a 20-screen cinema multiplex, 9 restaurants/bars, various retail outlets and rooftop parking for a thousand cars. Twelve acres of parkland would be taken over and 200 trees felled. But local groups mounted legal challenges and campaigned to halt the plans. In 1998, they raised £35,000 for a Judicial Review to overturn the planning permission. The High Court rejected their case, but the community continued the battle. It was during this time that residents and campaigners welcomed the Eco Warriors who arrived to occupy the site. The occupation ended with a dramatic eviction in March 1999. Roads were sealed off and Cherry Pickers, normally used to repair streetlights, plucked protesters from the trees. It took 3 weeks, a battalion of riot police, hundreds of security guards and a special tree climbing force to remove about 50 Eco Warriors. Some remained underground for over a week. Whilst the camp was shut down, the wider campaign to stop the development was successful. In 2001, the construction plans were shelved. Illustrated with images of some of the warriors. A very good copy in stapled wrappers.