Eco-Pirates Seize Island on the River Thames

On Saturday 24th of May 2009, I was casually walking along the river side in Kingston when a girl approached me and asked me If I knew about this proposal being planned for a dis-used Island on the Thames near Hampton Court. She explained who she was and that she worked with a team of people going by the name of 'Ravens Ait'. I mentioned that I did landscape architecture which happened to be a bonus in their shceme of things. She invited me onto her narrowboat and introduced me to some of her team. I got talking to Rick, one of the self-styled “Eco-Pirates” who explained their perpose. I was interested to see what the outcome could be so I provided my name and email address and I'm looking forward to a reply. I think this is a good oppotunity to pursue an important caurse, so Im interested to see how it turns out. I looked up this development online to show you in detail what exactly is being proposed and what 'Ravens Ait' want to prohibit.
http://www.ecosalon.com/thames-pirates/

" There are all sorts of pirates around these days. There are the pirates of Somalia who hijack ships, there are the Pirates of the Carribean who entertain us in the movies, and then there are the eco-pirates of Raven’s Ait.

These self-proclaimed eco-pirates, a diverse group of ecologists and green squatters, have been occupying the small island of Raven’s Ait, located just down river from Hampton Court (one of England’s royal palaces), since February.

Raven’s Ait was previously used by a wedding and conference company for events, but when the company went under, the eco-pirates moved in with the idea of transforming the island into an eco conference center showcasing green ideas and promoting sustainable development.

So far, there is only one small wind turbine in action. The tallest tree now houses a wooden tree house, and weekend workshops focus on natural healing methods and massage.

They are, by the way, a friendly bunch of eco-pirates who, if you give them a wave from the banks of the river Thames, will send over a boat and offer a visit to Raven’s Ait to see what they are achieving.

Formal plans for this eco conference center have been submitted to the local council. But the Kingston upon Thames council, which holds the freehold to the island, doesn’t appear all that keen. They’ve since issued an eviction notice and say that no discussion of any plan will occur while they remain on the island.

Faced with such an ultimatum, the eco-pirates will have no choice but to surrender the island to the council. Let’s just hope that the council doesn’t then surrender Raven’s Ait to developers looking to be anything but eco-friendly."

I would recommend visiting the website below which goes into detail about this @ http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/271814