Alfred Repels the Barbarians? - Contested Road Development in England 1970 - 1996

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Road development was often a controversial topic in the late twentieth century and is best remembered for direct action protests at construction sites such as Twyford Down near Winchester and the A34 by-pass at Newbury in the early 1990s. However, the subject has a much longer history: for example, in 1976, protesters forced the abandonment of a public inquiry into a road scheme at Shipley in West Yorkshire before bringing the same tactics to Winchester the following year. The opponents saw themselves defending their local communities from the plans of a remote bureaucracy, but in other examples such as Newbury, many residents demanded new roads to defend their communities from traffic congestion. These cases can be explored to understand how the controversies arose, what views were held by supporters and opponents, and what the events can tell us about changing attitudes to planning and modernisation; environmental issues and awareness; attitudes to landscape and the rural environment; and the politics of participation and protest. This talk will focus on three examples of contested road development – the Aire Valley trunk road in West Yorkshire, the M3 at Winchester and the Newbury by-pass – to explore what they can tell us about these issues.

Steve Horn is a PhD student at the University of Winchester currently in the final stages of producing a thesis on contested road development in England 1970 – 1996. He has lived in Winchester for many years. He studied History as an undergraduate and remained always keen in the subject. After retiring from a long career in IT, he decided to return to academic study and obtained a MA from the University of Winchester in 2021 before moving on to the PhD.

Chairs: Prof Chris Aldous (University of Winchester) and Dr Graciela Iglesias-Rogers (University of Winchester)

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