Green campaigners target home-builder

Persimmon Homes has been named as the latest target for environmental pressure from members of the Urgent environmental pressure group across the country.

Environmental campaigners met at the Big Green Gathering in Wiltshire last week, to co-ordinate efforts to target Persimmon Homes sites across the country, with direct action and site occupancies.

Urgent (Urban Regeneration and Greenfield Environmental Network) is a coalition of groups and individuals campaigning for sustainable social housing and urban regeneration.

At its meetings protest actions are organised and coordinated. The campaigners also plan to buy company shares to gain access to annual general meetings.

Geoff Grewer, Persimmon Homes company secretary, said: "This is not news to us. We were told indirectly by one or other of these pressure groups some months ago. This is of no particular concern.

"Everybody is aware of the potential for delays but we have already had our annual general meeting in April and pressure groups attended. We are continuing with our business as usual."

Paul Deluce, a member of the direct action movement Earth First!, said: "We intend to name and shame the group through constant co-ordinated protest action.

"Various environmental groups across the country have contacted Urgent in a bid to co-ordinate action against firms which continue to build on either contaminated and hazardous land or greenfield sites."

The Urgent network has also been invited to participate in talks with the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (Ciria), on how to raise environmental awareness and sustainability within the construction industry.

Ciria released a draft set of performance criteria for assessing environmental performance of civil engineering in early June. The Sustainable Construction consultation paper will not lead to legislation, but is aimed to help industry assess its environmental efficiency and reduce waste and costs.

Ciria's £120,000 project is a four-part study into environmental issues in construction, to be completed by the autumn.

Urgent has been requested to talk at several CIRIA seminars on subjects including building on contaminated land, building for the community, converting ind-ustrial developments for residential use, and infrastructure provision.