More than 100 people attended a picnic protest at the Colney Hospital site on Sunday 3rd August 1997.
The afternoon started with about 50 protesters and children gathering at Earlham Park and then walking across the Yare valley to the hospital site on the route proposed for the hospital bus service. The idea had been to picnic peacefully on the site, but access was denied by the NHS Trust, and protesters were threatened with injunctions against 'persons unknown' if they set foot on the site.
The protesters settled down on the grass verges at the entrance to the weed-filled site and picnicked for some two hours, hung ribbons on the threatened trees and hedges, set up stalls and ran raffles to raise money for the campaign and talked together. There was a steady stream of people arriving and leaving, making a total of more than 100, and more than 80 signatures were received in support of the campaign. The organisers were very satisfied with the turnout, considering the holiday season and the very short notice. Many more had hoped to be there, but found it just too hard to get to without public transport - which is one of the objections to siting the hospital there!
The press were there, and Denise Carlo the spokesperson for the 'Keep Our Hospital in Norwich' campaign, said the government was going ahead with the Colney site simply to keep business interests happy. She said this was unacceptable when local people will have to suffer the social, environmental and economic costs of an out of town hospital. She said that we believe that it is far better to stick out for redevelopment of the present site than to press ahead for Colney with disastrous consequences.
Money being wasted on security instead of patient care
Two guards have been on site round the clock since early June, and have acquired marvellous suntans at the tax payer's expense. On the afternoon of the protest there were at least three guards there, together with two Hospital Trust officials, and other guards with binoculars watched from a distance.
The guards are apparently paid £3.40 an hour by Security Care, who charge the Hospital Trust £7.25 an hour for each - a total of £123,000 per annum. That would pay for a few doctors and nurses at the already over pressed hospital!