Its had less oxygen of publicity through SchNEWS lately, but Camp Bling, the protest camp set up to oppose a road widening scheme at Priory Park in Southend, Essex (see SchNEWS 573) is still very much in place after three years of occupation.

After an important East Saxon burial site was discovered on the proposed route, and with plenty of local opposition, the scheme has been delayed with the council only now about to submit a revised plan to the Department for Transport to get government funding of around £9.5m - 75% of the costs, and it is still casting around to gee the other 25%.

Whatever the outcome, the camp is intending to close down and vacate the site only if the scheme is scrapped completely and, meanwhile, they are launching a new website to extend their sphere of interest to include mass extinctions, peak oil and impending eco-gedden.

* See www.campbling.org