RECLAIM THE POWER SUMMER CAMP
this summer, a wide coalition of people and groups are coming together to Reclaim the Power. We want DPAC members and supporters to join us.If you’re up for creating a more equal, sustainable society, we want you to join us. If you want to fight against the economic and environmental crises that governments and big business have created, we want you to join us. If you want to meet, plan and take action with a diverse range of groups and individuals who have shared goals, we want you to join us.Reclaim the Power will be a 4 day action camp and protest at EDF’s West Burton power station. Every effort has and will be made to make this camp as accessible and inclusive as possible. Please let us know as soon as  possible if you are interested in attending and have any particular access requirements. If you plan to attend, and don’t let us know in advance of your requirements it will be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to try to meet them on the spur of the moment.Access arrangements so far include:
Hard-surface pathways through the camp with access to all communal areas and activities,
Accessible toilet facilities,
Accessible accommodation,
Accessible cooking facilities,
Wheelchair/scooter/equipment charging points,
BSL interpreters (by arrangement only),
and more.West Burton is the first of up to 40 new gas fired power stations that are currently being planned. This Dash for Gas is not just bad news for the climate – profit-driven gas extraction is forcing people into poverty right now. Politicians are pandering to tax-dodging energy companies who are getting ever richer and pushing their prices ever higher, forcing more and more people to choose between heating and eating. 7,200 people died last winter in the UK because of fuel poverty.As jobs, support and services disappear, more and more disabled people will become more isolated at home. The rising cost of living, including energy prices; will impact on the conditions we becoming isolated in. Being able to heat your home, maintain your personal well being and eat healthily will depend on a regular supply of energy. Disabled people are already twice as likely to live in poverty as non-disabled people, and fuel poverty will affect many thousands of disabled people.  EDF and the other ‘Big Six’ energy companies are profiting from our misery.We want a sustainable energy system that prioritises people, not profit.
Last October, 21 environmental activists shut down West Burton power station for a week in protest at the government’s Dash for Gas. With your help, including a solidarity petition signed by 64,000 people – they fought off EDF’s attempt to sue them for £5 million.
And now we’re going back.

This summer, from 16th-20th August, over 1000 people will gather on the doorstep of the power station for a camp – including workshops and action planning – and a mass action. With your help, we will shut down the Dash for Gas, and forge strong links between economic and environmental justice in the minds of the public.

You are invited to be part of this exciting. Get in touch with DPAC at mail@dpac.uk.net and let us know the following:

What days you would like to come (you can choose to come for as long or as short as you like)?

Do you have any access requirements (travel, accommodation, cooking, information, participation in meetings/workshops/skill-shares/actions etc)?

Do you have any mobility/communication/technical aids which require recharging (what are they, what are the amp/voltage details on the charger)?

Will you be coming with a PA?

Do you have and legal observer skills or accredited medical training (Registered Nurse, St Johns Ambulance etc) you are willing to contribute?

Anything else we need to know or do, or anything you need to know or have, to enable you to take part on your own terms? (As earlier we will make every effort to do everything we can, but we will be in camp-site, in a field and some barriers just may be beyond us – that doesn’t mean don’t ask, we will investigate every possible solution before ruling anything out).

If you want to Reclaim the Power, there are loads of ways that you can help out and get involved:

  • Share this callout with your friends and networks
  • Actively encourage everyone to come
  • Promote Reclaim the Power through your social media channels (#ReclaimThePower, @NoDashForGas). Our Facebook event is attinyurl.com/reclaimthepower
  • Invite us to speak at one of your meetings – just email info@nodashforgas.org.uk
  • Would you like to run a workshop at the camp? Again, just email us to let us know what you’d like to do (info@nodashforgas.org.uk)
  • Would you like to be involved in organising the camp? We will be having a national gathering in London on the 4th August at which you would be welcome – just email info@nodashforgas.org.

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