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29
Apr 2021
RAF Menwith Hill protest to take place tomorrow
A protest will take place at RAF Menwith Hill tomorrow as part of the International Day of Action Against Foreign Military Bases.
Campaigners say the day will "show solidarity and opposition" to over 1,000 overseas military bases that exist around the world.
The socially distanced protest is being organised by Menwith Hill Accountability Campaign and Yorkshire CND.
Built in the 1950s on the edge of Nidderdale, Menwith Hill is the United States’ largest overseas surveillance base. Giant radomes, or ‘golf balls’, are a distinctive feature of the site.
Read more:
Upset and anger at plans to remove MP’s memorial tree at Menwith Hill
Menwith Hill to expand with new ‘golf ball’
Meanwhile, Harrogate Borough Council is expected to make a decision on the latest expansion at the base soon.
The Ministry of Defence, which owns the site, has submitted plans to add a new visitor centre, vehicle canopy and changes to the road junction on Menwith Hill Road.
However, the application has proved controversial because it would involve felling a memorial tree planted in memory of the late Bob Cryer MP in 1994.
Mr Cryer campaigned for transparency at Menwith Hill and secured a debate in parliament a few months before he died in 1994. He claimed the aim of the base was to “assert and retain United States supremacy”.
Mr Cryer's widow, the former Keighley MP Ann Cryer, told the Stray Ferret she was "very upset" at the proposals.
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