The BBC Wiltshire asked to come to the The Paint-in protest and this a documentry of what happend that morning. In view of the position of Wiltshire Council we urge you to help us join together to establish an AONB and a group to defend the White Horse and secluded Wellhead Valley. From Westbury Artists Alex Prowse, Hazel O'Hara,Ian Hooper. members of Westbury Art Group, the Westbury Bypass Alliance and the White Horse Alliance Artists to paint landscape threatened by new bypass plan Contact email : whitehorse@wmafestival.org.uk  Two groups of artists have converged on the hillside above the Westbury white horse on Thursda 22 August. They were there to celebrate the most famous of Wiltshire's eight white horses, the emblem of the town itself. One group, led by the artists behind the 'Freedom on my Doorstep' project, will then set off on the first leg of a five-day 100-mile walk visiting the county's other white horses.   The other group will stayed behind for a 'Paint-in' to protest against plans by Wiltshire Council to build a bypass across the landscape below the White Horse and through the secluded Wellhead Valley that nestles between the town and the steep western escarpment of Salisbury Plain.   The road was thrown out by the government in 2009 after a planning inspector concluded that the scheme would not have justified the damage it would have done to this spectacular and tranquil landscape.   The Paint-in protest will be led by Westbury Artists Alex Prowse, Hazel O'Hara,Ian Hooper, and other members of Westbury Art Group'We will be recording one of Wiltshire's most important landscapes before it is wrecked,' he said. 'Hundreds of painters including Eric Ravilious have painted here. I have been painting it for years from every angle and in every season.   'I cannot believe that the council wants to revive this destructive and discredited road. We are calling on them to support our proposal for the western escarpment of the Plain and the Wellhead Valley to be protected as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It could be added to the Cranborne Chase and West Wilts Downs AONB, extending it from Heytesbury to the Westbury White Horse, as envisaged by the National Parks Commission in 1950.'  Alex's paintings, including a montage of the proposed road on the landscape, will illustrate a leaflet that campaigners will hand to walkers on Thursday. The leaflet calls on Wiltshire Council to support the AONB proposal.  'Natural England has told us that support from the council will improve the prospects for this landscape being recognised as nationally important,' said Patrick Kinnersly, Secretary of the White Horse Alliance. The Town Council and the Area Board support the idea but the council won't give it their blessing and we can only conclude that they do not want any further obstacles to their old dream of building a fast road right under the nose of the White Horse and through the Wellhead Valley.' Notes for Editors   The 'Freedom on my Doorstep' walk is the culmination of a three-month arts project supported by Arts Council England, funded by the National Lottery and managed by Wiltshire Museum.  The walk is due to set off at 9.00am on Thursday from the Bratton Camp hill fort to walk the first 16.5 mile leg to Devizes.   The White Horse Alliance is a coalition of 12 groups ranging from national NGOs, including the Woodland Trust, Campaign for Better Transport and CPRE, to local environmental groups and parish councils. It was formed in 2007 to oppose the A350 Westbury eastern bypass at the planning inquiry in 2008. The Alliance campaigns for a sustainable transport plan for Westbury and West Wiltshire as a whole. It presented expert evidence on landscape and wildlife to the recent Examination in Public of Wiltshire Council's draft plans for the county to 2026. The council has proposed that the obsolete local plan policy safeguarding the route of the axed bypass should be 'saved' into the new plan.  More information whitehorse@wmafestival.org.uk

• published: 23 Aug 2013
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