In 1992 as part of its Roads for Prosperity programme, the Major government announced two bypasses to be built around Oxford’s northern approaches, the Barton bypass, which would have seen Helen Kimble’s house demolished, and the so-called Tin Hat bypass around north Oxford, both in fact links in the E30 Felixstowe to Fishguard route.
Characteristically Helen Kimble “went to war”, not just to protect her own home, but to protect the green belt in which it was located, the countryside beyond, and Oxford as a whole. After an intense and well-supported two-year campaign the plans were dropped in March 1994 and Helen was rightly celebrated at a victory gathering at the Barton Neighbourhood Centre for her vital campaigning role.
My family and I were neighbours of Helen’s through the 1990s and never ceased to marvel at her determination and, at times, necessary bloody-mindedness in defence of her deeply held principles (put into practice).
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