The End of the Affair

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Episode 3 of 3

Duration: 1 hour

When the first motorways opened they did so to national celebration. But after the first 1,000 miles had been built, their impact on both town and country was becoming apparent and people started to protest.

Middle England rose up and disrupted public inquiries to voice their frustration at motorway building, but it continued and over time the frustration gave way to concerns about saving the planet. In the early 90s that meant young people willing to risk everything to stop the motorways being built. The programme shows how we began to question the promises made by the motorway and along the way found our voice of protest.

More episodes

See all episodes from Secret Life of the Motorway

  • BBC Learning Zone Broadband: The M40 motorway: how Otmoor was saved by local campaigners

    BBC Learning Zone Broadband: The M40 motorway: how Otmoor was saved by local campaigners

    In 1980 Otmoor in Oxfordshire was threatened by a government proposal for the M40 motorway to cross the area. However, it was saved by an imaginative local campaign to become a site of national conservation value.

    Watch the video clip from BBC Learning Zone Broadband

  • BBC Learning Zone Broadband: Motorways in central London: how public protest stopped construction

    BBC Learning Zone Broadband: Motorways in central London: how public protest stopped construction

    A demonstration of how public protest stopped the construction of a planned scheme to introduce elevated motorways into central London.

    Watch the video clip from BBC Learning Zone Broadband

Credits

Series Producer
Emma Hindley
Narrator
Philip Glenister
Director
Simon Winchcombe
Executive Producer
Clare Sillery

Broadcasts

See all broadcasts of The End of the Affair (19)

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