Support for the Save Camphill campaign has come from many quarters. On this page you can find information on some of the support that the campaign has received.
Also read the comments from politicians, professionals, community and business on the "what they say" page and comments from educationalists, psychologists, social workers and parents on the "special needs study" page.
 

Best selling crime author, Ian Rankin OBE supports Save Camphill with the understanding of a father of a child with special needs:

"Until you have been through it, you will never understand the commitment, patience and unconditional care that are provided by these charities. The Camphill communities and others like them provide more than just outstanding care for those with special needs though, it is a sanctuary for families too.

"To invade a community like Camphill and potentially damage the lives of so many individuals, families, and children, seems tragic."

Rolf Harris has added his support for the Save Camphill campaign. He knows about Camphill through fellow TV personality Timmy Mallett, whose brother Martin has been a resident at the Camphill Newton Dee community in Aberdeen since 1981.

"I know the Malletts - Timmy and Martin - and it's quite obvious how happy and fulfilling a life Martin has thanks to Newton Dee. I hate to think that Newton Dee and the work with the special needs kids at Camphill Rudolf Steiner Schools could be damaged by a new road.

"The quality of life for 200 special needs children and adults must be more important than putting a road right there!"

Neil Fox , DJ and Pop Idol personality, is backing Save Camphill.

"Clearly, Camphill is a very special place and the residents and co-workers deserve to be treated with a great deal of respect.

"I have always been saddened at how in this country we never seem to look after, care for and protect our most vulnerable members of society particularly well and I hope and pray that the powers that be will be swayed by the huge protest against the proposed routing of this road."

 

Jeremy Paxman , television interviewer and personality, who visited the Camphill Newton Dee community some years ago while opening a new agricultural building.

"I had fondly assumed that the people who make planning decisions had some sense of priorities in life.

"Assuredly, if the road was going to be routed across an old battlefield, or through a hedgehog sanctuary, there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth, protests from eco-warriers and the rest. They should find somewhere else to put their road."
 

Lorraine Kelly is a popular Scottish TV presenter who has a particular interest in the problems of autism.

"We have a reputation in Scotland for being a caring people. I hope we can prove we are, by speaking out against this proposed route for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and letting Camphill continue its work with vulnerable children and adults undisturbed.

"How can we even consider damaging their lives and the loving support and dedication of the co-workers at Camphill, by building a busy dual carriageway less than 100 metres from the children's bedroom windows?"
 

Michaela Strachan is best known as a presenter of BBC wildlife programmes:

"I just cannot comprehend how it was even considered feasible to drive a new dual-carriageway between two vulnerable communities in which more than 300 people live and work. To suggest it should be built less than a hundred metres from the bedrooms of severely learning disabled and autistic children is almost unbelievable."

Trudie Goodwin , the actor who plays Sgt June Ackland in the TV series 'The Bill', whose sister-in-law Emma is a resident in Newton Dee. She says: "It would be such a tragedy to destroy this magical place and undo all the good that has been done over the past 60 years. I can't believe people would stand back and let it happen."
 

Timmy Mallett , the television presenter whose brother, Martin, has been a resident in Newton Dee for 20 years. He says: "I care deeply for my brother and there must be another route for this road. Destroying the Camphill community is too high a price to pay, even for an important project like this."
 

Anne Begg , Member of Parliament for Aberdeen South, says, "The Camphill community at Newton Dee is under threat from the proposed route of the WPR. I support their campaign to get the route of the road changed so it doesn't impact on the peace and tranquility of the community."
 

Hogganvik Landsby Camphill community in Norway has written to Minister for Transport Nicol Stephen expressing strong objections to the proposed routing of the AWPR. In their letter they highlight their strong personal, professional and spiritual connections with the centre of the Camphill Movement in Aberdeen. In their letter they tell the Minister

"We believe that the proposed routing of the bypass will severely affect and quite probably destroy this very special community. Since Camphill began 65 years ago it has helped thousands of vulnerable children and adults not only to be recognised legally and educationally as human beings with equal rights and with their own unique potential to develop and offer society, but also socially in a world that, both then and still now, threatens to disregard the apparently weaker human being through the personal and economic interests and power of the stronger.

"The question of human rights is certainly no less pertinent today than it was in the aftermath of World War II. The Camphill communities in Aberdeen have played a leading role in changing attitudes in society towards those with learning disabilities.

"We urge you, as an authority within the Scottish Executive, to find an alternative route that will have a less disastrous effect than this proposal undoubtedly will."
 

Access to Training and Employment , a voluntary organisation representing many people with disabilities, has written to the First Minister expressing "strongly felt concerns" about the effect of the AWPR on Camphill.

In the letter they say: "One of the strengths of Camphill is its location in an area which is safe for its community members… We consider that a road would have a dangerous and devastating effect on the health and well-being of people who have the opportunity to live at Camphill."

Matthew Duncan , then Camphill community's local councillor on Aberdeen City Council, was one of the first people to give his full support to the campaign.
 

Ian Kerr , a prominent member of the Aberdeen business community, gave his support at the campaign launch. A strong believer in the need for a new road round Aberdeen, he described the threat to Camphill from the detailed routing as "unspeakable".
 

Peter Hunter, Legal Officer of UNISON Scotland, has written in a personal capacity to Minister for Transport Nicol Stephen to express his support for the Save Camphill Campaign:

"The Human Rights Act is already over used and, in some cases abused, but I do believe it offers an important perspective on what should be considered in this case.

"The rights I have in mind are various. The Right to Life (Art 1), Liberty and Security (Art 2), Respect for Private and Family Life (Art *), Freedom of Expression (Art 10), Protection of Property including peaceful enjoyment of possessions (Art 1, first protocol) and the Right to Education (Art 2, second protocol.

"Importantly, the people in Camphill have a right to benefit from these protections in a manner that is free from discrimination on the basis of their status including any disability, medical condition, poor mental health, etc.

"In my experience it is fair to say that, but for the special therapeutic quality of the Camphill community, the residents would not enjoy these basic human rights in the way that they do. It is my impression that, for the many residents, the substantial and evident quality of their lives depends, to a very considerable extent, on the nature of the community as it currently exists.

"I would like to think the community could be protected from harm without any reference to legal issues, far less by recourse to judicial processes."