A big bike ride is a lovely idea but not when it involves a large corporation telling thousands of people that they have to be restricted in their movements for the majority of the day and that there is nothing they can do about it. Velo is proposed for height of the Summer on 28 June 2020, closing 100 miles of roads across the West Midlands for the majority of daylight hours (04.45am - 19.00pm, and with other restrictions from midnight the day before). CSM Sport and Entertainment is a private global company which will charge 19000 Riders between £70 - £120 to take part. Some riders may raise their own sponsorship for charity which is of course, admirable, but it could be argued that cyclists would be better taking part in the many events across the UK where all money raised, including entry fees, goes to charity and doesn’t close roads all day / impose restrictions on others. Sadly this also means that all charity events along the way have to be cancelled at the behest of this corporate giant. What happened last year and why you should be concerned: • Many residents were trapped in their own homes as many closed roads were their only exit and entry points, with no diversion route / alternative available. Some people were trapped in their homes for over 13 hours. Public transport was also suspended for most of the day. • Home help and visiting carers were prevented from delivering food, hydration and medication as part of routine care plans; a vet was refused access to a premises because of road closures, leading to the death of two horses. Many people were prevented from travel to work and some were stranded at Birmingham International Airport and train station and couldn't return home for hours. • Previous proposals for this event have prompted grave concern from local ambulance services and previous events / event routes have been cancelled. • As per previous Velo mass road closures, levels of frustration have resulted in sabotage, with nails and razor blades being put on roads, and people trying to break through barriers, which is a risk to public safety and potentially causes a waste of police time. • In addition to stress anxiety and inconvenience, the Velo event can also have a negative effect on communities, many of which have to shelve their own plans for community events and suspend the operation of small businesses, particularly on the new proposed mid-summer date. Your rights compromised: It is highly unlikely that this event is compliant with the Equality Act 2010 in relation to disability and the denying of physical access for some in and out of their homes and to access services on the day. Signs prior to the event, blocked pavements in some areas for the 2019 event (pictured). Last year's event was not only an unwelcome intrusion to a large amount of people, forced to put up with it, but has been seen by many trapped for the day as an infringement of civil liberties and a danger to health and safety. No one asked communities what they want: Many of you will no doubt have read about this via third-party sources as opposed to being notified or consulted with directly. There has been no consultation with those living along the route, with Velo instead relying on a third party leaflet drop (which in the past missed out many people, who weren't aware of road closures when a Velo event was attempted previously) which tells people that the road will be closed and residents vehicles may be towed away from outside their homes - which is a little harsh for anyone who doesn’t have a driveway. It doesn’t have to be like this: Much of this could be avoided by CSM / Velo working out a route which doesn't trap people in their own homes / only routing past homes where residents have an alternative access road to get in and out as they wish (other than on foot). The benefits and the real cost: The benefits of Velo have mainly been promoted along economic lines, yes there may have been a spike in hotel bookings in Birmingham and Coventry City Centre, but this seems to be totally at the expense of the wellbeing of many people along the route. Velo and your Council’s accountability: Despite being contacted, Velo is remaining silent at the time of writing as per the exact route for 2020, and have stated that they will know in around 5 weeks. Last year despite a request they also failed to make available their evacuation plan for communities that were locked-down for the day. The aim of this petition and who it will be sent to: This petition will be presented to the leaders of Birmingham, Solihull, Warwickshire and Coventry Councils and Velo itself, to request that the event is cancelled in its current form, as it has been previously in the North, South and Worcester. This petition will also outline the risks and issues associated with this event, should the event be given permission, so that in the event of a serious incident attributed to the road closures, the Councils' involved and CSM / Velo cannot use the excuse that they were unaware of the potential consequences as a defence, should any legal challenges be issued. Please note: The original petition deadline was to sign before 3 February 2020, so that this could be submitted in good time, prior to the event, this has been done but please continue to sign in order to keep the pressure on, and it will be sent again when Velo send notifications out to send a clear message to the authorities that they are not being representative of communities in backing this. It will help if as well as signing the petition, you include additional information when possible, so please use the comments box to record your experiences particularly / effects on health and safety / poor treatment that you have received at the hands of CSM and the Velo event team. And of course, share as widely as you can!

We need all internet companies to start paying UK taxes so we can have a decent public services eg ‘NHS’ . This needs to be debated in Parliament so I need over 100,000 signatures. Please can you signed this . Thank you for your support.

Phoenixing is destroying small businesses that can not afford to lose money. The people that close a business and reopen the exact same business are literally laughing all the way to the bank... with zero repercussions. This is an example of a phoenixing company https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/anger-winter-funland-opens-event-15531718

many people are elderly & many people don’t have the luxury of paying nearly £10 per day to pay for tv whilst in hospital. Their days are long & they are often unable to care for themselves & long for a little light entertainment to get them through the day. Watching their favourite soap series may be what they live for. It may be a dying mans last wish to watch his favourite team play a football match. Although Hospedia provide a good service they also charge a phenomenal price to watch the tv. You also pay for tv throughout the night when patients are asleep. I think tv & entertainment should be part of the service as an inpatient, it helps to make people feel better & lifts their spirits. It makes their day a little better.

First of all, some residents are claiming to have been sold properties on the estate with the assurance that Fibrenest or at least fibre connections are available to properties and since new addresses often don't show in broadband speed checkers, this is difficult and often impossible to confirm first-hand until a property has been purchased. There is also an expectation that information given by sales representatives is completely true, which in this case, is not. Secondly, many individuals on the estate rely on reasonable connectivity to work, whether it's remotely from home to a service at work, through online business or in some cases as online content creators using streaming services. With an average speed of 6mbps, this is barely achievable and in most cases, means that standard resolution images can often take an unacceptable time to download. Living on the estate is affecting businesses and in some cases, a slower connection can create security concerns. In my case, I purchased my current property in September 2019 with the assurance from the sales adviser at the time that Fibrenest was available. When we had purchased the property and arranging service providers, we soon found out that the only broadband option was Sky averaging around 7mbps. I regularly work from home using a remote connection to my work-place and the connection frequently drops which is a significant difference from my previous home on around 40-50mbps. This is not to mention multi-tasking is near impossible, such as downloading whilst trying to stream, something which we take for granted until our connection can't handle it. It affects me on a daily basis and is often the talk of the estate (or at least those affected). Something needs to be done and the support from the community on this issue will hopefully bring to light its significance.

I never thought as a parent to a 3 year old, that I would ever have to sit down and talk to my son about suicide and self harm because of video content he has seen, that has been allowed on YouTube kids! I only let my son watch educational videos on kids YouTube, a site that is meant to protect our children and have more in place to stop inappropriate content! I quickly discovered that some videos that came through was teaching my son to hurt himself, teaching him about suicide and to hurt others! I feel sick that I am not the only parent whose child has been subject to these videos, they also come in advertisements and target children on social media. No parent should ever feel that they can’t protect their children, that they feel their child is in danger within their own house! No one is being held responsible and nothing is being done to stop this and protect our children. More needs to be done, it may violate social media community guidelines

Barclays is the only bank in Welwyn. It also has the only ATM in the village centre. Elderly and less able people who cannot use the internet depend upon the bank for their daily banking needs. Some of these elderly people have spoken to me of their distress at the prospect of losing the bank, as well as the two friendly staff who give a patient and helpful service. Barclays Bank is an international company making £multi-billion profits annually, and one of its central stated aims is “Building Thriving Local Communities”. The bank here in Old Welwyn attracts both personal and business customers from surrounding villages and is a big part of what keeps Welwyn thriving. We fear for the future of our village if we lose our bank. Small businesses and the charity shop that is the hub of village life will be badly affected by the difficulty in handling their takings. They will also have the inconvenience and potential danger of having to drive to another town where parking is difficult to deposit their cash. We ask Barclays to use some of its profits to keep our branch open and our village alive, and continue to provide an essential and excellent service for our villagers. At the very least we ask that the branch is allowed to remain open until at least 2025 to give our village a chance to prepare for the loss of this essential service.

It is extremely disappointing news that Barclays have decided to close their branch in High Street, Ferndale, especially given the recent Council planned investment in the Ferndale and our continued commitment to support our Town Centres. This will reduce the services available to local residents and businesses and may have a significant impact on the vibrancy of the town.

It is extremely disappointing news that Barclays have decided to close their branch in Dunraven St, Tonypandy, especially given the recent Council investment in the Tonypandy and our continued commitment to support our Town Centre’s. This will reduce the services available to local residents and businesses and may have a significant impact on the vibrancy of the town.

Sevenoaks needs a new water pipeline. South East Water have proposed four possible routes. Two of these go through Knole Park. These are the cheap and easy options for South East Water, but will damage the Park. Knole Park is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) where thousands of people come throughout the year to enjoy the peace, the views and the special flora and fauna. All of these will be permanently harmed by the proposed routes. As Joni Mitchell sang, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” If you want to keep Knole Park special, please sign this petition. - There is already a South East Water pipe in the Park. The scars it has made are clearly visible, with stony subsoil exposed and still bare of grass years after it was laid. - South East Water say that they will not damage the features of the Park that make it an SSSI. The acid grassland* itself is one of the most important features, and is very slow to heal after damage. - Some of the proposed pipe is close to the existing one, which will cause a wider strip of damage to the grass. Where they run in the Gallops they are sited apart so there will be a fresh area of damage. - New concrete manholes and inspection points will be permanently on the surface, those for the existing pipe are very obvious. - South East Water’s preferred route cuts through very significant archaeological features and they have allowed no time for investigation. The test drilling is in an area where it may destroy further archaeology, again there is no allowance for investigation before drilling. - After it is laid, access to the pipeline for inspection, maintenance and repair will be a problem. South East Water’s contractors have vehicles equipped for pipelines laid in roads, not fragile grassland. *Acid grassland is a very rare landscape in which the high acidity means that grass will barely grow. Over centuries, wildlife, flora and fungi develop which cannot survive in fertile areas amongst long grass. At the last survey Kent had lost more and only had 512 hectares. Some counties have none. By far the largest area of acid grassland in Kent is in Knole Park.

Across the UK more than 2,800 bank branches have closed since 2015. This presents a huge challenge for many elderly and vulnerable people who often rely on speaking face-to-face to do their banking and may not have access to the internet. Many towns and rural communities are often cut off from banking services when the last bank branch in the town closes down. Carolyn set up a petition after hearing the news that her local Lloyds branch in Buckley in Wales, was to close. Carolyn and other people in the local community, particularly the elderly and those with mobility issues, rely on the branch. If it were to close, Carolyn would have to travel over 4 miles away to the nearest bank, cutting her off from easy access to her money and face-to-face financial advice. Banks only exist because we put our money there, they make obscene profits from the people of the UK. The government should ensure that the banking industry has a 'duty of care' to keep some branches open, and not exclude whole groups of people from access to financial services. Banks should have more than simply profit on their minds when making decisions to close branches, as these decisions have huge negative impacts on many people's lives.

Every year vast swathes of rainforest that supports orangutans as well as thousands of other species are decimated by the palm oil industry. Palm oil is a hidden ingredient in many common household products and only one company so far has said enough is enough and pledged to remove it from their own brand products. If they are successful other brands WILL follow suit. People need to know the dangers and devastation that their eating habits are causing. The advert is not political it is 100% educational. I do not work for Iceland, nor do I have any links to the company. I am however passionate about the survival of the planet and the fate other species who share it with us.