This can’t happen. Officers claim the car park is surplus to requirements and people can simply park elsewhere but this contradicts local knowledge and experience. There will be a net loss of 12 disabled parking bays. High St/Mary St car park is the most accessible car park for many disabled people and older people who cannot walk far to visit High Street businesses or events/venues/groups in the vicinity. Many often can’t find a spot in the Crescent car park anymore and find Orchard multi-storey next door a nightmare by comparison. It is also the only place you can park in the area after 7pm (its lowest level is not locked) as Orchard is shut then. Removing that night time parking facility in particular would spell disaster for the popular nearby venues including CICCIC (Creative Innovation Centre) and the Lawns Social Club, businesses and churches, whilst also restricting the opportunities for many local residents to access a social life and increasing isolation. Taunton aspires to be a destination - for arts and culture, festivals, social activities, retail -  but removing this car park will do nothing but damage to town centre footfall, our cultural life and the town’s economy. Worshippers at churches in the area would also be deprived of the ability to attend services.  Vivary Park (owned and managed by Somerset Council) across the road hosts major popular events through the year attracting thousands of visitors, making the nearest car park - the High St/Mary St car park facility - absolutely vital to the continuing success of these and to avoiding traffic and parking chaos. People do not yet have an adequate level of public transport opportunities to always leave the car at home. We demand that Somerset Council presses PAUSE on current plans, undertakes a proper impact assessment, looks at all the options and commits to proper consultation and joint working with local residents, businesses and stakeholders to secure continuation of effective parking provision in the area (including at night) in the interests of Taunton’s community and economy.

Those of us who want to see Poole thrive as a community, must save the Civic Centre for future generations. This building could be used for affordable housing, community spaces, business hubs and council services. If the civic centre is sold off, we’ll never get it back – and Poole doesn’t need another load of posh flats that local people can’t afford. 

It is important because the youth that attend VPC wish to follow a career in Policing. Yet they are being turned away. The current state of the country with rising youth crime, gangs and stabbings we need to encourage our youth to undertake such activities so they are busy and kept from crime.  There is also lack of officers. We should be encouraging and supportive not dismissive. 

In a recent study around areas in South Hertfordshire, some villages saw up to 5-6 building projects going on. Consisting in three of the cases, knocking the bungalows down to create much bigger houses (given this is an already expensive area). In two of the cases adapting and extending (including an additional story built) the current buildings again, taking them way out of affordable reach of many who may actually need them.  We cannot continue to knock down or re-develop Bunglows at the rate we are. If we do this, there will be none left. Then those that are left, will be in high demand because of the additional interest of developers.  We need some form of protection about A) who gets priority to purchase B) some limitations on what can be done to them and C) protections against them being knocked down to provider bigger properties. 

Conclusion: The current state of ticket pricing is creating a deeply inequitable environment where only those with greater financial means can afford to attend live events. By regulating Platinum and "In-Demand" ticket pricing, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, in collaboration with the UK Government, can ensure that all fans have a fair chance to experience live performances at a reasonable cost. We strongly urge you to take decisive action on this matter to protect consumers and uphold the integrity of live entertainment in the UK. 

The housing developer, Crest Nicholson, have a contractual obligation to care for the park on Baker Crescent. Shockingly, they have failed this community and after 2 years of delays, the only thing they have done, is replace some flooring, and fix one swing. Play areas are so important for children, for both their physical health, and as a way of engaging socially with other children in their communities. Sadly, children in the local area have now lost out on two summers of play and despite multiple attempts by the community and Dartford Borough Council to hold Crest to account, they continue to delay and push this issue down the road. 5th August 2024 - https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/it-s-disgraceful-parents-fury-as-developer-leaves-dereli-310702/ Everyone has had enough of the platitudes and constant excuses for not updating this park. We are now coming together to demand Crest fulfil their obligations and provide the play park that is desperately needed, and that has been promised to this community. Photo shared with permission of Kent Online.

England are in the Euro finals! Last night’s incredible win saw our men’s team edge closer to a historic victory. If they win on Sunday, well, there’ll be one hell of a party. Whether you care about football or not, moments like this bring us together and, coming straight after the election, could help rebuild bridges. But to mark the occasion properly, we need a bank holiday! PM Keir Starmer is a huge footie fan and backed calls for a bank holiday to honour the Lionesses’ World Cup win in 2022 - so it won’t take much to convince him. In fact when asked about it today he didn't rule it out! So if enough of us sign a petition, calling for him to commit to a bank holiday if we win, we can make sure we all get Monday off to celebrate.

We have seen car accidents, destruction of property and our vulnerable residents scared to cross the road due to the volume of traffic and speed of some motorists travelling through Longside.  This has been an issue for decades and is only a matter of time before something very tragic happens. 

To identify, encourage and support the existing communities, talent and next generation that huddersfield and kirklees should be nurturing. Create more green space and a common space for activity. The site is prime for an amazing mixed use scheme that so much further than a Lidl and carpark.

VAR was introduced in 2019 to decrease incorrect decisions and make referring easier. Over the last 5 years it has made countless right calls from offsides, player misconduct and penalty decisions which the on pitch referee may have missed or misinterpreted.   Right now, the use of VAR is not perfect in the Premier League but with a few changes such as the time it takes for a decision to be made and relaying the information to the fans in the stands it could be better. Other sports have benefited greatly by the introduction of video evidence such as rugby union and cricket, so why not football? Keeping VAR and reducing the mistakes made by humans in their application of the technology, could improve the game and do what it set out to do in the first place….which is to ensure the game we all love so much is fairer

Hundreds of thousands of people are addicted to gambling in the UK, and every day someone takes their life due to gambling. A recent study found up to 3,500 gambling logos were visible during a single televised Premier League game. Another study found fans received 11,000 gambling messages during the opening weekend of the Premier League last August. Children, and everyone who watches the Premier League, do not need to face this advertising barrage. The gambling industry spends £1.5 billion on advertising and marketing every year and studies show a clear link between exposure to gambling advertising and increased gambling. Last year the Premier League said it would phase out front-of-shirt gambling sponsors by the 2026/27 season, but this won’t remove the vast majority of ads that appear around stadiums. During Mental Health Awareness week, the Premier League talked about a “mentally healthy culture across the game”,  encouraging young fans to talk about their mental health, but didn’t mention the adverts with links to mental health-harming gambling products.  Tell the Premier League, if it’s serious about mental health, to remove the ads from all its stadiums. Let's make the next season the first to be gambling ad free!

Football is the beautiful game. It is full of stories of unlikely heroes, of last minute comebacks and underdogs upsetting the odds.  But for too long now, the joy of our game has been sucked away with the use of unnecessary and convoluted technology. Instead of celebrating goals when they’re scored, we now wait…  and wait… and wait… for lines to be drawn on a screen, for millimetres to be checked, for someone sitting in a box miles away to make a decision.  And worst of all, even with all this technology, there’s still loads of mistakes. If it produced immediate and accurate results, that would be great. But it doesn’t. And it’s ruining the spirit of the game. So VAR has got to go.  If at least 14 of the 20 Premier League clubs vote in favour of scrapping VAR, then it will be gone for good!