In March we have Mother`s Day, June we see Father`s Day, then there`s Grand Parent`s Day, Armed Forces Day, Merchant Navy Day and everything else`s day, but where`s CARER`S DAY ? Carers don`t get the recognition they deserve, so by making a National day specifically for carers will highlight the importance of their role in society !!

PEOPLE SAID "a community resource not luxury flats": after a petition, an Independent Inquiry and a local referendum (July 2015) 96-98 Shoot up Hill was listed as one of the community facilities to be protected from any change, in the Fortune Green and West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Plan. Both occupiers: the current day centre and People's Centre who run projects after day centre hours and weekends are recognised as communities (alive, developing and growing). But now the council is looking to reverse this decision changing the use to residential, in order to eventually sell it on the open market. THE IMPACT OF DAY CENTRE CLOSURES: The council wanted to close the day centre at Shoot up Hill in 2012. Day centre closures leave many people with learning disabilities even more isolated, stuck at home, without meaningful occupation, friendships lost, ever more dependent on their family carers. (see Mencap report “Stuck at Home”). PERSONALISED (choice) BUT NOT ATOMISED (excluded): the council justified the closures saying that people wanted other choices than day centres and they should go out and about in the mainstream, using their personal budgets. Many people with learning disabilities are ready to embrace the changes in social care and to take control of their individual lifestyles using personal budgets to make choices. But the “community out there” does not yet provide the environments, activities and social opportunities they need and deserve and which give them a sense of belonging. Some people also need the continuity and familiarity of a vibrant and inclusive community where they they are understood, fully accepted and welcomed and can choose from adapted and suitably challenging activities, and develop relationships with all sorts of people. PEOPLE'S CENTRE = AN ALTERNATIVE: a group of family carers campaigned against the closure and in April 2012 the council agreed to delay the closure and give them time to develop their proposals and raise money to buy the building. People's Centre was then set up as a not for profit organisation to fill in a gap in provision and offer an alternative to a traditional day centre, taking advantage of personalisation: excellent individually tailored choices of activities, social and employment opportunities and support to people with a wide range of learning disabilities in a friendly, INCLUSIVE environment as well as new opportunities for the wider neighbourhood; modelling successful inclusion and supporting people to access other community venues. NOT BACK TO INSTITUTIONS!: the council recognises the need for “building based” services but want to build a single, purpose built, large institutional facility (Greenwood Place) grouping people with all manner of impairments in discrete units: learning disabilities, mental health, dementia, autism, multiple and profound learning disabilities. People will be segregated according to what they cannot do, as well as set apart from the neighbourhood (in a back street, semi industrial area). Moreover Greenwood Place also lacks capacity to provide facilities for the current and growing numbers of people with high support needs. SMALL SCALE, INCLUSIVE, COMMUNITY RESOURCES, INSTEAD: People's Centre is developing a friendly and welcoming community place where people of all abilities and backgrounds complement each other, can get the support they need and engage in meaningful activities as well as go out to other places. We will model good practice. BUILDINGS AT 96-98 Shoot up Hill ARE IDEAL: two semi detached houses which front a main road, look just like the neighbouring houses and allow for flexible use. They been adapted with accessible lift, WC facilities, changing room etc. There are no equivalent premises in the area and the cost of providing such facilities in another building will be prohibitive as well as wasteful. WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW, outside day centre hours and weekends: - Weekly creative, social and therapeutic sessions for adults and young people with learning disabilities supported by volunteers, family and support workers. Open to everyone in the neighbourhood. Cafe with freshly cooked delicious food. - a “Unique Products” enterprise where people with and without disabilities work together. - weekly sessions and special events for unpaid carers in Camden - Saturday Stay and Play for families with children with disabilities, siblings and friends. - (soon) Weekend specialist yoga to families with a member with disabilities. - Open Days, Special Concerts, Carers Week Day and Community Festivals bringing together people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to make music, art and enjoy life. VOLUNTEERS: from all backgrounds and abilities help make it happen FUNDING: we have received funding from Co-op, National Lottery, School of Social Entrepreneurs, Comic Relief, Camden Carers Service, SIBS, a local Hampstead Trust, Baily Thomas and individuals. SUSTAINABILITY: our business case demonstrates that we can be a sustainable enterprise, taking advantage of the changes in adult social care which give people with support needs the means to decide on the services they want and combining this with provision of opportunities for the wider community and small businesses. We are continuing to develop the service offer and detailed business plan. CAPITAL FUNDING: People's Centre are working to raise capital to buy the building and keep it for the local community. This won't be possible if the building goes up for sale in the open market as a residential property. SUPPORT PEOPLE'S CENTRE PETITION and the opportunity to continue providing support for people with severe learning disabilities, their families and carers and creating an inclusive community resource for local people. We need 100s of signatures http://peoplescentreforchange.org.uk/ [email protected]

Our high streets are being taken over by betting companies whose business model is to create and exploit gambling addictions. This isn’t about placing the odd bet on a football match or horse race. Bookies use their electronic gambling machines to filter out that casual crowd: they’re looking for people with the potential for a serious gambling addiction. Fixed-odds betting terminals feed a dependency just as powerful as drugs or alcohol. Their high speed games, with stakes as high as £100 every twenty seconds, mean you can easily lose a month’s wages in under an hour. Eventually you realise you’re not doing it for the money – you’re doing it because you’re physically addicted to the rush. I’ve lost numerous jobs because of electronic gambling. I’ve lost two properties through failure to keep up with mortage payments, I've amassed £100,000s in debt, I’m separated from my wife and children, and I’m trapped in a situation where I can’t rent accommodation because my credit score is so low and I haven’t enough money for a deposit. Now I’ve got special blocks on my computer that stop me straying onto a betting site – I even had to disable them to set up this petition. We can do something to change the tide of misery and reclaim our high streets. We can sign this petition.

The Darwen 3 Day market plays a key part in the community of Darwen town centre. It provides a place for community to grow and for people to bond, it provides the livelihoods of dedicated and long-standing stall holders and local business people, it forms part of the story of Darwen and its people, and offers the potential for further growth and regeneration of this Lancashire town. The loss of this market, which is part of Darwen heritage, will deprive the community of a meeting place, traders of the businesses and loyalty they have worked hard for decades to develop and the town centre of another genre of commercial enterprise.

Margate has The Turner Centre and Dreamland to attract visitors. We have our beautiful Royal Harbour, Tunnels and wonderful cafe culture but we need more reasons for families to visit. Thanet as a whole would benefit from the added tourism as we would be able to offer a better package, more reasons to visit. The wheel would not incur huge capital investment, ongoing leasing fees would be paid for out of revenue, therefore no risk to the council.

I will sadly loose the chance to make a difference as well as my livelihood. Within 6 months I will create my business with the need to employ people from the local community. With in 1 year I will be able to help my community sustainability in teams of job creation and long term employment prospects. These are just a few things I do: I am a local children's charity supporter and make regular financial contributions. I am a member of the Dudley Health Group. I am a weekly contributor to the local Dudley food bank. I also work alongside the youth of all nations to assist in there future growth and development. I am a chief church usher and I am an active church member of 13 years for the Dudley New Testament Church. I work closely with the Afro-carribean centre. Sending me back to Jamaica means l loose my formed friendships and community family, l will have nothing and I will be homeless. The deadline for the immigration tribunal to receive this is the 30th March 2016. Help me to continue to make a positive change and contribution to the UK future growth and to the future adults of tomorrow. Please sign this petition. And thanks for all the support. Dwayne Millwood.

Family Mosaic and Sherry Green Homes want to demolish social housing, replace the creative hub of Old Tidemill School and build over the entire Wildlife Garden, a unique and mature haven, for people and wildlife alike in Deptford. Replacing it with 210 dwellings, 176 of which are for private rental with a small communal grass lawn and sanitized play spaces. This development will not benefit the local community and will remove a vital green space in an area of local deficiency. URGENT. PLEASE OBJECT TO THE COUNCIL PLANNING DEPARTMENT ABOUT THE CURRENT PROPOSALS It’s really straightforward. All the info is here: http://oldtidemillgarden.wix.com/deptford#!campaign/qzn1j

'Help Save the Crown Theatre Eccles' The ‘Eccles Lyceum Theatre Trust’ is now the official organization responsible for raising funds and campaigning to ‘save the Crown Theatre Eccles’ The Grade II Listed Building stands proudly on the gateway into Eccles town centre. A great opportunity to bring business, enterprise, education, employment and pride to a town that should not be over looked, it's the heart of Salford. All transport networks lead to ECCLES.

Democracy is a farce if cheating in an election is permitted regardless of how late the wrong doing is discovered and whether or not police action is possible. Political parties that gain office through electoral fraud should not be allowed to continue with impunity, they must demonstrate that they have legitimate support of the electorate.

We want you to look in the countries with the best achievement in education of all children such as Finland not countries with poor achievements such as the USA. Even better look in the UK where people understand the local culture. Why are you not looking at systems which have turned themselves around such as Finland and Korea? Do not make the mistake of thinking people in the UK want to mimic the culture of the USA. We do not want a rubbish education system for our children funded from taxes that are too low for purpose; a culture where a disproportionate number of young black people die violently and where lenient gun laws lead to indiscriminate massacres in school.

Chipping Sodbury Library is an exceptionally well run local community asset that provides services and a meeting point for all people in the Town. There is now a very real threat that it will be closed completely due to South Gloucestershire council spending plans, resulting from the government's austerity policy. This will result in the loss of one of the only community focal points in Chipping Sodbury accessible to all and especially useful to the elderly and families with young children. Removing community assets such as libraries can have a profound affect on the local area and should be strongly resisted. Please join us by signing this petition and look out for local schemes to support the library.

As a cultural hub that has long served the local community and embraces all cultures around Ladbroke Grove, The KPH has been listed as Asset of Community Value by the local authority. However, we feel that more protection of this unique venue is required in order to safeguard it against closure and unsympathetic development. Situated in an area of high property value, developers have spent two years running an aggressive legal campaign to rid the venue of its current manager and redevelop it for sale to an estate agent. The case is particularly urgent due to a complication arising from a legal dispute between the current manager, Vince Power, and the freeholder, SWA Developments Ltd. If an appeal hearing on 17 March 2016 is decided in favour of the latter, The KPH faces immediate closure. https://player.vimeo.com/video/155539254?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0 The KPH has been a pub and entertainment venue for 150 years and is located on a busy junction on Ladbroke Grove. It borders on what used to be the slums of Notting Dale and North Kensington and is in walking distance of world-famous Portobello Road and the more affluent streets of Notting Hill and Holland Park. It has a colourful past of serving famous and notorious patrons, from John Christie to The Clash. Under its current management, The KPH has succeeded in attracting members of the area’s diverse social and ethnic backgrounds, warmly welcoming new arrivals as well as long-standing regulars from the Irish and West Indian communities. There are already too many examples of pubs closing in the area. Even if the facades are kept intact, conversions into supermarkets, estate agents and luxury flats have a lasting effect on the neighbourhood’s distinctive look and feel. This particular section of Ladbroke Grove has retained some significant original features and is in danger of irrevocably losing its distinctive character. The KPH is one of many pubs facing closure in the current climate of aggressive property development. According to CAMRA statistics, 29 pubs are closed every week across the UK. Music venues face a similar fate, and the Music Venue trust is at the core of a campaigne to protect grassroots music venues like The KPH. Unfortunately, the anticipated legislative changes may come too late for the KPH. https://player.vimeo.com/video/147334918?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0 Please sign and share this petition asap.