Local and Live 2014 was, I'm sure you'll agree, a fabulous success. Whilst we all enjoyed the fabulous music and the excellent organisation this year, most of us are aware of just how difficult it has been for Paul and his team to deal with garnering financial support and all the other issues involved in putting on an event like this. We hope that by asking for your help and support to be noted to TWBC at this stage, any detractors or obstacles to the event being held again in 2015 will be lessened and positive support and publicity can start now.

The mess was deliberately created by a developer which began work in January 2004 without planning consent and since having been granted a planning consent has done nothing to clear up the mess that it deliberately created. This beach is the largest and most important in central south Cornwall.

The referendum on the 18th September is the most important decision that the people of Scotland could be asked to make. A great deal is at stake for both sides of the argument, and for the rest of the UK. Many of us believe that much of the Scottish and UK media has treated the Yes Campaign and pro-independence supporters with contempt and outright condescension. This petition is urging BBC Scotland to recognize the importance of giving both sides of the debate an equal opportunity to voice their arguments for and against independence.

This wonderful, iconic sculpture is a local landmark, and by far the best single piece of artwork in Wolverhampton. It is one of only seven castings; the others are all in prestigious public collections around the world. How many other cities and how many other shopping centres have artwork of this importance on public display? It has stood in the Centre since 1968, but was secretly removed in May, on the pretext of building work that will not begin till next year. The owners, Delancey and RBS, refuse to say where the sculpture or the time capsule in its plinth now are, and refuse to give any reassurance that it will not be sold off. RBS claims the ownership of the sculpture and the right to sell it, in the face of opposition by local shoppers, art lovers, city councillors, the city centre MP, the Hepworth Estate, the Mander family and arts organisations. And yet RBS is still 80% taxpayer owned! In any case the sculpture was provided by the artist at cost price, because of her wish that it should be an asset for the people of Wolverhampton. In effect, she donated it. This is asset stripping of a particularly unpleasant kind - taking away one of the few real quality items from a city centre that is still struggling from the effects of the recession. Hepworth intended this sculpture for the people of Wolverhampton, not for the RBS private art stash, nor for the private pleasure of some art collecting billionaire. This is one more example of the current threat to public art in the UK from its removal from public access and sale to private collectors. Plans for the redevelopment of the Mander Centre must be modified to include the Hepworth, and it must be returned to its place of pride as soon as practicable, and a firm guarantee given of this.

This September, historic yet run-down Keir Hardie Hall is being put up for auction. Most people today know it as a working men's club, but it was actually named in 1915 to honour posthumously of one of Britain's lesser known, but arguably most important, statesmen. Keir Hardie was unusual, both in his own era & our own: a politician who rejected the self-interested pursuit of power & money. His life's work was an attempt to bring about equality, justice and freedom for the poor and marginalised: men, women and children, regardless of ethnicity or religion. During the brutal years of the late Victorian era and the early twentieth century, ideas he advocated (universal healthcare; equality for women; universal state education; countries of empire being entitled to national sovereignty; state pensions; decent housing; employment rights & even animal welfare) were largely ridiculed. After the carnage of two world wars, successive governments were able to realise many of them. Ninety-nine years after Hardie addressed his final great anti-war speech to an audience in Norwich, we seem to have come full circle: Many of the benchmarks of late twentieth century civilisation are under threat -both nationally and globally. Ninety-nine years from now they may have been written out of history altogether. Our city, which appears affluent to visitors, is actually blighted by hidden poverty. It's of huge importance that Norwich City Council (run by a Labour majority with a strong Green opposition) acts now to ensure Keir Hardie Hall's historical context is not lost, whilst simultaneously helping to meet our current need for decent, energy-efficient, genuinely affordable, housing for all. Let's give this building a future befitting its past.

The Duke of Lancaster is the last passenger only steam turbine ship left in existence. She is listed on the Historic Ships Register. When she was open as the Funship she became the third most popular tourist attraction in Wales, creating many jobs. She could do this again regenerating the area, bringing so many benefits to the local and surrounding area. The Council should allow the ship to be restored and reopened as a Funship.

If police carry arms routinely, this will fuel fear and criminals might arm themselves more heavily. Despite this, a number of police officers (around 300) are now routinely carrying sidearms while on patrol in much of Scotland. Armed police officers have been seen in a bakery, in a branch of Aldi and at a routine traffic incident in Glasgow - all incidents where it was unnecessary for the officer to have a firearm by his side. Until 2009, firearms officers had to keep their weapons in a locked safe and have a senior officer’s authorisation to take them. Firearms officers should revert back to this practice, because it is not necessary that they take their arms on routine patrol.

These unreasonably extensive developments present numerous environmental and infrastructure issues: - Additional congestion on local roads, inclusing an already overcrowded and dangerous A428 - Insufficient infrastructure and facilities on the existing Loves Farm site - Insufficient provision for infrastructure and facilities on the proposed new sites - Destruction of an enormous piece of green-belt land - Destruction of the habitat of many species of animal, bird, plant and insect over this vast area. - Inadequate neighbour consultation - Destruction of arable land - A lack of communication from HDC to St Neots Town Council and local residents

The Royal Iris is sitting on the Thames rotting away and we the undersigned want it brought back to the Mersey to restore for use or to be turned into a museum.

Peter Nelson, who formerly run Crystal Commissions in the town centre, erected this memorial in tribute to his late wife, Angela, and also as a gift to the town he has called home for so many years, and the town he has provided invaluable services to from his business. Given the history of the slag bank, being built upon what was formerly known as Chapel Hill, and the location, many people in the area think this is a wonderful tribute and should be allowed to remain. The full story can be read here: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/491978/Widow-puts-up-statue-of-Crucifixtion-in-tribute-to-late-wife (Photo credit: John Harkness)

SMMC- formerly known as Saturday Morning Music School- provides affordable tuition to students as they progress from their first steps on an instrument to become confident, capable musicians. It is the umbrella group through which Liverpool Youth Orchestra is run, as well as Choral, Wind, Jazz, Brass, String and Woodwind ensembles that accept and nurture students throughout their musical development. It is a Liverpool institution, having played a pivotal role in the musical education of generations of the city's children. It has been the birthplace of the careers of many of the city's musicians, and instilled in many thousands of others a lifelong love of making music. It also provides a wonderful social function, as its students become lifelong friends and travel the globe in ensemble tours. They acquire confidence as they perform in public; self-esteem as they improve their instrumental technique, and rise to meet challenges; and through a busy musical calendar develop personal responsibility and time management skills by being part of a team of people who depend upon each other. As well as the children who attend it, it has long made outstanding contributions to the wider cultural life of the city. Its ensembles have been called upon to mark occasions such as the passage of the Olympic torch through the city, or the city's commemoration of the Battle of the Atlantic. They featured prominently in the city's celebration of its status as the European capital of culture in 2008, and regularly perform at fundraising events for local charities. Resonate claim that they are designing a new provision taking into account feedback from both parents of SMMC pupils and staff. However, it appears that this consultation is merely window-dressing. Questionnaires were sent out in the first week of the summer holidays; parents received them on the Tuesday and the responses were expected by Friday, which is not a great deal of time in a week when many people will be on holiday. Furthermore, a briefing received by a Liverpool councillor -before the consultation had been sent out to parents- outlines the proposed structure of the new provision. This document also makes it clear that SMMC indeed closed at the end of the last term, which has never been explicitly stated to parents. As for consultation with staff, SMMC staff were simply told on the final day of term, with no prior warning, that SMMC cannot afford to continue in its present form, and have not yet even been told if they will have jobs in the new provision. This structure involves simultaneously expanding the service, with the creation of a second centre, whilst simultaneously amalgamating youth ensembles into "Big Bands". It is stated that there will be a large PR campaign in order to recruit new students, and that to facilitate changing to a weeknight, Liverpool schools will be asked to transport children to the new services after school. One of the major factors that has led to the axing of SMMC is that the numbers of pupils attending it has dropped sharply, from 299 in 2009 to 199 today. It seems strange, in our view, to totally restructure a service of 40 years' standing in a way which leaves it dependant upon recruiting large numbers of students to a less focussed provision, when such a drive could instead be used to restore numbers to their levels of merely 5 years ago. This approach seems particularly strange given that no concerted effort has been made to advertise SMMC prior to its closure. It also seems optimistic to design such a system with scant regard to the response from present students and their parents about whether they would be able to access the service, even on the assumption that schools might provide a taxi service with no discernible benefit to themselves. As well as the transport problems associated with travelling to the centres on a weekday evening (when bus routes may stop running, and parents may not yet be home from work to provide lifts) moving to a weekday evening also creates problems with schoolwork that has to be completed for the next day, and for those students who already play in school or other ensembles not affiliated to Resonate- or indeed for those who participate in other extra-curricular activities such as sport after school.

Brighton Hippodrome is a unique Grade II* listed theatre (see https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/keep-brighton-hippodrome-for-live-performance). PLEASE SIGN THIS TOO, IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY. FIGHTING FUND 'Hope for the Hippodrome' is raising money to pay for legal fees. If you would like to donate, visit ourhippodrome.org.uk THANK YOU Our Brighton Hippodrome In expectation that a call-in decision is imminent, this petition has now been submitted to Mr Pickles and Mr Lewis. Many thanks to all of you who signed. We'll keep you informed about the outcome of our request through the website and on social media. Website: http://www.ourhippodrome.org.uk Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ourbrightonhippodromepage Twitter: https://twitter.com/ourhippodrome AND PLEASE DONATE IF YOU CAN!