Currently the last bus from Ipswich to Shotley Gate, with stops at Wherstead, Freston, Woolverstone, Chelmondiston, Shotley and Shotley Gate, is at 1805 returning to Ipswich at 18.45. Due to an increase in new houses on the stunning Shotley peninsula, creating a large number of extra potential passengers of all ages, this extra service is needed to provide access to the main county town, and short journeys to villages in between during the evening. This would help improve the night time economy in particular for our village halls, rural pubs and all manner of community events in Ipswich. Improve connectivity with train services to from Ipswich train station, and its routes to various locations in Suffolk, Essex and London.. Cut down on the use of cars and the associated benefits that brings in terms of cleaner air, carbon emissions and helping people controlling fuel costs.

As a skier and snow sports follower I feel the connection with ski racing, which was formalised by British people in the Kandahar Club is being erased by this error of judgment to abandon BBC TV coverage of snow sports during the winter period. I feel there are millions of others who feel similarly. 

Brought in during COVID we've lived with this positive system for the past 5-6 years. It simple and quick to do online, avoids overcrowding at the sites. Stops long delays and previous queuing on roads making it dangerous. Every time I've wanted to go I've got same day appointments, whether in a car or with a trailer. Skips are accessible and there is seemingly less pressure on staff who have had it hard with continuous cuts. I urge cabinet to avoid this publicity stunt which this could be seen as and keep the current system at our recycling centres. Please!

I've been swimming at Putney Leisure Centre for over 16 years. I'll be honest: the centre is run down and tired, and it badly needs modernising - I've more than once thought about coughing up for a posh gym with newer facilities. But I never have. The one thing that's kept me here all these years is the 33-metre pool. There aren't many pools like it left in the country. It's an increasingly scarce thing, and once it's gone, it's gone - because nobody builds 33-metre pools any more. But who cares about 33 metres? What's so good about it? For a start, it's simply more water to swim in. The pool gets busy, and those extra eight metres let everyone spread out and find a rhythm. Shrink it to 25 metres and that breathing space disappears. Places Leisure say they'll cap each lane at 14 swimmers in the new pool - so at busy times people will be turned away. And here's the thing: our 33-metre lanes comfortably take 14 swimmers as it is. Cram those same 14 into a lane eight metres shorter and it stops being swimming and starts being queuing. Modernise the centre - please do. But don't take away the one thing that makes it worth coming to for many people. A permanent change to a pool the public owns and pays for, decided behind closed doors and announced barely a month before it shuts - without consulting a single resident or member. This is our pool. We deserve a say in its future. Please sign, and help us tell the Council to keep our 33-metre pool and to ask us before they change it.

Our park. Our community. Our responsibility — together. We love Kilburn Grange Park. Every morning, this small patch of green holds our community together — dog walkers, families, runners, children, elders, friends. It's where we breathe. Where we belong. But every summer, the same thing happens: 🗑️ Bins overflow and aren't collected regularly 🦊 Foxes and crows scatter rubbish across the park overnight 👶 Children play next to waste on their way to school 😤 We're told to "report it on an app" that doesn't even recognise our park as a location Meanwhile, Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill get larger bins, more frequent collections, and better infrastructure — even though most of their users are tourists, not local residents. Over 99% of Grange users are local residents who pay council tax. We deserve equal care. With the combined population of the surrounding wards growing by over 21% (adding more than 5,000 residents) in the last two decades, the current infrastructure has simply not scaled to meet this surge in demand, making the reliance on small, inadequate bins increasingly untenable. WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR: ✅ Daily afternoon rubbish collections — so waste doesn't sit overnight ✅ Larger, animal-proof bins — like the ones in Hampstead and Primrose Hill ✅ Transparency — how much is Veolia being paid, are they paying for using park land for their operations, and where is that money going? ✅ Fair treatment — our park attendant cannot manage 2 acres alone with substandard facilities ✅ A proper reporting system — not a broken app that shifts responsibility onto residents THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT RUBBISH. It's about whether our community is valued the same as wealthier neighbourhoods. It's about a park that has served this community for over 100 years — and deserves to be treated with respect. "The most radical act in a metropolis is simply to leave a piece of ground unbuilt. The next most radical is to care for it properly." Clean the Grange — because we all walk on the same ground.

The £1.15 charge soon adds up when a number of books are reserved. On the other hand, the £150,000 ECC says it will save with this charge, is paltry when compared to ECC's overall budget of over £2 billion (Campaigners say cuts are 'biggest attack' on Essex libraries - BBC News). And when cuts are made to libraries, it increases costs elsewhere, such as the social care budget. Our libraries are excellent value for money, and should not be squeezed further. Two surveys have already found this charge will make a real difference to how people use libraries. Between three-quarters and ninety percent of those surveyed said they would either use their library less, or stop using their library altogether (https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CspgVDTDV/). And we've seen this before, where a decline in use caused by cuts, is then used to justify closing libraries. With 2026 declared the National Year of Reading in an attempt to reverse an alarming decline in reading, particularly reading for pleasure, now really isn't the time to place further barriers in the way of using libraries. And the principle of a public library is that it should be free. ECC has set our libraries up to fail, and this disastrous charge must be scrapped.

Marjorie I’m Marjorie. I’m 80 now. I have very severe physical disabilities. The Helena Lane Day Care Service in Ludlow is my absolute lifeline. The Day Care Service provides me with social, physical, and emotional care: with friendship; with a hot meal; with help to have a bath; with support and advice when I need it. My life is so much better because of this service – and Shropshire Council proposes to end it. They’ve already run this service down and down – five days to three, full days to half days, staff numbers cut, transport to the Centre axed – and they’ve been TURNING AWAY people who want and need to use this level of care.  But now they give “low attendance” as a key reason for the proposal to close the service altogether! I’m going to go completely ‘doo lally tap’ if I can’t go out anymore. I’m so scared that this is what they’re forcing on me. I can’t stand without assistance. I can’t climb stairs at all. I can’t reach for things on shelves or in cupboards. I can’t walk more than a few yards using my 4-wheel rollator. I depend on other people for my personal care. The service at Helena Lane is a central part of my life. I wonder if Council’s consultation paper is straight from fairyland? This is what they’re offering me after they close the Day Care Service: • Three times in a short document it’s suggested that I need to be accessing employment (!) – but I’m 80 and very disabled and I need a carer to even get out of bed. • They suggest I could use a different day service. Where? Shrewsbury? How do they think I’m going to get there? • And they direct me to a weekly community lunch run by volunteers. Great – but I can’t physically get into the building and I wouldn’t be able to access the loo even if I could. “Sit at home and rot” seems to be the plan for people like me. Please think about what I’ve said, and also please read the comments below from my friend Nino. Her husband has dementia and attends day care at Helena Lane.  She explains what closing the service will mean for people with dementia and their carers. We both think rural services matter - and Ludlow surely deserves better than this.  Please, please sign this petition. Nino Like Marjorie, I'm furious that Shropshire Council intends to end the Day Care Service at Helena Lane. My husband has dementia and can't be left on his own now. A four-hour slot one day a week at Helena Lane is a godsend. It means he has that routine of social contact in a safe environment – and I get a little bit of time for me. I can’t begin to explain how important that is. Both of us would like him to attend Helena Lane for the three days a week they’re open – but they can't offer that because staff numbers have been cut. Ironic, really, when the Council wants to stop the service because of low demand! The Council seems to think that voluntary services like Hands Together Ludlow can step in to replace Helena Lane. It’s a fantasy! We already know about these services and we use them – but they CANNOT substitute for skilled care from qualified staff. If the Helena Lane service goes, there will be no venue in Ludlow where someone with severe dementia can attend without their carer. That will be a huge loss – for people with dementia AND for carers. There is already so little support. If this closure happens, it’s a disaster for Ludlow people affected by dementia. IF YOU LIVE IN SHROPSHIRE, PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION NOW!

As an NHS administration worker I feel privileged to work towards helping people on their way to better health and my job has as much impact on patient care. The 3% pay rise this year, after previous years of inadequate rises against the Cost of living crisis, is pushing my position to become untenable as a single parent trying to support two kids through collage the ends just are meeting anymore. I've always considered myself lucky I'm good at creative budgeting and tightening our belts but there's nothing left to tighten, I have colleagues who already use wage advances and adhoc loans to get through the month. I don't feel I'm being unreasonable asking for a fair wage, we work hard and the strain of money worries ontop of the strain of the job is taking its toll, a decent payrise this year will go a way to alleviate some of this.

A secretive US tech company called Palantir is embedding itself into our public services - including running a huge patient database for our NHS. Co-founded by a billionaire Trump donor, it provides tech to Trump’s ICE immigration agency and the Israeli military. But right now we’ve got a major chance to get their NHS deal scrapped - and kick start a domino effect that sees ALL their contracts ended. How? Ministers actually have the option to cancel the NHS deal early. But with these contracts flying under the radar, it’ll take all of us speaking up to make that happen. If you agree that our NHS and other public services shouldn’t be cutting deals with a private company that helps armies kill people, sign the petition now!

It is important to support this campaign to stop the failures before it goes any further. Remember how much over development in housing is still occurring, we cannot afford to lose any public services.

Southern Park is open to the public early in the morning and later in the afternoon, and many residents use it for walking and commuting during these hours. However, the park currently has no lighting, making visibility extremely poor. This lack of lighting creates safety concerns. In low visibility, people are at higher risk of accidents, such as tripping or falling, and there is also an increased fear of potential assaults or other unsafe situations. Many community members avoid using the park during these times simply because it does not feel safe. We are requesting the installation of adequate lighting throughout Southern Park so that residents can use it during early morning and late afternoon hours without fear. Proper lighting would significantly improve safety, accessibility, and overall community well-being.

Dartmoor Prison has been empty for over 18 months after toxic gas made it unsafe. Yet, with no prisoners inside, taxpayers are still forking out around £4 million every year in rent to Prince William’s Duchy of Cornwall.  It gets worse. The cost for repairing the prison could be as much as £68 million, and we'll be expected to foot the bill. This is an unacceptable waste of public money while our prison system is overcrowded and underfunded.  That’s why we are calling on our future monarch, Prince William, to do the right thing: stop charging the taxpayer rent for this empty building and help fix the mess at Dartmoor. Doing so could save millions of pounds in public money, which could instead be invested in improving our prison system, supporting rehabilitation, and easing overcrowding.