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Save WhitekirkSince closure in February 2016, the former Whitekirk Golf Course has become a haven for wildlife and a wonderful, well used amenity space for local communities. This unique and beautiful landscape is recognised in the East Lothian Local Development Plan 2018 as a Special Landscape Area, and provides valuable open space for people and wildlife in an area dominated by intensive farming and increasing development. Wilkie Developments plans to destroy this fantastic landscape by turning it into a holiday camp. With over 200 proposed holiday lodges crammed on to the former fairways, the beautiful landscape and its wildlife will be lost to development forever. The area is enjoyed by a wide variety of flora and fauna including species such as skylarks, badgers, bats, owls, buzzards and swans, as well as a variety of wildflowers, trees and mosses. The Local Development Plan states that development should only be permitted in Special Landscape Areas where "the public benefits of the development clearly outweigh any adverse impact and the development is designed, sited and landscaped to minimise such adverse impacts." The economic benefits of the development will no doubt be argued as a reason to override this protection, however it is clear that self-catering holiday lodges will generate only a very few low-skilled, low-paid jobs, and with poor public transport local people will surely struggle to sustain employment. Over two hundred holiday lodges will generate hundreds of car trips per day to and from North Berwick. With only one bus every two hours from the site into North Berwick, all those cars will be clogging up the roads and competing for the already over-full car parks in the town. The development will require significant infrastructure in order to support the 200 plus lodges, introducing light pollution, sewage treatment and a network of utilities. Once all this costly infrastructure is in place what’s to stop Wilkie Developments, housebuilders by trade, seeking to turn this into yet another housing development. Please help to protect this rare and special landscape by signing the petition to prevent development and secure its future as a valuable wildlife habitat and amenity for the local communities. As a protected wildlife reserve, this wonderful space should be enjoyed by local people and also presents a fantastic opportunity to create an educational facility for local schools.1,231 of 2,000 SignaturesCreated by Save Whitekirk Campaign
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Overturn the refusal for a Health Complex in SelseyThere is a 750 square meter building in Selsey which has no hope of being rented as office space but there is a public demand for a Health Complex. Chichester District Council in their wisdom thought it correct to force this building to remain empty and marketed for 18 months to see if a large company wanted to move into Selsey and rent it as office space.. Business are moving out of Selsey, not in. Just 8 months ago this was a brown field with zero employment. If Kevin Byrne wasn’t prepared to invest the money it would still be a brown unused field. Today it has the potential of providing jobs and a considerable asset to Selsey. CDC said NO to this Health Complex despite: • other land designated for office space in Selsey remains undeveloped and buildings vacant • communication from Flude Commercial saying it’s very unlikely we’ll find a tenant for office space • letters from the largest employers in Selsey saying they don’t want the building as office space • £1.7m being invested into Selsey on this project • two of the largest employers in Selsey saying they wanted to use the gym for their staff • survey via Facebook in Selsey where 236 people said they wanted this complex • 35 registering support of this c Health Complex on the CDC planning website • this Health Complex not being in competition with any other of this type in Selsey • CDC’s very own Economic Development Services stating the Complex would bring employment and help other local business keep their staff • having more than enough parking to service the complex • having a local gym company already wanting this space and run a gym • having a local beauty company wanting this space and run a company • the poor economics in Selsey and the desperate need for more jobs • the fact we would have employed people straight away • CDC councillor John Connor issuing a Red Card to fight for the approval. CDC refused this change of use on the grounds that office space would generate more than a Health Complex. Please help us force CDC to change there mind and allow this change of use to a Health Complex.573 of 600 SignaturesCreated by Kevin Byrne
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Water safety group’s call to action to reduce drowning in TendringSchools in Tendring need to add plenty of water and beach safety lessons and have the lifeboat crew in to give talks. every schoolchild in an assembly could show a video safety not just for the sea but rivers as well.333 of 400 SignaturesCreated by Andrew Pemberton
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Student Nurse Student Finance ReductionStudent Nurses who are in receipt of a bursary receive over £500 less in their third academic year of study. Their final year of study is the same length as years one and two making the reduction on loan unjustified. This has been in dispute for nearly a year with no explanation as to why the reduction occurs.258 of 300 SignaturesCreated by Bradley Crow
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Dont cut school funding for school busesIt is important so my son and other children get to and home from school safely6 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Amanda Walton
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Meet and protect the rights of disabled children, adults and their families.I’m a mother, but no one has ever called me mummy. I’ve resuscitated my child, but I’ve never put a plaster on his knee. I’ve not been fined for taking my child out of school for a holiday, but I’ve been fighting to get him into school for almost four years. I’ve gone for months at a time with little sleep - but not with a baby, with a child who stops breathing. There are no family days out, because there’s nowhere to change my immobile and incontinent teenager. For four years, I have to sedate my child to travel because his wheelchair doesn’t fit and causes him pain. I’ve said goodbye more times than I can count - not for a school trip, but because I was told he would die. Our first community nurse told me to visit a morgue so I could get used to the idea of seeing my son in a freezer. I was told by a care company manager that if I complained about her staff, she’d ensure my son was put in a home. They were asleep when he wasn’t breathing, they overdosed his medications and they forcibly strapped him down to his own bed to stop them needing to move him. I’ve had to plan and write down all of the details of my child’s funeral. We have lost our home, jobs and self esteem - sponging from society, because care and education has not been sufficiently funded to allow us to work - to support our own family. I was a teacher, I fought for the children of others, I loved my job. Now, I have to fight for my son and his rights, to be his ICU nurse, to try to find time to be his mum when I’m so tired and so sad. My husband cared for people with MND or dementia, supporting them and their families until the end of their lives. Now he can only support us. Our lives revolve around keeping our son alive, well and comfortable.690 of 800 SignaturesCreated by Jo Atrill
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Don't cut funding for children's school busesIn September Thetford Academy are cutting funding to Lewis Coaches so that they no longer run the bus service for our children to get to school. I have no other way of getting my 12 year old to and from school. And many other parents are in the same position. Please don't compromise the safety or education of our children.181 of 200 SignaturesCreated by Amanda Walton
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End the use of isolation units as a sanction in educationVulnerable children with complex needs are being placed in small and restrictive isolation booths for long periods of time - sometimes the whole day and even full school weeks. This is often for trivial offences such as uniform issues. Parents are sometimes not told or informed euphemistically that their children are in the ‘ inclusion unit’ This is damaging the mental health of young people and the potential long term effects need to be properly researched. We need to have a debate in parliament about this dubious practice.280 of 300 SignaturesCreated by Jessica Timmis
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Keep Herefordshire libraries safe. No to outsourcingWe deeply regret that, despite strong arguments against it, you and your Cabinet colleagues decided on 28th June to press ahead with a tendering exercise to outsource the County’s library service. Given recent national experience, we are convinced that this is misguided. There is no material evidence that outsourcing libraries in Herefordshire would be cheaper or deliver a better service – we know of no contractor with a successful track record of running a library service in a rural setting comparable to Herefordshire. The current management and staff of Herefordshire libraries are doing a fine job under strained circumstances.1,534 of 2,000 SignaturesCreated by Tom Harvey
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Access to free period products for all women in ScotlandThe 1st Musselburgh Senior Section want to end period poverty. We’re calling for free period products for everyone who needs them. We’ve been working on Girlguiding Scotland’s Citizen Girl challenge badge in our unit – which is all about exploring why our voices matter and how we can speak out on the issues that matter to us. This got us thinking about some of the barriers girls our age face and we decided to campaign to end period poverty after seeing how condoms are provided for free at our school but how girls currently have to pay for period supplies like tampons and pads. It’s not fair that girls have to pay for something they have no choice in! We’re really encouraged to see free period products will now be available in Scottish schools but think more needs to be done to end period poverty once and for all. That’s why we’re calling for free products in other public places like Community Centres, Sport Centres and Libraries and for a system to make sure these products are easily accessible and freely available to anyone who needs them. We also want to tackle the stigma around periods and period poverty – so girls and women know this isn’t something they have to hide or be ashamed of. Women worldwide, are incapacitated by an inevitable biological process, not one of their own making. Many women cannot afford this basic necessity, which impacts so heavily on their lives. We would like to ask that Angela Constance MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities, and Shona Robinson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, to help end the stigma around periods and make sure period products are freely and easily accessible to anyone who needs them, not just while we’re at school but throughout our lives.178 of 200 SignaturesCreated by 1st Musselburgh Senior Section
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Move school summer holiday 1 week forward to start mid-July: Friday 17 July - Tuesday 1 Sept in 2020It's July, it's 7 pm and it's hot, incredibly hot. The sun is shining bright and high still at this time of day. Sadly, July means school, homework and 7:30 pm bedtimes. Even more sadly, the heat and long daylight of July is not a feature of late August/September nights when the kids are still on holiday (why?!!). They simply miss the best part of the British summer because they have to be at school so late into it! Why should we shorten the summer term to finish by 15th July? 1) The warm, long, light evenings make school-night bedtimes a nightmare for kids and parents. 8pm easily becomes 10pm. 2) Children get less sleep at this time of year and it greatly affects their learning and behaviour 3) The academic learning objectives and targets for the year will have been largely reached and it’s just a waiting game for everyone before the end of term. Late August / September are much more productive in terms of learning, NOT hot July! 4) The hot, sunny weather makes it difficult for the children to learn at school / do homework, making the teacher's job more difficult. 5) At the moment, the children cannot enjoy the long July summer nights… because they are school nights. That means heading home early from parks, pools and beaches and missing out on a lot of physical exercise. Late August and September do not offer the same outdoor opportunities in the evenings as people go indoors when evenings are dark and cold. Also, you are unlikely to make a long drive for a swim in the sea in September, but July would be ideal (but it's a school night, so we can't) 6) In our fight against the dramatic rise in childhood obesity, we need to enable everyone to be physcially active by giving them opportunties do so (long daylight, evenings in the park) 6) For those who do not go abroad, mid-July is really the best time for camping to make the most of the weather and the light evenings. 7) It is likely to reduce school absences as the motivation dwindles in hot weather at the end of the academic year. To enable the legally required 190 school days per academic year, we propose starting the autumn term a little bit earlier when the lesser daylight and lower temperatures at night are more conducive to studying. Although this will make the autumn term slightly longer, this time of year is more productive for both children and parents. It’s a small price to pay to be on holiday at a more suitable time in mid-July. Alternatively, the Easter break could be shortened or all training days could be shifted to the end of the summer term. This year, some schools are having their training days at the end of term, thereby letting the children go on holiday on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 July. It would also be very considerate to family holiday planning if all schools could finish the summer term on a Friday. Being able to finish the summer term by th 15th of July or earlier would make a huge, huge difference to the many families. Please let school children enjoy the best time of the British summer.402 of 500 SignaturesCreated by Tina Bollerslev James
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Lets Make Public Health a Priority in Newham40 percent of premature deaths and the burden of disease is attributed to "behaviours" such as diet, physical activity, smoking and alcohol. In Newham, with a high population of South Asian backgrounds, the focus on public health is even more important as diabetes is up to 6 times more likely in this population. The obesity and diabetes epidemic particularly affect Newham and we urgently need lifestyle changes programmes at community level, as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. In 2013, the Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt and the Chief Executive of Public Health England wrote to all the Chief Executives of Local Authorities to ask them to put people's health and wellbeing at the heart of everything they do. However, this has not taken place in Newham and we request it to change. Our local community with Food Academy and with funding from Diabetes UK, British Heart Foundation and Tesco has been able to deliver 400 fun holiday lunch clubs in the last 2 years, involving 700 mothers and more than 1400 children. We have supported a public health prevention agenda with hands-on cooking and fun physical activities targeting obesity and diabetes in adults and children. However, this type of public health work now requires promotion and funding from the local government and the local NHS for the benefit of our families.406 of 500 SignaturesCreated by Sandeep Channa
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