Wirral Borough Council engaged Kingdom to issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for environmental crimes such as littering, non-clearing of dog mess, etc within Wirral’s boundaries. Kingdom is a private limited company and as such, is profit driven. There is evidence that the Enforcement Officers (EOs) acting on behalf of Kingdom are financially incentivised to issue as many FPNs as possible. This financial motivation has seen the most vulnerable people in society, who are least likely to resist such accusations, deliberately targeted with FPNs of £80.00 for minor infringements, without being given the opportunity for errors to be rectified. It has been noted that the EOs focus on areas with the heaviest footfall, i.e. shopping centres, which whilst having a litter problem, may not have the worst in the borough. We are concerned that in focusing on these areas the Company is not filling its contractual obligations borough wide. This again suggests they are looking to maximise profits by issuing as many tickets as possible. Figures from 16.12.15 – 15.12. 16 show that of 11711 FPNs issued 91%(10719) were for dropping cigarette butts. We agree this is anti-social behaviour to the detriment of the environment, but we do not believe, given the litter problem in the borough, that the percentage of fines issued for such an offence is proportionate to the general litter problem. We also note that 25% of FPNS were appealed against. The EOs persist in ignoring both the law and their own and WBC guidelines when issuing FPNs for accidental littering – a major issue we have is that once the FPN is issued the offending item (be it a cigarette butt, dog dirt, etc) is not removed. This means the litter is then left for street cleaners to remove, at the expense of WBC. We have concerns about whether RIPA 2000 is being used inappropriately to allow the “Enforcement Officers” to work covertly. We do not believe the offences they are fining people for warrant the use of covert tactics. It has been reported to us time and time again that badges and recording devices are not revealed until the last minute. We are concerned as to whether the EOs have the appropriate licences and security clearance for filming members of the pubic for evidence. EOs have been shown to manipulate facts and withhold pertinent information to convince people they have committed an offence, leaving them in fear of further action (evidence available upon request). We are concerned that the initial appeals process is handled inhouse by Kingdom and feel they have a financial motive to not review the appeals without prejudice. We understand that whilst Kingdom receive a large share of the FPN fee any court costs are paid by WBC, again maximising the Company’s profit whilst exposing WBC to costs. I have never received a FPN although I know people who have. It seems these days everyone within Wirral knows someone who has. One such case is quoted below: “It happened last year, but I’m still upset about it, it was all a big con. I’m a female pensioner and I was alone with my two dogs. I was picking up after my male dog when a young man approached me and told me my female dog had pooped, and I hadn’t picked it up. I told him she had already had a poop in my garden, so I asked him to show me where it was. He took me to where a large man was standing over a round dried up poop that must have been there for hours. I pointed that out to them and the large man said he had seen her do it. I had a doggy bag so used that to pick it up and asked them to feel that it was cold (therefore not freshly done) and they refused. It was only when they then asked for my name and address that they showed me a badge, which he pulled out of the neck of his top where it had been concealed. I was taken to court twice as I refused to pay the FPN as I knew I was innocent of their accusations. I was told there was video evidence against me which I asked to see, and I was told I had to apply to see it, which I then did. When I saw the video, it showed them asking me for my details and showed a used doggy bag in my hand. The screen then went blank for a few seconds and when it came on again it showed a piece of grass with a hand covering what was alleged to be the poop. We thought the video had been edited – a woman I spoke to at Kingdom said it was impossible but at our insistence she showed it to a colleague who said it WAS possible the video had been edited. About 10 days before I was due back in court for the third time I received a letter, saying the case had been dropped. The whole ordeal was so stressful that my GP put me on anti-depressants, but there was no way I would plead guilty to something that was false.” Issues with Kingdom’s methods are not unique to Wirral, seeming to be a problem wherever they operate. There is evidence that Kingdom’s EOs frequent supermarket car parks which are cleaned by the supermarkets at no cost to Wirral Borough Council, to issue FPNs. We have had confirmation from Asda that they wrote to Wirral Borough Council, November 2017, withdrawing permission for Kingdom to operate on their premises and it has been reported that they are banning Kingdom from operating on their premises in Liverpool and North Wales too: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/asda-bans-kingdom-litter-squad-14536164 Sainsburys have also advised us that they have withdrawn permission for Kingdom to operate at their Upton superstore and are reviewing the other Wirral stores. The litter problem appears no better throughout the borough than when the contract commenced in 2015. We urge Wirral Borough Council to find a better solution to the littering problem, that doesn’t leave people in fear of visiting certain areas. One such scheme could be in house, uniformed officers who are not being paid incentives per the number of fines they issue. We are happy to meet with the appropriate WBC employees to discuss how this could be funded.

Single use plastic bottles are becoming a major menace to the environment. 7.7 billion plastic water bottles are sold in the UK each year, and although every local authority in the UK now provides household recycling collections, the recycling rate for plastic bottles has plateaued at just under 60 per cent. The advantage of public drinking fountains and refills, says environmental campaigner Ben Reynolds, deputy chief executive of the charity Sustain is that they reduce the “insanity” of bottled water, much imported from France and some from as far afield as Fiji. Drinking water fountains in Loughborough Town Centre would mean that residents and visitors could refill bottles for free, drastically cutting down on the number o single use plastic bottles being used. A well-designed fountain could also become a feature for the town, like 'The Sock Man'. For more info on water fountains: https://www.sustainweb.org/ http://www.thelondonmagazine.co.uk/people-places/london-life/hit-the-bottle.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/24/drinking-water-fountains-should-become-iconic-red-british-telephone/

To make the UK a better and healthier place to live,and independent of other countries for our energy .

In bid for cheaper shipping and customer convenience there has been a broad shift in the past decade from selling pet food in easily recyclable cans to pouches. But, these pouches are almost never recyclable because they are made from a thin layer of aluminium sandwiched between layers of plastic. More than ten billion plastic-aluminium pouches, containing things like pet food and baby food are sold each year in the UK. Shockingly, less than one in 20,000 of these is recycled. The rest end up in landfill sites or they are incinerated. If Mars and Nestlé went took the simple step of going back to selling their pet foods in recyclable tins and aluminium trays this would prevent millions of tonnes of plastic being ploughed into our earth.

St Clears is a small village in West Wales with a population of under 3000 residents. We already have 2 fish and chip shops, a subway, a kebab shop, pizza bar, 2 indian takeaways, 1 chinese takeaway, Starbucks coffee and a chicken rotisserie bar. The proposed development of a drive through McDonalds and Costa coffee is not needed. Travellers driving through can call at the McDonalds in Carmarthen 10 miles away or make use of the host of other local businesses in St Clears, or the Roadhouse restaurant a few miles further on. As a community we have concerns regarding the impact of the proposed development on both the health and wellbeing of the community. We believe that the development is at odds with Welsh Government sustainable development charter and wellbeing of future generations act which aims to promote long term health and wellbeing of people and communities in Wales and reduce obesity and other chronic illnesses. The area considered for development is already very heavily burdened with traffic coming from both the A40 and A477. The addition of traffic slowing down to enter the facility would impact dramatically on the flow of traffic, causing potential risk for the pedestrians using the area as well massive environmental impact in terms of air and noise pollution, destruction of nature habitats and littering. We want the council to turn down planning application for this proposed development. Please sign this petition and support our village.

Phase 2 of the Stoke Park Estate restoration project aims to turn this area into grazing land for cattle in September 2018. Those who sign this petition want the character of the wood and the meadows between to be kept, and insist that only the most sensitive of work be conducted. There is very little woodland in the UK - even less that the public can access. Yet there are plans to clear woodland between Lockleaze and the M32 at Stoke Park Estate. In an effort to restore a 19th century landscape, Bristol City Council want to cut down Stoke Park Woods, leaving a “few scattered young and mature trees.” This will destroy important habitat and deprive people who live in the city access to a beautiful, natural woodland. It will remove visual screening to the M32, and will result in increased noise. The work so far has been negligent and destructive. Despite being an SNCI (Site Natural and Conservation Interest), suitable ecological surveys have not been carried out. The work has not complied with guidance set out by Natural England. So far large areas of valuable habitat have been obliterated. Wildlife has been displaced or killed. They want to do it again to a much loved woodland. The damage done so far cannot be undone - but there is still a chance to save Stoke Park Woods. If you think that people who live in the city should be able to enjoy the wildlife and beauty of a natural woodland, please ask your friends and family to sign.

If like me you are fed up angry and frustrated by the developing and serious litter problem we have in this country, then this is a campaign for you We are the fifth largest economy and yet we are filthy! Of course I’m concerned about plastics damaging our environment, but litter is not just about plastic, there are a number of different kinds of litter, which are of concern to me. Wind litter which we see increasingly on our motorways and roads. The motorways and roads act like wind tunnels Picking up and blowing it into central reservations and hedge bottom. Agricultural litter seen in our country side, plastic bales covering, fertiliser and feed bags. Roadworks litter and this one is a lot bigger than you might think, road signage, cones, barrier tape, sand bags, it’s all over the country and it’s costing tax payers millions of pounds in replacements, all because the contractors can’t be bothered to take it away when the work is finished. And finally the anti social behaviour of mindless morons who have no respect for the country they live in, or their surroundings and appear to delight in spoiling things for everyone.This one also includes doggy poo bags hanging in trees or thrown in hedge bottoms.( I have collected up to 57 poo bags on my 1hour walks around local reservoirs) Litter is bad for our mental wellbeing, it’s bad for our wildlife, and it’s bad for our environment. We know none of the above forms of litter are going to be removed by themselves and the people creating it are not going to come and pick it up, it’s down to our councils to collect and dispose of it, but as we all know public services have been targeted over the last 8yrs with one cut back after another and with local authorities struggling to meet the provision of front line services to children and adults, they simply do not have the funds to deal with this growing problem. So let’s put the problem where it belongs, with the government, this is what we pay taxes for, so we should demand a dedicated budget to deal with the serious problem of Litter. Help me to force the government to GET BRITAIN CLEAN AGAIN

Until recently I ran a local business close to the sites of these two buildings, that has recently been forced to close. Whilst I do not attribute the closure to the state of these buildings it is clear that they have both become eyesores and have a negative impact on one of the primary gateways into Stalybridge. The appearance of them on such an important route into the town centre adds to the general impression of a Town in decline. Many residents and business owners in Stalybridge would like it to be a thriving and welcoming town, these sites are completely incompatible with that image and it is disappointing that Tameside Council have allowed them to sit empty and shuttered or boarded up for such a long time. This is particularly unacceptable given that the Deputy Leader of Tameside Council, Councillor John Taylor said of the old Casablanca site clearance “These are great times for Stalybridge. We are finally going to see the end of a building that has spoiled the town centre of for almost eight years”. “Empty buildings are not only a blight, they are a wasted asset, especially at a time when we have to work so much harder in pursuit of prosperity.” Many local people would agree that these sites are also spoiling our town centre and are wasted assets at a time when Tameside Council is disposing of other properties and making cuts to services and raising council tax because of cuts in Government funding.

Running a Daily Mile may be good for children’s health, but scientific studies suggest fracking is quite the opposite. A recent comprehensive report stated that fracking threatens the health of local residents "1 Growing evidence shows that [fracking] regulations are simply not capable of preventing harm" "2 Fracking and the disposal of fracking waste threaten drinking water" "3 Drilling and fracking contribute to toxic air pollution and smog (ground-level ozone) at levels known to have health impacts." http://concernedhealthny.org/compendium/ Not only that, fracking has been shown to have a detrimental effect on climate change, endangering children’s health and lives for years to come “World may hit 2 degrees of warming in 10-15 Years thanks to fracking”, Says Cornell Scientist https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/04/11/climate-change-two-degree-warming-fracking-natural-gas-rush-ingraffea For more information about INEOS Ineos 'misled' public over fracking in Sherwood Forest https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/05/ineos-fracking-robin-hood-sherwood-forest?CMP=share_btn_tw Desmog Uk background on INEOS http://www.desmog.co.uk/ineos

The cull has poor scientific foundations, little oversight and no controls. The SCCW is a collection of landowners and gamekeepers in an area with a history of possible raptor persecution. It seems probable that the cull has been established in a driven grouse shooting area for reasons other than the conservation of waterfowl. Follow the web address below for more detail. https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2018/04/20/snh-issues-licence-for-mass-raven-cull-in-5-year-experiment/

In the late 1970's Oliver's Battery community was divided by Badger Farm Road (now the A3090). A poorly designed underpass was built to connect the North and South of Oliver's Battery Road underneath Badger Farm Road. It makes it impossible for people in wheel chairs or mobility scooters to cross this junction as there are only steps to come up the southern end and no slope. It is very hard to use for young families with babies or toddlers in pushchairs or cyclists who for instance want to cycle to work to Winchester of from Winchester to IBM in Hursley . It forces them to risk crossing the road with fast traffic. This junction as well as the T-junction with the Ridgeway that lies in a bend are both very difficult and dangerous to cross even for cars that often build up long queues trying to to leave Oliver's Battery or Badger Farm. Serious road traffic accidents have become the norm in recent years. It is only a matter of time until someone might lose their life. With the lack of public transport facilities in Oliver's Battery its residents are isolated and makes them car dependent and many elderly people rely on the goodwill of their neighbours to drive them around. The best option with great benefits not only for the local communities but for much of Winchester would be to: - Fill up the underpass to create more space for a safe junction - Build a traffic light junction with priority for cyclists and public transport - Create a bus lane from the Sainsbury’s to the Pitt roundabout (westwards) - Build a cycle lane (or another bus lane) on the eastbound side of Badger Farm Road - Enable easy cycle routes: a) from Hursley via Oliver's Battery towards King's school, b) Along Badgers Farm Road to Sainsbury's, and c) towards Ridgeway/ St Cross and connecting Oliver's Battery with the new planned Leisure Centre at Bar End Benefits: - Safety for all types of traffic - End discrimination against people with restricted mobility - Promote active types of transport (Walking and Cycling) - Promote public transport by shortening travel times for buses during peak times (Who would like to get stuck in the car if you can get into to town faster in the bus?) - Save money that is wasted by keeping buses in congested road traffic Residents in Oliver's Battery and Badger farm are very concerned about these junctions and several attempts by the Parish council and local councillors to improve the situation over many years have been ignored. Some progress has been made only recently. Nobody can understand that even an attempt to reduce the speed limit on Badger Farm Road from 40 to 30 mph (that would cost almost nothing) was refused: The Police would not support it as they think that it will not be complied with by drivers. The main criteria the Police uses is that the existing mean speeds must be close to the proposed lower limit (mean speeds between the Sainsbury’s and Pitt roundabouts were recorded as between 34 and 36 mph, which was not considered to be close enough to 30 mph). People living here are very disappointed about the slow progress. Therefore, these urgently required modifications of Badger Farm Road must be part of the new the Winchester Movement Strategy.

This sewage smell is an absolute disaster and has caused distress to the residents daily lives . It is actively having a catastrophic impact on how we go about our daily lives , we have never ever experienced such problems in our clean little town .