My name is Chris and I am in recovery from gambling addiction. I am a huge football fan and a West Ham United FC season ticket holder. I am surrounded by gambling advertising and sponsorship at every West Ham match. It was being subjected to this matchday advertising, as well as watching games on TV that led me to download my first betting app. I downloaded that app to bet on the outcome of a football match. However, within a number of weeks, I was gambling on in-play football, foreign football, horses, dogs, virtual racing, and then casino products such as slots and roulette. I was missing days at work, my relationships with friends and family became strained and my mental health was ruined. I was gambling online, in land-based casinos, bookmakers, and at Romford dogs. I had never gambled before downloading that first app at the age of 30. I did not appreciate how dangerous gambling can be. I also did not understand how the gambling industry would lure me in. After downloading the app I started to receive emails offering free bets, offering me free spins in a casino. They were cross-selling their most addictive products to me, but at the time I did not understand the dangers. The more money that I lost the more incentives I received. I was made a VIP and was given free money to gamble with. Rather than giving me free money to keep me gambling, the gambling operators should have been intervening. They didn't, and my experience is very common. Less than six years after placing my first bet I was sitting in my sister-in-law's house ready to take my own life. Fortunately, I am still alive. I am one of the lucky ones. Now in recovery, I try to help others who find themselves in the position that I was in and do all I can to prevent avoidable gambling harm. I co-founded both the All Bets Are Off podcast gambling addiction recovery podcast and a charity called Gambling Education Network. There are 409 deaths related to gambling every year in England alone and a YouGov study from this year shows that 2.9 million people are either already addicted or at risk of being so, with a further 3.3 million classified as “affected others”. These stark figures show what we already know: gambling harm is not an issue affecting just a small minority, it is severely harming – sometimes killing – many. To prevent any young fan from experiencing what I and so many others did, I'm urging West Ham United FC to cancel all gambling partnerships, say no to any new offers, and back The Big Step campaign.

My son Ryan was 27 when he took his own life after becoming addicted to gambling. He loved Liverpool FC, but his club and the game he worshipped let him down by constantly telling him to do the thing that would lead to his death. Weeks before Ryan died, he told a fellow gambler that he found stopping so difficult because of the advertising. With 409 deaths related to gambling every year in England alone, football must stop promoting dangerous and addictive products to millions each week – a recent study found that up to 700 gambling adverts can appear during a single televised Premier League match. A YouGov study from this year showing that 2.9 million people are either already addicted or at risk of being so, with a further 3.3 million classified as “affected others”. These stark figures show what we already know: gambling harm is not an issue affecting just a small minority, it is severely harming – sometimes killing – many. I want the club my son loved, Liverpool FC, to cancel all existing partnerships with gambling companies, to reject future partnerships, and to back The Big Step campaign to end all gambling advertising in football so no family has to go through what mine has.

My name is Tom and like countless others in the UK, I've been harmed by gambling. My addiction took me to a dark place, one full of self-loathing, shame, and guilt. I thought I was the only person in the world to feel like I did. Thankfully I was able to stop, but many aren’t as fortunate. I was really pleased to see Crystal Palace drop their gambling sponsorship this year, and now I would love to see my club pledge to reject future gambling partnerships and back The Big Step campaign to end all gambling advertising in football. The government is reviewing the 2005 Gambling Act, but I would like to see football to do the right thing before it is forced to. Football was undoubtedly the catalyst for my addiction. One study recently found that 700 gambling adverts can appear during a single televised Premier League game. The game I love told me that gambling was safe and fun – my heroes wore shirts plastered in gambling adverts, and ex-players and managers shouted at me from the television screen at half-time, urging me to place another bet. I trusted them, so I believed them. But not one of them told me about the risks. Public Health England estimates there are 409 suicides linked to gambling each year in England alone, with a study finding that people suffering from gambling disorder are 15 times more likely to take their lives. When you consider there are up to 1.4 million people addicted to gambling in the UK, this paints a very disturbing picture. Added to this, there are millions more at risk of addiction and harmed indirectly by someone else’s gambling. Gambling is a huge public health issue and it’s not something that football should be promoting – how many other entertainment industries drive hundreds of their participants a year to suicide?

The Piper Alpha Memorial Garden is hugely important to those affected by the Piper Alpha disaster and to the people of Aberdeen. After the Piper Alpha platform exploded on 6th July 1988, killing 167 men, families and survivors wanted to erect a memorial but faced many obstacles. They eventually got permission from Aberdeen City Council to site it in a new rose garden at Hazlehead Park and they asked the Council for 167 roses to be planted around the memorial. Raising funds was problematic and took a very long time. Of the 28 companies who lost men in the disaster, only 21 contributed, most sending donations of around £50, with one sending £2000. The families were left to source funding and also to contribute to it themselves. This took many months. The families of those who died and those who survived the disaster, fought long and hard for this monument and garden and helped to pay for it to be built. The Pound for Piper Trust has proposed this redesign but has had no consultation with the families who were affected by the disaster, in spite of the fact that these plans appear to have been in progress for some years (confirmed in BBC news article, 19th May 2022). Pound for Piper Trust is proposing that the redesigned garden should be rebranded as the ‘North Sea Memorial Garden’. We request that the Garden should not be renamed or rebranded as a generic monument and garden thereby removing the strong association of the space with the disaster. Since 1991, the whole space has been dedicated to the Piper Alpha disaster, and should remain so. The garden should therefore be officially recognised as the Piper Alpha Memorial Garden. The Pound for Piper Trust stated in 2016, that it had received enough in donations to ‘support the upkeep of the memorial’ until 2036. (STV news item, 21 September 2016). The garden was completely overhauled less than ten years ago. We call on Aberdeen City Council to maintain the current garden in excellent condition rather than replace it with a design that includes a large concrete circle around the monument instead of the 167 roses that the families requested should surround it in the first place. We urge you not to forget that the rose garden was designed by the garden genius David Welsh, who was responsible for Aberdeen’s many successes in Britain in Bloom competitions. Furthermore, the Piper Alpha Memorial Garden is a place of great significance to the families of those affected by the disaster and to the people of Aberdeen. As such, the Memorial and Garden should be protected from redevelopment and rebranding, for example by Listed or Scheduled status.

The playground on Clarendon Park Road has long been neglected. The city council has acknowledged that the surfacing is unsafe and that much of the equipment is no longer appropriate. The local community have been told they must raise ninety thousand pounds to fund these essential works and that the city council will not provide any funding towards this work. We would like the city council to fund the resurfacing and replacement of outdated equipment. Many families have little or no private gardens. The playground provides valuable opportunity for the community to meet and for children to play safely together.

To ensure the safety of young children, parents and locals who use the crossing

We are fundraising through YourFundSurrey and local Cil funds. To do this, we need community engagement to show support for the project. Feedback from the community research so far shows a real need for a park facility to suit all ages, but more importantly, a need for engagement with the community around any plans. Joining together to improve our local environment will create a sense of ownership, develop and strengthen our community spirit and build relationships between people of all generations. The park has a problem with local youths misusing the park and causing antisocial behaviour. As part of our project, we want to promote the importance of communities working together, looking after and valuing the space and taking pride in it. We aim to include local schools and youth groups in plans to include, rather than exclude them.

Suffering a miscarriage is not an illness, it is a loss that can be traumatic for expectant parents. It is therefore unfair to expect those grieving to rely on either their employer’s good will or sick leave. Unfortunately, there is also a stigma around miscarriage, with many parents feeling unable to discuss their loss with friends, family, or their GP. By introducing paid leave, it will open the door to more parents seeking the support that they deserve.

The benefits of good out door space are not only for children’s physical health as we are living in a generation where more and more young people are stuck in front of computer screens but it also supports with children’s mental health which in recent months has been highlighted in the media. Also some children on the estate suffer with Autism, Learning Difficulties and Down syndrome and would benefit from a much improved outdoor space. The community keeps on growing many childrens families do not have the financial means to keep leaving the estate to find things to do with their children as most activities come at a cost. Commissioning a park as other housing estates have is the right thing to do. The estate of Skye Drive has a park and so does Bannerbrook Housing Estate in Coventry. Saxon Rise, Saxon Heights and Saxon Meadows does not have this facility.

With less and less things for kids to do they need things to keep them off the streets

It is impotant to have an area for smaller children as it would help keep them and others safe. I have witnessed many serious injuries as a result of smaller children sharing the same space with older users. When the older more experienced skater/bikers are using the ramps the younger children are putting themselves and others at risk. The skate ramp area is not fenced off and younger children can and do run in the space which results in accidents. Due to the park layout it is hard to keep track of kids in the various areas and this should be redesigned to make it a family friendly space accessible to all.

Blossom Tree Nursery Rhiwbina Ltd plan to expand our current capacity by opening an additional site to cater for more families in the area and meet the demands of the local community; thus contributing to the local economy, offering job opportunities, supporting local businesses and providing high quality childcare for local families. Rhiwbina is predominately a residential area with a large number of families living in the vicinity of the proposed nursery site. The current day care shortage and lack of availability significantly impacts on parents who want to return to work or those who are in work but are restricted by the childcare options available to them. Blossom Tree Nursery aims to alleviate this problem by creating additional space to support working families with quality childcare and wraparound care, thus giving them the freedom to work the hours that they choose. Please sign our petition to allow Blossom Tree Nursery to offer 40 crucial child care places to local families in Rhiwbina. If you would like to express your support, we would appreciate it if you could spare a minute or two to write a few lines telling the Planning Department why you want to see our nursery offering more childcare places in Rhiwbina. Please forward any supporting information to the Blossom Tree Nursery email address [email protected] Please include your name and address by Friday 29th January 2021