Save Our Trailer! Bombetta London, is proud to be based in Wanstead and grateful to be voted by its customers as an Opentable Dinner's Choice award and reviewed by Time Out as one of the best Italian restaurants in London, and with glowing reviews in GQ Magazine, The Evening Standard as well as featuring in The Good Food Guide for the last 2 years. Buying fish locally from people in Wanstead, such as Kevin the fishmonger, bread from Ronnie who owns The Duke and The Bread Station and a regular feature in silent auctions and raffles to support local schools, we now need local support. The Bombetta Trailer has now been parked up in our own loading bay, not causing anyone any problems since June 2017! Now in these difficult economic times, our small little independent restaurant is being squeezed by the council. Our trailer is under threat and we are calling for the local community to help us by showing their support for our trailer to be parking in our own loading bay. The council are limiting our ability to use the space we lease and it will threaten the commercial viability of the business. The Background: - Station Approach is a privately owned road on which Bombetta London is based, leading from Wanstead High Road to Snaresbrook Station. - There are loading bays in front of the building for the exclusive use of the occupier, us. - We invested heavily to develop the site from an empty shell which had prior to our arrival, remained vacant for some time. This space is directly in front of our restaurant and forms part of our 20 year lease. - The site was awarded a restaurant A3 planning permission and was purpose built with that in mind, with a chimney fume extract point through the centre of the building. Therefore thoughts about the use and practicality of the loading bay, which is in front of the front door, perhaps were lacking. - Our alcohol licence covers any seating in the ‘loading bay area’ and recognises these practical issues. - Initially Bombetta London took on the lease and applied several times to pave the area as the exclusive user of the space, but this was rejected on the grounds that it made the road narrower. Bombetta spent thousands of pounds with various appeals but to no avail, as in addition to utilising the space more effectively, it also would make the area more safe. - Since this time new buildings have been granted planning permission making the road narrow by default anyway, to house a taxi office and initially and laundrette, now a coffee kiosk. - In addition the car spaces opposite the Bombetta London loading bay have been removed, making the public highway wider than the buildings that were approved. - Bombetta London also rents three parking spaces on the road for its staff and customers and for deliveries so that there is no impact on the road. - The council have previously suggested that the trailer prevents emergency vehicles accessing the station, however the restaurant has provided countless photos of emergency vehicles easily accessing the location and provided detailed vehicle sweep flow diagrams at considerable expense that show an emergency vehicle could access the station even when there were parking spaces opposite. - The trailer can be accessed from inside the restaurant meaning that it can be used for people to sit in, adding value to the restaurant and making it safer for people to enjoy alcohol and food in the space permitted and using the space that Bombetta London are leasing more effectively. - The trailer also protects people physically who come in and out of the restaurant space, from traffic that otherwise would be walking directly onto tarmac from the front door with free flowing traffic and is illuminated with lighting within the walls in addition to internal lights which help highlight it to drivers. - Redbridge council last had dialogue with Bombetta London in November 2017 and have only now in March 2019 sent a letter demanding the trailers immediate removal. - In the latest correspondence, that has come out of the blue, there is now a shift away from concentrating on the narrowness of the road and a focus on how the trailer negatively visually affects the site and area. We adamantly disagree with the council that the our trailer parked on our loading bay is aesthetically an eyesore and should be removed on this basis. We decorate it internally with flowers, candles and fairy lights and externally with flowers and rosemary bushes all within the Load Bay area. Once spring there is here to stay, there would be fresh flowers in pots also along the base. We rely heavily on the seating area to generate enough income to survive. We invested all our funds into developing the site, so this coupled with the length of the lease would make re-location challenging. It would also leave another location in Wanstead empty and it would be a challenging location for many businesses to occupy. Our customers seem to love the area, the roof of the trailer slides back in the summer and as it is parked in our loading bay, if it wasn’t the trailer it could be a van still in the space or a roped off area still used for customers but far less safely. If anyone has any influence over the Redbridge planning office or can offer any support, we really hope you’ll help us. We have until the 12th of April to put in an appeal and we are currently thinking about all our options.

We are concerned that the current Old Steine road plans may increase congestion resulting in greater pollution and deterioration of air quality. We are concerned journey times and travel distances will increase and cause vehicle displacement. We are concerned of the potential negative impact to our tourist economy, businesses generally and our outdoor live events. We all agree that investment in the Old Steine area will positively impact the city. By working with all interested parties, we believe that better solutions are achievable, enhancing accessibility for the less able and further improving provision for cycling and walking and greater use of public transport.

Whitechapel Bell Foundry is one of the most important and historically most socially and economically significant establishments of art and industry in Britain. Founded in the sixteenth century, it hosted the casting of Big Ben and of the Liberty Bell. The choice over its future is stark: it could now become a boutique hotel for wealthy businessmen, or else a living and working site where traditional artisan skills can be combined with the most modern technologies, a centre that would work in close collaboration with the local community. United Kingdom Historical Building Preservation Trust (a charity with a distinguished track record in heritage-led regeneration) in partnership with Factum Foundation (a global leader in the use of technology for preservation of heritage) have the resources to buy the Foundry buildings from the developer and re-open them as a working foundry, re-equipped with up-to-date machinery, for the production of bells and for art casting. For background go to http://spitalfieldslife.com/2019/02/03/a-bell-themed-boutique-hotel/ and https://ukhbpt.org/whitechapel/information

Sevenoaks needs a new water pipeline. South East Water have proposed four possible routes. Two of these go through Knole Park. These are the cheap and easy options for South East Water, but will damage the Park. Knole Park is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) where thousands of people come throughout the year to enjoy the peace, the views and the special flora and fauna. All of these will be permanently harmed by the proposed routes. As Joni Mitchell sang, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” If you want to keep Knole Park special, please sign this petition. - There is already a South East Water pipe in the Park. The scars it has made are clearly visible, with stony subsoil exposed and still bare of grass years after it was laid. - South East Water say that they will not damage the features of the Park that make it an SSSI. The acid grassland* itself is one of the most important features, and is very slow to heal after damage. - Some of the proposed pipe is close to the existing one, which will cause a wider strip of damage to the grass. Where they run in the Gallops they are sited apart so there will be a fresh area of damage. - New concrete manholes and inspection points will be permanently on the surface, those for the existing pipe are very obvious. - South East Water’s preferred route cuts through very significant archaeological features and they have allowed no time for investigation. The test drilling is in an area where it may destroy further archaeology, again there is no allowance for investigation before drilling. - After it is laid, access to the pipeline for inspection, maintenance and repair will be a problem. South East Water’s contractors have vehicles equipped for pipelines laid in roads, not fragile grassland. *Acid grassland is a very rare landscape in which the high acidity means that grass will barely grow. Over centuries, wildlife, flora and fungi develop which cannot survive in fertile areas amongst long grass. At the last survey Kent had lost more and only had 512 hectares. Some counties have none. By far the largest area of acid grassland in Kent is in Knole Park.

Some councillors and local lobbyists have persistently blocked school children from their own playing fields, resulting in Cotham School paying over £100,000 in legal fees and still not having their own useable pitches. It has to stop. School staff and workers must be protected against harassment from deep-pocketed and time-rich local lobbyists, and be left in peace to carry out the work of running a highly successful and popular secondary school.

HS2 is coming and whatever your views are on the actual project, it's clear that all of us want to mitigate the impact it will have on Toton during its construction. Our campaign doesn't seek to undermine or promote HS2. We simply want HS2 to listen to residents, councillors and community groups that are asking them to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.

This is a thriving and successful community pub that has served the area since the 1850s. We urge the London Borough of Lewisham planning department to refuse the application to demolish this handsome, landmark, historic pub which is well-used and much-loved by the community.

It seems that while businesses need to licence to place chairs and tables on public footpaths, advertising boards are not regulated at all. They pose a serious problem for blind and partially sighted people in particular but also inconvenience other pedestrians. I have become aware of this more as I am starting to lose my eyesight through macular degeneration. It's important that town centres remain safe for all people.

Without it I can’t continue my business

School Streets are roads next to schools where traffic is restricted during the times of the day when children are arriving or leaving school. Sheffield has 25 schools in areas of high, sometimes illegal, air pollution. High air pollution levels exacerbate respiratory illnesses like asthma and recent studies have shown that children exposed to high pollution levels have reduced lung capacity that can affect them for the rest of their lives. Sheffield has a clean air strategy that already recognises the need to take action on poor air quality, especially around schools. 20mph and anti-idling initiatives are great but will not make enough of a difference. Edinburgh, Southwark, Hackney and Solihull have already implemented School Streets to protect children from traffic and traffic related pollution at the school gate. School Streets encourages active travel, improves air quality in the classroom, and reduces traffic congestion for everyone.

Huncoat Colliery is one of the best places in Hyndburn to see butterflies, wildflowers and other wildlife. Since the Colliery stopped operating in the 1960s, the land has been reclaimed by nature and is now a haven for wildlife. Although classed as brownfield land, Huncoat Colliery is more like a nature reserve. 21 butterfly species are present at Huncoat Colliery, 13 of which are in decline, including 2 species classed as a priority in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (Small Heath and White-letter Hairstreak). Butterflies are attracted to Huncoat Colliery by large areas of wildflowers, including stunning patches of wild orchids. Huncoat Colliery is an accessible site which gives local people easy access to nature, as well as providing educational interest. Sadly, Huncoat Colliery has been earmarked for housing development. This could be terrible news for local biodiversity, as we stand to lose an area rich in wildlife at a time when it’s more important than ever to protect the precious habitat we have left. This site has the potential to be a destination and a contribution to tourism in the Borough.

Over the last decade, house prices in the borough have shot up by around 50%, meaning many local people and families have been priced out of the housing market. With a dire shortage of good quality, affordable private rental properties in the town and a very long waiting list for council properties, Southend Borough Council could utilise this land to build in the region of 400 new homes. This would not only substantially relieve chronic housing pressures, but also bring in much needed revenue to the Council which has seen its grant from central government cut by around £8 million year on year to the tune of £40 million in total. The NHS sold this publicly-owned plot of land, where previously a new NHS diagnostic and treatment centre had been planned, for £7.8 million in August this year. The value of this land once developed is estimated to be in excess of £40 million - potentially meaning a very handsome profit for a private developer and its shareholders! Southend Council's recent track record of building 'affordable' housing has fallen well short of its target of 30% with figures showing it has only attained a level of 19%. The term 'affordable' is something of a misnomer and in reality just means '80% of market value', which is not affordable at all for many many people. In January 2018, the New Economics Foundation looked into the planned developments on NHS land which had been sold off, or was due to be sold off. - Of the homes to be built for sale on NHS land, four out of five will be unaffordable to a nurse on an average salary. And where they could afford the mortgage repayments, a nurse would have to save for an average of 53 years to afford the deposit. - Only one in 10 of the homes built on sold-off NHS land will be for genuinely affordable social rent. (There are 1.2 million English households on the waiting list for social housing.) - The average expected sale price for these new homes, based on area estimates, is £315,279. This is 10 times the annual salary of a nurse. In Southend, the average property price is £304,774.