Richmond Park is a National Nature Reserve, an SSSI and a Grade 1 Listed landscape. The weekend closure would not only enhance the experience for cyclists and other users but would also promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the natural and physical environment of the Park, and its peace and natural beauty for the benefit the public and future generations. The park is a great asset for SW London, it should be a safe place for families to explore and for people to ride bicycles around without having the roads jammed up with cars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tky42vHUHlI Just 6 months after granting a Tree Preservation Order on this London Plane Tree, Mendip has received an application to fell. Unfortunately the TPO will not save the tree from Pangmore Development's application if approved by Mendip District Council. This is one of the last trees in the town centre and certainly the last tree of note in the Kingsway precinct. It is a specimen town centre tree and plays a major contribution in the character of the Conservation Area, and its felling would be a major loss to the aesthetic quality of the town.

The recent flooding in Southern England and Wales has highlighted the need for a more holistic approach to flood management, rather than blocking with sandbags and concrete. Reintroducing managed ditches to control standing water that work alongside hedgerows will also prevent soil erosion. Not only will it create valuable habitats for the dwindling song bird population, it would help increase biodiversity as a whole, and create a more permanent source of sustainable employment through the reintroduction of traditional rural crafts.

So far a residents association has collected 700 signatures from the immediate area and it is necessary to escalate this to allow a greater response to this ill-advised proposal by a Council that has no interest in listening to its residents.

In March 2013 in the face of a great deal of opposition from local residents the London Borough of Enfield agreed to allow L&Q Property developers to build 231 dwellings on a heritage site in Cockfosters, North London. This site is 10 acres of Ancient Woodland containing Ancient Oaks and other trees hundreds of years old. It is also home to two European protected species, 6 species of bats and great crested newts. Other animals including badgers and foxes also make their home here. There are stag beetles, hedgehogs, water fowl, butterflies (one of which is on the endangered list), there is protected flora. There are two ponds, both of which are mentioned in the Domesday Book, and a Roman well. The planning consultation was flawed but we did not have the money to take on such large corporations in the High Court. Now, despite conditions being placed on the developer, they are already felling trees and planning demolition of the existing buildings next week. Natural England placed a condition on them when they granted the licenses for the bats and newts that NO work could be undertaken until a rigorous search of the site was undertaken between March and May. The developer and Enfield Council are clearly circumnavigating this condition and doing as they please. Enfield Council and Natural England MUST enforce these conditions.

The situation is already desperate!

Peter Lilley has been accused of lying and making deliberately misleading statements regarding fracking and its safety on national television (Channel 4 news 26/1/14). He was unable to adequately defend his statements. It is vitally important that any minister involved in such a sensitive area be trustworthy. He also has a conflict of interest as he is employed by Cayman Islands-based oil and gas company Tethys Petroleum and so has a vested interest in promoting fossil fuels and not investing in their alternatives.

Horizontal hydraulic fracturing, ‘fracking’, is a way of extracting oil and/or gas. Water, sand and toxic chemicals are injected at high pressure into underground rocks to shatter them. This releases the gas/oil which can be collected. But investing in carbon-intensive fossil fuels is a distraction from the need to decarbonise our electricity supply. And it's hazardous. Studies show that fracking pollutes water supplies (with arsenic and lead), causes earthquakes, and spoils local communities. And there are nightmare stories coming form the States. Like in the town of Dimock, PA, residents have reported their water turning so brown that it stains crockery. Their water was later found to contain methane, and a host of toxic chemicals. But it gets worse. "My son had sores up and down his legs from the water." " My daughter... would have to get out the of the shower and lay on the floor." Those are the words from Greg Saunter, a local resident, whose water supply was shut off for his own good. He cannot shower in his own home. Or drink water out of his taps. Fracking has ruined his life. It cannot happen here. We call on the council to preserve the quality of life of its residents, and reject all planning applications for fracking.

This is not a scare story: Beverley's beloved common, Westwood, is under threat. There is a proposal to allow temporary access across a portion of the Westwood to permit the developers easy access to the old Westwood Hospital Site. If this were to happen this would set a precedent that could then be used by other developers to access other potential development sites adjacent to the Westwood, such as the Grammar School, Minster School, Archery Field, East Riding College, Longcroft Lower School, Longcroft Higher School and potentially Grosvenor Place. If any such access is granted, it is unlikely that it will ever be removed completely and damage will be done to the integrity of the Westwood as well as its fauna and flora: trees will be cut down, hedges broken through and grasslands compacted and altered forever. This, over time, will result in the loss, piece by piece, of the Westwood we know: a Westwood we have a duty to pass on to our children in the condition we inherited it. Beverlonians have protected our commons for centuries, are we really going to throw this away for the sake of six or so lorry movements per day over 18 months? If we do, we would be betraying those who fought for these commons in the past. There is a vociferous, ill-informed campaign promoting the idea of access across the Westwood, however, the emotive campaign they are running is full of omissions. The facts of the case are set out below. Town Route: Problems Congestion in the narrow streets; Increased traffic movements on these streets; Increased noise for the residents. Westwood Route: Problems The route of this access road will cross and damage ancient common land; The route will damage the existing grassland; The route will involve the removal of a section of species-rich hedgerow; The route will involve the removal of a small tree; There will be increased traffic movements on the Westwood; The temporary road will set a precedent. Town Route: Mitigation Measures The developers have said they will limit lorry movements to 12 per day during demolition ( c. 2 months); The developers have said they will limit lorry movements to 6 per day during the construction phase, 16 months; The developers will use a small lorry; There will be no lorry movements during the rush hours nor at school pick-up and drop-off times. Westwood Route: Mitigation Measures The developers say they will re-instate the grassland; They will replant the hedge; They will replant the tree. It would appear that the problems associated with the town route can be easily mitigated against and the very small number of lorry movements per day is more than reasonable, especially when you take into consideration the number of movements there used to be when the Westwood Hospital was open and when the new housing estate is built. These movements included ambulances, delivery vehicles, skip lorries, gritting lorries and patients being picked-up and dropped-off. Concern has also been raised regarding the danger to schoolchildren at Minster School. The developers appear to have taken this into account in their plans and will schedule no lorry movements during the rush hour or at school pick-up and drop-off times. In truth the biggest risk to school children is local residents speeding along The Leases or rat-running up Central Avenue and Thurston Road to get to Cartwright Lane. In terms of the access across the Westwood, there appears to very little that the developers can do to mitigate against the damage they will cause. Whilst they have said they will reinstate everything they damage, in ecological terms this is easier said than done and, in most cases, is impossible. Their route will destroy a species-rich hedge which cannot be replaced in our lifetimes. The problem of precedent cannot easily be undone, once the access route has been constructed. This will encourage other developers to do likewise in order to develop other sites, more difficult to access than the old Westwood Hospital site, by insisting on temporary access across the Westwood. This would open-up areas, such as Grosvenor Place and Minster School to development pressure.

Hillside Animal Sanctuary has offered to re-home feral goats from the eastern shore of Loch Lomond to prevent them being culled. Hillside urged RSPB Scotland to halt the cull, which is being carried out to protect Pollochro Woods. The area is viewed as a site of special scientific importance. RSPB Scotland have previously said they would consider alternative solutions in March, but that the cull will continue until then. They are now saying that they will continue with the cull in September. Wendy Valentine of Hillside Animal Sanctuary said it had offered to give the goats a home for the rest of their lives rather than have them shot. Ms Valentine, whose sanctuary in Norfolk is home to more than 2,000 rescued animals, added: "It is a shame that an organisation that is set up to look after the welfare of animals should take a stance that goats should be culled. "We have rounded up herds of Highland cattle that have gone wild and Highland ponies, so goats would not be any different. We have 70-80 of them already. Hillside's offer to re-home the goats follows an approach from the Scotland For Animals charity, which has also enlisted the help of Humane Wildlife Solutions, a Borders-based company specialising in pest control without killing. John Patrick, from Scotland For Animals said: "We have presented a do-able option that is not going to cost them (RSPB Scotland) any money. "I would have thought they would have jumped at the offer if they really are pro-conversation, pro-nature and pro-wildlife."

Our Ancient Woodlands have evolved over hundreds of years and cannot simply be replaced by new plantings of trees, no matter how many trees are planted for every one destroyed in an ancient woodland. These Ancient Woodlands have very complex relationships, for instance between some of our rarest Orchids and Fungi. But there are many such relationships which cannot be replicated in a new planting. These complex relationships between trees, flowering plants, insects, birds, mammals, amphibians, worms, nematodes, bacteria and fungi would be destroyed if the destruction of these Ancient Woodlands were to be allowed.

Too many destructive decisions have been taken behind closed doors resulting in a budget deficit largely created by (at best) mismanangement, and the resulting closure or reduction in all the services the citizens value. The recent campaigns to Save The Edgar Street Trees, Libraries & Museums, Customer Services, social and health care, and other current campaigns we have also supported in the last year, have highlighted the items that the public consider most important to their society and the unholy debacle caused by a small cabal of councillors refusing to listen has resulted in a huge amount of anger and frustration. This campaign continues .... so please keep signing and sharing.