Last week someone was taken to hospital after being hit by a car close to the Victoria Arms pub – just yards from where the crossing is supposed to be. The council first said the crossing would be "at least designed" by April 2012 and then they said it would be in place by the end of last year. Now they're saying it will be 6-8 weeks, but haven't appointed a contractor or set a start date. The money is there and ready to pay for the crossing. It's time for the council to stop promising things and start building. More info here: http://www.brentwoodgazette.co.uk/promised-paid-crossing/story-22967467-detail/story.html

Meriden Hall and it's landscaped grounds is a historic Grade 2* listed site, English Heritage have no objection to Pertemps erecting a new glass building which is bigger than Meriden Hall itself, removing trees and wildlife habitat - destroying a historic green space which will be gone forever for future generations. This seems particularly poignant following the centenary year of WW1 as it was the home of Captain Edward Bankes who lived at Meriden Hall with tributes to him shaping the history of the village (there's a link to his story further down the page). This development won't create any new jobs, so there's no benefit for the greater good, and there is a huge amount of empty office space across the Midlands. Green belt should only be built on in 'exceptional circumstances', and English Heritage are wrong, this building shouldn't even be a consideration. Sign the petition and if you've got more to say, you can also object to: [email protected] quoting application 2014/2232 More info and pictures of the proposal at: http://ww2.solihull.gov.uk/planning_new/dc/ViewApp.asp - then enter the year: 2014; Application no: 2232 An artist's impression can be viewed here - this has been rendered to only show the narrowest end of the building, and play down the actual scale (it is bigger than Meriden Hall itself) to make the development look more 'sympathetic' http://ww2.solihull.gov.uk/PlanAppDocs/2014/2232/2232_design_and_access_statement.pdf The closing date on the application doesn't give enough time for the committee to view objections properly, so please sign or object by the end of January. The story of Captain Edward Bankes and the tributes to him in Meriden http://www.midlandsgenealogy.com/5.html

Contact with green places and nature is important for our well-being. Ten thousand new people are coming to Tottenham as a result of planned development. But Tottenham has lost many green open spaces - so we need to save and improve what we have left.

The Peak District National Park is reputed to be the 2nd most visited national park in the world and when you visit this area it’s not hard to understand why, the area is truly breath-taking and living in the Peak District is a real privilege. Sadly not everyone who comes to the Peak District wants to enjoy the peace and serenity that the area offers. The area is under continuous assault by off road enthusiasts who come in significant numbers to rally up and down lanes and bridal ways for recreational sport, these off roaders have learned that if a footpath has ever been used by a horse and cart since the early 18oos they can apply to have the use changed from a footpath to a byway or even worse a Byway Open to All Traffic. To upgrade existing footpaths to byways of any designation blurs the distinction of what is permissible. Even the description of a route which allows for ‘limited use’ by motorised vehicles clouds the issue and implies some right of vehicular access. As we have seen in many cases across the national park – abuse of restricted byways by those seeking out green lanes to drive across, is a common fact. There is no meaningful policing of these routes as the police do not view such transgressions as a priority. This is detrimental to the fabric and essence of the national park and as the authorities have no power to overrule these decisions the applications virtually always get approval as the law is on the side of the applicant. It is an antiquated law that needs to change as a matter of urgency. At the very least - any national park should have special provisions to overrule decisions which will affect these beautiful areas, currently they do not have this power. We must make sure that these areas are left as we found them for future generations to enjoy in the same way, but once these paths are opened up to broader definitions of traffic, the effects and devastation are substantial. I will list a few below: 1. Erosion rapidly sets in and the ground is constantly churned up by powerful motorbikes, 4x4s, – causing once minimal footpaths to become broad lanes 2. The native wildlife and flora habitats are destroyed (some of these are rare or protected species) 3. Peat bog lands are reduced to slurry 4. Some off roaders not content with the path they have, widen their riding area in search of greater challenges, creating more damage 5. Local residents and tourists suffer as a result of the noise these machines bring to the area 6. Green lane traffic poses a danger to walkers and visitors due to the speed and aggression that some apply whilst in the area 7. Once the area is sufficiently churned up, the ground becomes unstable and when the heavy rains of winter start, the degrading effect happens much faster and the lands begins to wash away 8. Neither environmental impact nor local opposition are taken into consideration on decisions to redefine footpaths within the national park because the authorities are simply complying with the letter of the law 9. The number of routes designated as simple, peaceful footpaths within the national park reduces as the definitions are upgraded to encourage more forms of transport. The argument against this is huge and a book could be written about the devastating impact to the area, obviously we can’t do this here and indeed the applicants for this will have their own arguments about why they should have access to the land. Our decision to fight this is not because we don’t like the people who carry out this sport it’s because we value our countryside as it should be. We will add that a large number of disused quarries and certain farmlands charge a small fee for riders to enjoy the ultimate off road experience in purpose-made environments so why on earth would you want to ruin nature at its very best Please support and share with your friends

If this were to go ahead with this proposal it would have massive repercussions on not only a social but a health scale for the people living in the residential areas around the Hightown and Mallusk areas. This will also have massive finacial implications on the tax payer who will be footing the 230 million bill for this project. Bombardier have put forward a tender for this waste which they would recycle into sustainable energy to power Shorts/Bombardier. This has no cost to the tax payer and will go along way towards saving jobs at Bobardier/Shorts who are a major employer here in Northern Ireland.

At Fineshade Woods in Northamptonshire, Forest Holidays are planning to erect 70 deluxe timber lodges with ancillary accommodation, plus a new road, within the woods against the wishes of all the local Parish Councils and with over 200 objections raised. Authoritative organisations such as the Wildlife Trust the Council’s advisors, RSPB, badger groups, bat groups, butterfly organisations and ecologists of many hues have all objected but their views appear to be being ignored by the local planning authority. Requests for at least an Environmental Impact Assessment have been rejected out of hand with statements that there will be no significant environmental damage when 40+ hectares of semi ancient woodland on a Local Wildlife Site that is subject of an application to be considered as a potential SSSI are subject to development. At nine other Forests in the UK and with at least two further planning applications in the pipeline as well planning applications for additional chalets in existing projects, Forest Holidays appear to be being given Carte Blanche to take possession of public Forests and convert them into a private business; they are supported by Lloyds Development Capital and the Forestry Commission. In Feb 2011 the “save our forests” campaign was considered to be over when the Government said the forests would not be privatised. The Forestry Commission and Directors of Forest Holidays and their financial backers appear to have reversed this policy by taking possession of public forests on 125 year leases and using that natural resource for their personal gain. This must be against the stated policy of the current Government and against the wishes of the 700,000 people who voted supporting the original save our Forest campaign.

They are the only community garden space available for hundreds of residents, and they are in constant use to grow herbs and vegetables. The gardens were deliberately preserved as community space in the original designs of Barrington Court, by Powell and Moya, highly respected and influential post war architects. However Camden Council, desperate to balance its books, is trying to sell off this and other public land to reduce its deficit. One of the gardens has a massive copper beach tree that will be killed by the new houses. The council has tried to deceive residents by claiming in the plans that the land is "derelict" offering "no community value", where in fact they are thriving allotments in constant use. There is precious little green space in the Gospel Oak estates as it is, and we want to prevent Camden Council stamping out what we have left for purely financial gain.

1. This is a lifeline road for the west coast communities. The A9 is an unacceptable alternative. 2. Their are far too many accidents - many fatal - on this road 3. Between Crianlarich and Fort Augustus there is no real alternative route following the many closures this road suffers. 4. Lorries and buses/coaches frequently have difficulty passing; in particular on the Loch Lomondside section between Tarbet and Inverarnan. 5. The road surface does not meet 21st Century standards - despite many repairs/patches - costing drivers for the repairs to their vehicles.

The planning law below permits a single A4 notice somewhere near the site to be the only notification required to inform rural residents and local communities of an application for large, commercial wind turbine; no letters, no leaflets, no press notices. This is because the size of the base area permits it to be classified as a ‘minor’ application. This means many residents would never get an opportunity to submit objections within the 21 day ‘deadline’ due to their age, infirmity and isolation or simply by not hearing about it. Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure)(Wales) Order 2012 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2012/801/made The relevant extract from that legislation is in the section: (5) and (6) Publicity for applications for planning permission, Part 2 – Applications.

The mess was deliberately created by a developer which began work in January 2004 without planning consent and since having been granted a planning consent has done nothing to clear up the mess that it deliberately created. This beach is the largest and most important in central south Cornwall.

This September, historic yet run-down Keir Hardie Hall is being put up for auction. Most people today know it as a working men's club, but it was actually named in 1915 to honour posthumously of one of Britain's lesser known, but arguably most important, statesmen. Keir Hardie was unusual, both in his own era & our own: a politician who rejected the self-interested pursuit of power & money. His life's work was an attempt to bring about equality, justice and freedom for the poor and marginalised: men, women and children, regardless of ethnicity or religion. During the brutal years of the late Victorian era and the early twentieth century, ideas he advocated (universal healthcare; equality for women; universal state education; countries of empire being entitled to national sovereignty; state pensions; decent housing; employment rights & even animal welfare) were largely ridiculed. After the carnage of two world wars, successive governments were able to realise many of them. Ninety-nine years after Hardie addressed his final great anti-war speech to an audience in Norwich, we seem to have come full circle: Many of the benchmarks of late twentieth century civilisation are under threat -both nationally and globally. Ninety-nine years from now they may have been written out of history altogether. Our city, which appears affluent to visitors, is actually blighted by hidden poverty. It's of huge importance that Norwich City Council (run by a Labour majority with a strong Green opposition) acts now to ensure Keir Hardie Hall's historical context is not lost, whilst simultaneously helping to meet our current need for decent, energy-efficient, genuinely affordable, housing for all. Let's give this building a future befitting its past.

Cumbria already has Sellafield. The Sellafield site has the biggest amount of radioactivity on the planet. A major accident involving the liquid high level waste tanks would have catastrophic consequences and make the area uninhabitable for many generations. The area around the Sellafield site should be an untouchable buffer zone to: a) provide a measure of safety for surrounding towns and villages b) to accommodate the documented leakage of radiation from the Sellafield site into groundwater. c) to minimise the target area for terrorist attack (instead of doubling it) Instead of honouring a beautiful wildlife diverse landscape bought by the public purse and guaranteeing a buffer zone around Sellafield the UK government are planning to sell off a vast area. The land stretches to the villages of Beckermet, Braystones and Calder Bridge. Not only this but the companies who are being wooed to buy the land are the very same companies responsible for Fukushima. "The Moorside Project" is being promoted by NUGEN a company 100% owned by Toshiba. Toshiba’s proposed three new reactors are AP1000s. These are the next generation of the same old uranium burning technology. The difference is that these reactors burn the uranium for longer and harder. The resulting radioactive wastes are much hotter and have to be cooled for decades longer. The NDA have told Radiation Free Lakeland that the fresh water resource for cooling is “a matter for the operators.” Currently Sellafield uses over 4 million gallons of water daily to abstracted from Wastwater, the River Ehen, the River Calder and boreholes in the area. Sellafield stopped producing electricity in 2003. The elephant in the room is of course Toshiba’s track record in nuclear safety. Toshiba supplied the steam generator, architecture and reactor for Fukushima reactors numbers 3 and 5, while Hitachi (merged with Toshiba) supplied the reactor, steam generator and architecture for Fukushima reactor no 4. The beautiful wildlife diverse land: http://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2014/08/10/stop-moorcide/ Contaminated Groundwater - Sellafield https://attachment.fbsbx.com/file_download.php?id=773168039435386&eid=AStZ3li3tSP5MQf_c8WSzWkcyXiQmeST9PaQWg1eXJj-piwqsP2voi22A76xtKEBQRc&inline=1&ext=1434548939&hash=ASuZJtM5OwSjtXCA http://www.oecd-nea.org/rwm/wpdd/rcd-workshop/C-2___OH_The_Sellafield_contaminated_land_and_groundwater.pdf.pdf After– Fukushima – Daiichi - Toshiba looks for new orders overseas http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/03/us-toshiba-nuclear-idUSBRE99204I20131003 Hitachi, Toshiba and GE Merge Nuclear Operations http://www.modernpowersystems.com/news/newshitachi-toshiba-and-ge-merge-nuclear-fuel-operations http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/how-can-the-nuclear-industry-profit-from-nucl/blog/44192/ Escalating cost of ‘clean up’ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/11/sellafield-consortium-cost-clean-up Not enough Fresh water to cool new build wastes http://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/why-has-the-wettest-place-in-england-not-got-enough-freshwater/ http://enenews.com/watch-top-economist-nuclear-power-is-over-frankly-i-think-from-a-business-perspective-its-over-i-think-its-over-video What the industry is gleefully saying about 'Moorside' http://www.spyghana.com/moorside-nuclear-power-project-course/ MOORSIDE REPORT by Radiation Free Lakeland 19.9.14 http://mariannewildart.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/moorside-rafl-report-19-9-141.pdf NEW report commissioned by Radiation Free Lakeland is critical of the AP1000 reactor design. The report has been written by the Edinburgh Energy and Environment Consultancy. The report says that "The AP1000 reactor design is not fit for purpose and so should be refused a Design Acceptance Confirmation (DAC) and Statement of Design Acceptability (SDA)″. http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/commentators/2988356/ap1000_reactor_design_is_dangerous_and_not_fit_for_purpose.html The AP1000 Nuclear Reactors proposed for Moorside in Cumbria and their Environmental Impact - Edinburgh Energy and Environment Consultancy July 2017 https://issuu.com/radiationfreelakeland/docs/moorside_-_environmental_impact_by_