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.

Many people in Bath rely on Public Toilets. Around 1 in 5 people suffer with a variety of urinary or bowel problems and need convenient, accessible loos. In particular older people, pregnant women and those with young children will be hard hit by the closures. Losing the loos will lead some people to stay at home rather than risk being caught short. A lack of public toilets will also affect local businesses and traders as well as increasing the risk of people urinating on the street, a public health hazard. Nearly 1000 people already signed paper petitions to preserve this vital facility yet incredibly there has been no public consultation on these plans. The relatively small amount of money saved in the short term will be cancelled out by longer term effects and untold daily misery for vulnerable people and all those who need to ‘go’.

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 it's residents, and reject all planning applications for fracking.

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 it's residents, and reject all planning applications for fracking.

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 it's residents, and reject all planning applications for fracking.

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 it's residents, and reject all planning applications for fracking.

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 it's residents, and reject all planning applications for fracking.

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 this process is often hazardous. Studies show that fracking can pollute water supplies (with arsenic and lead), cause earthquakes, and spoil local communities. And investing in carbon-intensive fossil fuels is a distraction from the need to decarbonise our electricity supply. We call West Sussex Council to protect the quality of life of its residents and reject all fracking applications.

***PLEASE READ & SIGN *** 'Anaerobic digestion', the sanitised label given to a facility that proposes to 'digest' 45,000+ tonnes of household waste, food waste, farm sewage, and other nasty pathogen laden waste into household energy. This proposal so far has only given the reasons that it will provide 'green' energy and jobs! Firstly: it will only provide 5 full time jobs for Ramsbottom in a site that will be largely automated. Secondly: It can become a health hazard as it will be plagued with bad odours and pathogens that will be carried over the Ramsbottom valley and in close proximity to heavy populated areas with many schools and areas of natural beauty. Thirdly: The traffic generated by hundreds if not thousands of HGV lorries full of waste and tankers full of toxic sludge rumbling through Ramsbottom, Edenfield & Shuttleworth will create, every year (for many years), a problem that is in itself not 'green' and will cause untold damage to the road network in and around Ramsbottom. A road network that is already creaking under the pressure of new housing estates Bury council seem to think fit to cram into an already over populated and under-resourced town. Fourthly: Ramsbottom is a thriving small market town whose businesses and consequently many jobs depend on visits by tourists and produce from local farms. A permanent stink and threat to health could very well put all this at risk. A public exhibition on the proposed plans by Peel Environmental and Marshalls to build an anaerobic digestion facility at Fletcher Bank Quarry, Shuttleworth will be held at Ramsbottom Civic Hall on Wednesday the 26th June between 3.00pm and 8.00pm though I doubt this will be an opportunity to question or complain, more a PR exercise by 'Peel Environmental' !!!.....rather an oxymoron if I've ever heard one! PLEASE READ & SIGN if you believe Ramsbottom should stay a town of natural beauty and a haven for tourists.

Eric Pickles recently announced his intention to introduce new planning guidance allowing communities to block windfarms (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2013/jun/06/wind-farms-shale-gas-fracking-energy). While any move to increase local democracy should be welcomed, it appears the government has no intention of granting similar powers to communities threatened with fracking projects. Fracking – the process of extracting gas from rock such as shale – is highly disruptive to nearby communities, poses a very significant threat to groundwater and human and animal health, is extremely energy-intensive and has huge implications for climate change. Furthermore, even optimistic estimates suggest the UK has only enough shale gas to keep the country going for a few years. Whatever your views on fracking or windfarms, there can be no conceivable justification for allowing communities to block windfarms – which generate clean, infinitely renewable energy far into the future – but not fracking projects. If anything, communities should have greater powers to block fossil fuel projects than renewables, given that we’re edging ever closer to the point at which climate change becomes irreversible and entirely out of our control. Alas, this is another clear example of the present government’s relentless pursuit of gas, and its ambivalence towards renewable energy; the announcement has come just days after the government voted against introducing stringent new targets to decarbonise our electricity supply by 2030. The recent revelation that a third of government ministers have strong links with the fossil fuel industry and the finance sector that bankrolls it (http://www.wdm.org.uk/climate-change/one-third-uk-government-ministers-linked-uk-companies-fuelling-climate-change) may begin to explain their refusal to place any barrier in the way of their dash-for-gas. This is not a petition to stop communities from blocking windfarms; it is a petition calling on the government to recognise the gaping inconsistencies in any planning guidance that allows communities to block windarms – whose impacts are, after all, reversible – but not fracking projects, which, conversely, will leave an appalling legacy for our children and grandchildren of contaminated aquifers and a climate spiraling out of control. By signing the petition you are sending the government a clear message that vested interests cannot be allowed to influence planning policy, especially when so much is at stake. Communities must be given the power to block fracking projects.

The land is a protected piece of open land which allows exceptional vistas of Hythe and Shorncliffe and should not be developed. The current proposals of 150 residential flats and houses on the site will change the character of Hythe forever and will lead to the almost inevitable development of the adjacent golf course to a similar residential density. The land at Princes Parade has been dredged, its been quarried, it’s been land filled, it successfully defended us against Napoleon, the Kaiser and Hitler, it protects us and our Ancient Scheduled Monument from the ravages of the sea and provides a unique habitat for wildlife. The land creates fantastic vistas of the surrounding hills, it is a protected open space, It has a recorded planning history which should make it undevelopable for residential purposes. Definitely worth fighting for! http://saveprincesparade.org/

The current wording of the proposal does not recognise that sustainable development includes economic considerations. The proposals could give unintended additional emphasis on one of the three aspects of sustainable development, all of which must be considered when taking decisions on future development. In Clause 6 the proposed requirement for assessing economic advantages and disadvantages of developments would cause great difficulty in practical delivery. It would also put at risk 40 years of case law developed under the existing system and could lead to major delays in planning decisions.