Because the rivers have not been dredged for many years, their capacity has been reduced. As a consequence and because of the very heavy rain over the last year, a number of main roads across the Levels have been flooded almost continuously since mid-November 2012.(The same number of roads were flooded in May 2012.) As a consequence, school buses, cars and lorries face long detours and delays, with increased fuel consumption and damage to minor roads. Journeys into hospital, which should take 20 minutes, last over an hour..A number of villages (such as Muchelney) were cut off completely for weeks. Vast areas of farmland have been submerged and numerous small farmers face ruin. Some 150 houses (involving up to 500 people) have been flooded out - some more than once over the last 3 months. In some cases, the houses were flooded 30 inches deep in brown filthy water. More than one famiy lost all their furniture. Householders had to abandon their homes for Christmas and the New Year.One elderly lady, who had lived in her house for more than 50 years, had to be rescued by the Fire Service and has now been living in a small holiday let for nearly 3 months.Small businesses, such as log suppliers, have seen their livelhoods destroyed. The Somerset Levels are an important area for wildlife and consequently tourism (there are no fewer than 9 SSSIs in the area). In the May 2012 floods, nests were washed away and nestling birds drowned, The same will happen this spring.

This is a national problem driven in part by developers with their land bank areas of green belt. The north of Bristol is no exception, where South Gloucestershire Council have proposed to build a total of 22,000 houses at central government behest, and 3,200 will be in Stoke Gifford/Winterbourne, 1,200 of which are being built at Harry Stoke and 2,000 are proposed on the green belt East of Harry Stoke ref: LEOHS. Filton Airfield and Cribbs Causway are brown field sites, more than capable of accommodating the majority of this requirement. There is serious vehicle congestion in and around Stoke Gifford and the proposal will only bring more traffic estimated to be around 6,000 vehicles onto the all ready congested road network

The A814 between Dumbarton and Helensburgh is the missing link in a network of cycle tracks in the area. It is a busy, twisting and narrow road and the pavement is in most places unsuitable for a bike. Cyclists are forced to cycle on the road, which causes delays and frustration to traffic and puts cyclists at serious risk of injury when vehicles do pass.

Carers usually carry on looking after other(s) until they drop. Carers services help stave off this for very modest sums. If they cannot care as they are doing, the financial costs fall on the NHS, Derby council etc. Carers are twice as likely to go to their GP's as the general population. Carers are adults as well as children and it's estimated there are 5,000 of them just in Derby. We need your help to demonstrate the community supports this campaign by 4th January when the Derby City Consultation closes.

I've been concerned about fracking ever since I saw the "Gaslands" film which showed what individual American citizens had experienced after allowing the gas companies to drill on their land. It's the chemicals they use with high pressure water jets to fracture the earth underground, that do the damage, and the film showed how the poison gets into the ground water, animals died and people became chronically ill and had no redress whatsoever in the States. We cannot allow this to happen to our precious water supplies in the UK.

Shale rock contains natural gas trapped in the ground and can only be released by building a number of wells on pads which drill deep underground vertically and horizontally. The rock is blasted using a mixture of sand water and some chemicals. Benzenes and other toxic chemicals are needed in the process to shatter the rock and release the gas. The water flows back and Methane that has been trapped underground as well as 'N O R M' Naturally Occurring Radon gas can escape. The process of flaring the gas can release the Methane and Radon. Earth quakes can occur and at least 50 small earthquakes occurred in Blackpool last year. The movement of rock can also cause subsidence of a wide area. France has banned shale gas exploration so far and many parts of North America have moratoriums in force because of the dangers to health and the environment. It is a fossil fuel and so is not carbon neutral. The government will fail in reducing carbon emissions and so the green agenda once hailed by the P M as important will fall apart and other carbon neutral energy sources such as wind, wave and Solar power will be neglected. It has been made known that the government will be prepared to give the Shale Gas companies tax breaks when the re start their operations soon. This is unacceptable when so much is at stake in the carbon neutral industry which does not pose health risks.

How can humanity evolve when there is oppression and suppression in this world

We have just heard that Bradley Wiggins, victor of the Tour de France has been knocked of his bike on one of our roads. If he is not safe then who is? This would be a good time to bring this initiative forward. In this area of Wales there are wide margins on a number of roads where cycle/footpaths could be laid and the situation is similar in many other locations - this would be a start. It would reduce road casualties and allow children to go by foot and by cycle to school and so reduce the traffic of the school run. It would also create thousands of jobs.

There is no economic argument for the closure of Magilligan. The Prison Service of Northern Ireland argues that the prison has outlived its economic usefulness but the additional cost incurred by building a new facility on the Magheraberry site destroys this argument. Closure of the prison would have a catastrophic impact on the local economy. This part of the North West has already been ravaged by the economic recession and the loss of a further 440 jobs would be devastating.The spending power of those employed in the prison would be lost to the local economy and in addition, the goods and services that the prison buys from local suppliers will stop causing further pressure upon already struggling businesses and potentially causing even more job losses. This area simply cannot afford to lose the prison.

The case against badgers, that they are the main transmitter of TB to cows, is as yet unproven, and until the scientists can agree and have definite proof of their guilt, culling badgers is a crime against nature. Badgers are an important link in the food chain of the woodland and countryside scene, and like all animals, should be treasured and preserved, not criminalised and destroyed. It is hoped that a vaccine to protect cows will be available within a few years. I would like the government to put money into this instead of culling innocent animals and threatening a link in our natural environment, the long term results of which could herald another as yet unknown environmental disaster.

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