Many vulnerable road users, such as walkers both adult and children, runners, cyclists and horse riders, regularly use the unclassified roads that link villages and public rights of way. Since the national speed limits were set in the mid 60's there has been a massive increase in car ownership consequently the original speed limits are no longer fit for purpose. Country roads need to be safe for everyone to use.

Too many incidents have happened on this section of Woodmill Lane; most recently a Nissan Micra crashed into the mill building causing serious damage and closing the road for an indefinite period (1). Previous major incidents have included the injury of a 64-year-old man, who was struck by a van as he was walking his dog (2) and a collision and altercation between motorists that involved the Police (3). Other incidents include an 11-year-old cyclist being driven at as they left the activities centre with the driver claiming that they had ‘skipped the lights’ as well as cars running into the bollards - costing the council in repairs to the pavement - and numerous near-misses as cars and vans mount the curb. This is a historic site (4) that, rather than being enjoyed, is blighted by air and noise pollution and the ever-present risks posed by unwary and dangerous drivers. Whilst many drivers have learned to take care passing through this bottleneck, there are always those who either don’t care or are unaware of the hazards on this stretch of road. For too long we have hoped that all drivers will take more care at this location and yet, despite efforts by Southampton Council to improve traffic flow, collisions and near-misses continue to occur. Additionally, during a time of pandemic, social distancing is impossible with the path narrowing to less than a metre at some points and with two blind corners making it risky to step out and create safe space for other pedestrians. Fears of congestion at other crossings of the Itchen are no reason to keep this route open; research shows that the only way to reduce congestion is to provide alternatives to driving - including making active travel both safe and attractive - and demand management such as reducing access to roads (5). If Southampton City Council wants to encourage healthier travel to benefit the city, what better way than to implement a safe crossing of the Itchen for active travel at Woodmill? In time, drivers will opt for other transport modes that mean they can enjoy this safer route. 1. https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/19296021.closed-woodmill-lane-remains-shut-car-smashes-southampton-building/ 2. https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/18483049.hit-run-woodmill-bridge-southampton/ 3. https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/17918044.police-called-woodmill-bridge/ 4. http://sotonopedia.wikidot.com/page-browse:woodmill 5. http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/jtrc/infrastructure/congestion/CongestionSummary.pdf

Combatting climate change is not just an issue for politicians and industry. It requires changes in behaviour by everybody in their everyday lives,. Although most people will have heard of climate change and enjoyed David Attenborough's documentaries, they need to be made aware of what they need to do to contribute. Why should they eat less meat, drive an electric vehicle, replace their gas-fired heating with a heat pump etc. The government's "Together for our planet" campaign is not reaching people. We need a TV and social media campaign as was done for Covid 19. Climate change is even more of a global crisis than Covid 19 and we have the means to mitigate its impact if governments, local authorities and the people all work together.

We, the undersigned, call on Liverpool City Council to take all actions available to it to press the ACC Liverpool to cancel the AOC Europe, an arms fair, to take place in a council-owned venue, effectively owned by the people of Liverpool. From 11-13th October 2021, international arms companies are due to meet up with delegations from a range of repressive states at the AOC Europe 2021, at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool. The event is an exact replica of the Electronic Warfare Europe, which was cancelled last year after pressure from a large coalition of Liverpool civil society groups. In response to their pressure, the then Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson committed to develop “an ethical charter for LCC and the ACC” in order to “set restrictions on what events we can and should have.” It is therefore deeply concerning to see an arms fair attempt to return to the city, in a venue owned by Liverpool City Council. Arms merchants, including Elbit Systems and Leonardo, whose weapons are used by repressive states are due to attend the fair. The City Council must take action to press ACC Liverpool to cancel the AOC Europe and ensure that no further arms fair is allowed in a City Council owned building in future. We are also outraged to know that the Merseyside Pension Fund, holding local government workers pensions, invests heavily in arms companies including firms mentioned on the AOC publicity for the Liverpool arms fair. We call for sustained efforts to divest MPF holdings from the arms industry.

The fence has to go!

Recently, it was announced that every adult in Northern Ireland would be eligible for a £100 voucher to spend on the high street. The voucher is being introduced to help retail and hospitality outlets, which have been badly affected by lockdown measures. The voucher cannot be used online. The Northern Ireland Government believes this voucher scheme will have a “multiplier effect which will help bring many more customers back through the doors of local retail, hospitality and other sectors.” A huge petition could persuade Boris Johnson to introduce a £100 voucher scheme in England and give retailers a helping hand when they need it the most.

The Labour Councillors in Southampton originally created this safe space for pedestrians. This is a vibrant area for entertainment and shopping. The opening up of the space for outdoor use for everyone has been hugely beneficial during the pandemic. The continued use will provide some health security for the new-normal and gives safe transit for cyclists and scooter users towards the City centre; and directly promotes a greener, cleaner and safer environment for all. Please don't let this be taken away.

According to the Highway Code, reducing the speed limit from 30mph to 20mph reduces stopping distance by almost half, from 75ft to 40ft and if a driver stops in time, a lower speed will reduce the force of impact. There is a 2.5% chance of a collision being fatal at 20mph, compared to 20% at 30mph (sourced from www.driving.co.uk We all know of someone who has been affected by speeding cars in our local area: from car crashes to people (and animals) being run over to high noise levels of speeding vehicles in the evenings. We are working hard to teach people in our school and community about how to carefully cross roads but we feel drivers need to also take some responsibility of people's safety. Across the country, the number of 20mph roads has increased in the past decade and we hope to achieve the same in our area. We want to: *Stop speeding *Protect the people of Ormsgill *Save lives

Community activities should be increasing not reducing. The Library is a lovely venue for all age groups and should expand activities for promoting mental health and relaxation which are needed even more as a result of Covid. The Argyle Centre has the potential to grow its activities too. New groups are developing and there is great potential to expand not reduce access when a library service is moved in. Library resource would have to reduce.

Millions of people from across the UK could be owed hundreds of pounds in refunds from their energy provider. The refunds are linked to direct debit payments on fuel costs, which often result in customers overpaying in summer months. And some suppliers are using the money to fund "otherwise unsustainable business practices." It’s just not good enough. That’s why energy watchdog Ofgem is consulting on introducing an auto-refund system in which consumers are automatically refunded on a yearly basis rather than building up credit on their accounts. If thousands sign the petition, Ofgem will know how serious the public are taking this issue, and even the big energy companies could change the way they do things before they are forced to.

It’s been 2 years since the UK declared a climate and environment emergency. The government says it is making progress towards reducing carbon emissions, but without more significant and sustained action from the richest countries, the world is set to exceed the Paris Agreement’s critical 1.5°C limit between 2030 and 2040. And the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in Europe. The costs of failing to address these crises will far outstrip the investments required to prevent it. Investing now will bring many benefits in the form of good jobs, breathable cities and thriving communities. Limiting heating to 1.5°C may still be possible with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector and local communities.  Worthing Borough Council has declared a Climate Emergency and it is playing an important role in the UK taking action to achieve net zero. We want it to support the CEE Bill because all their efforts will not be enough unless there is new ambitious and effective national legislation. The CEE Bill (published as the “Climate and Ecology Bill”) binds the Government to develop an emergency strategy that: - requires that the UK plays its fair and proper role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with limiting global temperature increase  to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial temperatures; - ensures that all the UK’s consumption emissions are accounted for; - includes emissions from aviation and shipping; - protects and restores biodiverse habitats along overseas supply chains; - restores and regenerates the UK’s depleted soils, wildlife habitats and species populations to healthy and robust states, maximising their capacity to absorb CO2 and their resistance to climate heating; - sets up an independent Citizens’ Assembly, representative of the UK’s population, to engage with Parliament and Government and help develop the emergency strategy. We want the Council to resolve to: - Support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill - Inform the local media of this decision; - Write to local MPs, asking them to support or thanking them for supporting the Bill; and - Write to the CEE Bill Alliance, the organisers of the campaign for the Bill, expressing its support ([email protected]). You can read more about the CEE Bill here: https://www.ceebill.uk

Why is this important? Small and large cities throughout the UK are being choked both environmentally and economically by car traffic. The only ones that have reversed this trend are those that have installed trams - Birmingham, Croydon, Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield, and the Docklands Light Railway. Find out more about how buses and trams together cut congestion, pollution, emissions and revitalize cities - whereas buses on their own never have: https://tinyurl.com/54z4eeud. Bath and Bristol Area Trams Association - BABATA - website: https://bathtrams.uk/ contains well referenced research which demonstrates the truth of all our statements, and which apply to almost any crowded British City. Note: we are a friendly social group with regular meetings - please - join us as there are many small fun tasks that need doing to make this happen - could be writing a letter to the paper, or the WECA mayor, proofreading a letter or leaflet, keeping a Facebook post up to date, booking a social get together, or simply posting on social media, etc. email us on [email protected] if you want to attend our regular Thursday fun meetings up stairs in a Bath Pub. Our task is twofold: 1. to convince the West of England Combined Authority, WECA, Mayor which has the authority and ability to access the necessary capital. (And to assist other appropriate authorities in other non-tram cities) (We understand very well the bureaucracy and politics that have to be negotiated to improve all transport, not just trams in our area). Thus, we are pushing for the WECA mayor to take his ITA - Integrated Traffic Authority Powers as have e.g., Birmingham Manchester etc. which powers they have used to install their splendid tram systems. 2. To inform the inhabitants and national and local politicians of Bath, Bristol, Radstock and other areas nationally of the credible, proven reasons why trams must be reinstalled in all our cities allied with planning policies to locate all new buildings - offices and housing along tram lines; Trams in town centres (but integrated with buses for peripheral and rural areas) work because enough previous car drivers will use the tram so it is not stalled by the previous car traffic. The reasons for this are: People like the fact they are not crammed together staring at the back of someone’s head. Children etc. are not trapped next to strangers due to bench seating on a tram and can easily move around. Ultra-rapid boarding and de-boarding - through multiple large doors, not possible on buses Trams inherently are able to operate more frequently than buses for unalterable technical and economic reasons. Are ultra-reliable. Faster through traffic, in even through crowded narrow streets due to Green Wave Traffic Light Prioritization https://bathtrams.uk/green-wave-traffic-light-pre-emption-work-tram-coming-bathford-via-batheaston/ ( not generally applicable to buses). Two tram cross town trips are acceptable, due to the low wait between connections and the reliability. This means parents will trust their children to trams. Also: Overall fare costs are cheaper than buses. Have about 1/3 the lifecycle energy consumption of buses due to much lower rubber tire friction. Have zero emissions, i.e. no toxic tyre dust due to steel wheels Do not need separate segregated routes, i.e. share exact same road as cars. And: Trams can negotiate all the narrow streets and steep hills in Bath There are systems which avoid having overhead wires Bath is certainly not too small for trams - there are many cities much much smaller than Bath with trams, and we are talking about connections to Keynsham, Bristol and Radstock. https://bathtrams.uk/cities-with-small-population-tram-systems/ Bath And Bristol Area Trams Association meet every 2nd Thursday 2. Email [email protected] for details. We have 3 tram supporters lists you may wish to join: 1. for members, absolutely no spam, just one monthly mail / newsletter to advise of meetings and events. 2. Local Bath and Bristol tram supporters - lots of chat about the issues pertaining to Bath and Bristol. Can be set to every email, or periodic summary. 3. National list for technical experts, those who want technical chat, or to know about national campaigning (we work closely with the national LRTA the Light Rail Transit Association https://www.lrta.org/). Can be set to every email, or periodic summary. 4. Very infrequent about 4 times a year list. Email [email protected] advising of any lists you would like to be on.