The US President is criticising the Uk for not joining an illegal war. If our King visits, in my opinion it says carry on we approve 

We, the undersigned, are calling on Kent County Council to urgently investigate the ongoing flooding at the Home Gardens underpass and deliver a proper long-term solution! This tunnel has suffered from flooding problems for years. Time and time again it becomes unsafe or impossible to use, leaving residents unable to cross safely to reach the bus stop. This particularly impacts elderly residents, people with disabilities, parents with prams, and anyone with mobility issues. In November last year, one of my elderly residents fell while trying to walk through the underpass, seriously damaging his leg. This had to be treated at hospital and it took 4 months to get better. Despite the seriousness of this incident, it is disgraceful that they have still not even received a reply. In January, Kent County Council told us: "...Waiting for river levels to drop before we can safely access the drainage system and schedule the necessary repairs. For public safety, the underpass will remain closed until conditions improve and we can arrange the follow-up works.” Now, three months later, no action has been taken. The tunnel remains flooded, with stagnant water creating a serious risk that someone else could slip, fall, and be seriously  injured. This is unacceptable. Our community deserves better than delay after delay. We call on Kent County Council to: - Carry out an urgent investigation into the cause of the flooding - Take immediate steps to make the underpass safe - Deliver a long-term solution so this problem does not continue year after year Kent County Council must stop delaying and act now! Written by Cllr Laura Edie (Green Party)

Recent comments by Marks & Spencer CEO Stuart Machin have raised serious concerns about the culture being created at one of the UK's biggest employers. Mr Machin has publicly criticised the idea of work-life balance and said he does not like senior leaders being “completely switched off” while on holiday. Many people are concerned that comments like these risk creating a workplace culture where employees feel they cannot properly rest, take annual leave, or set healthy boundaries between work and home life. Burnout, stress and poor mental health are already major issues in UK workplaces. When senior leaders send the message that taking a proper break is a weakness, that culture can spread throughout the whole organisation. No employee should ever feel that their job depends on answering emails on holiday, working through illness, or sacrificing their wellbeing. We are calling on Marks & Spencer to: 1. Publicly confirm that all employees have the right to switch off outside working hours and during annual leave. 2. Commit that no employee will be penalised, formally or informally, for taking breaks, annual leave or time away from work. 3. Introduce a clear “right to disconnect” policy across the company. 4. Carry out an independent review of staff wellbeing and workplace culture. 5. Publish the findings of that review and an action plan to improve employee wellbeing. Marks & Spencer is one of the UK's best-known companies. It should lead by example and show that success does not have to come at the cost of workers' mental health. Until Marks & Spencer publicly commits to protecting the wellbeing of its staff, we urge shoppers to consider taking their custom elsewhere.

When families face unpayable debts, a knock at the door from bailiffs can be hugely traumatising. Instances where bailiffs harass or intimidate people, even when there are children present are all too common and can have a long term impact on mental health.  Council tax debt is soaring at the moment, and was a result more and more people are being visited by bailiffs. 4.4 million people are currently in council tax debt in the UK, and that's set to increase when council tax goes up by 5% in most places on the 6th April.  People aren't choosing not to pay, many people simply can't pay, as the cost of living crisis has pushed family budgets to the limit. On top of that you only need to miss one council tax payment, and within two weeks a bill can be issued for the entire year’s payment. What starts as a missed instalment of £190 can become a £2,280 debt at terrifying speed.  This matters because people are facing fear, harassment and intimidation just for being in debt. 

Protecting Preston’s Royal Lime Trees: A Call for Transparency and Common Sense For more than a century, the Royal Lime Trees on Victoria Road have stood as a living memorial to the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary. They are part of Preston’s heritage, part of Walton‑le‑Dale’s identity, and part of our landscape. Like the vast majority of residents in the area, I have grown up and known these trees all my life - they are highly revered and held in great esteem by us all.  Yet the Environment Agency’s current plans for the Preston Flood Alleviation Scheme would see all 21 trees cut down. As a retired specialist in piling and geotechnical engineering, I have spent months trying to understand why. What I have found is deeply concerning: • The EA has not produced any structural or geotechnical evidence showing that the existing embankment or retaining wall is failing. • They have not carried out the hydraulic modelling needed to understand the consequences of allowing the embankment to collapse — including risks to nearby homes. • The soil investigations disclosed so far are insufficient and incomplete, falling short of national standards. • The proposed design is far more intrusive than necessary, involving an 18‑month road closure and the construction of a 6‑metre‑high concrete secant piled wall — a method the EA has already struggled with elsewhere in Preston. • Crucially, several safer, cheaper, and less disruptive alternatives exist, but these have not been properly assessed. At the South Ribble planning meeting, councillors made clear they did not want to approve a scheme that destroys the Royal Limes. They only did so because they believed the EA’s claim that “there is no other way.” The evidence shows that this is simply not true. I am calling on our MP to request an independent review of the Victoria Road design. Preston deserves flood defences that are effective, environmentally responsible, and based on sound engineering — not a scheme that destroys heritage, disrupts communities, and ignores viable alternatives. The Royal Limes have stood for 112 years. They deserve better than this.

It is a crazy war and we should not be part of killing, maiming innocent people in Iran and elsewhere

The people of Groombridge overwhelmingly support the proposal to turn Groombridge Place into a Pig Hotel.  We are excited by the prospect of having such a wonderful venue on our doorstep.  We would be relieved that Groombridge Place will be sensitively renovated, improved and cared for into the future.  We will extremely disappointed and angry if this opportunity is allowed to slip away due to bureaucracy and lack of vision on the part of TWBC.

Purley Sports Club application for outdoor music and alcohol license  Purley Sports Club have applied for a license to play live and recorded music outside (live bands or disco amplified), 7 days per week between the following hours: Sun to Thurs 12:00 to 23:00 Fri & Sat 18:00 to Midnight  01:00 Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve They have also applied for a license to sell alcohol outside between the following hours 6 days per week: Mon to Weds 11:00 to 23:00 Fri & Sat 11:00 to 23:45 01:00 Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve We will be challenging this application as a potential Public Nuisance and require your support.  We believe it will cause a significant increase in noise and disturbance to the local and wider neighbourhood. Please sign for your vote to be validated. • Public Nuisance: Potential for excessive noise from music, patrons leaving the premises, or increased traffic congestion. Also covers concerns about litter or odor.

These people take a family’s holiday money when the caravan doesn’t exist. They steal identities, images of real caravans and sell then as there own. 100’s of family’s each your in North Wales alone are being scammed like this, causing great distress.  There’s are 100’s of scammers in these caravan groups on Facebook and nothing is getting done.  Police need to be active in these groups. And witnessing it for them selves.  I own 4 caravans and manage 4 caravans in North Wales and I see people getting scammed on a daily basis.  It’s heart breaking seeing  families lose their holiday.  There’s hundreds of victims in North Wales alone if not thousands every year and it’s getting worse. The owners of legitimate caravans also become victims as the scammers are taking potential revenue from us and damaging reputations when they have been cloned by a scammer. 

Business-as-usual in our economy isn’t working. From the cost of living and doing business, to rampant inequality and low pay, while the rich get richer and the planet suffers - real solutions are urgently needed. At the heart of this is a broken economic system. With a Scottish general election on the horizon, we need the next Scottish Government and Parliament to prioritise the economic and wellbeing needs of ordinary people. A big growth in social enterprises, cooperatives and community and employee owned businesses means putting people and planet first. Supporting these inclusive, democratic businesses will help fix our economy and build a stronger, fairer, greener future for everyone in Scotland.

We see hope in every cup of tea poured in a community centre and every friendly voice on the end of a helpline, in every kids’ football ref and in every helper at the local toddler drop-in, in everyone who donates to food banks when they do the weekly shop and everyone picking litter from our beaches and parks. Life is hard for a lot of us right now. Just getting by week to week is a struggle. But we also know our communities are full of hope and care. In fact, they’re built on it. But too often these acts of hope, and the people doing them, go unnoticed.  That’s why as part of the A Million Acts of Hope, we want to create the UK’s biggest ever thank you card: a huge, collective tribute to the people in our local communities who make life a little easier and the world a bit brighter. To prove that kindness is the quiet majority. To say, “we see you”, and to show that despite what we see in the headlines, together we can make hope louder than hate.

The telephone boxes in Epping High Street are a historic and cultural asset within Epping. They serve value to our historic town and we wish to see them retained and not sold. On the occasion that they are to be sold, we call on Epping Town Council to purchase them to be used as a community asset and therefore protected from removal in the future.