This is a very fertile green area in the city and very pleasant for families.This must be stopped. the willow trees must not be felled.

If you are a nurse, care worker or retail worker in Monmouthshire then you probably can't afford to live here. Unless you are in priority need you probably won't get social housing, and with around 3000 households on the waiting list you'll be advised to rent privately. With soaring local rents and short term tenancies this isn't a good basis for making a life or for raising a family. In 2018, County Councillor Dimitri Batrouni, leader of the Labour group on Monmouthshire County Council, put forward a practical plan for more social rented homes in Monmouthshire, using some of the land holdings that the Council and other public bodies own. The plan was agreed by all parties, including the ruling Conservative group, who then quietly shelved it. In the wake of Covid 19 we believe that the people we all rely on, our heroic key workers, and also the many disabled and vulnerable local people, deserve better. Everyone needs a secure, low carbon, affordable home. They must not continue to be pushed out of the area where they work and belong by inflated house prices. The County Council may say that they have a long term plan for private developers to build affordable housing through planning gain, but we've all seen those promises watered down and not delivered, and with the current recession and uncertainty those homes may never be built. The Council may also say they no longer have the money, and with local authority budgets under pressure we know that it will be hard to find. But with determination, and the support of the Welsh Government, we believe that the affordable, low carbon, secure rented homes the county needs can be delivered, creating local construction jobs in the process. If you agree, sign our petition, and please share it on social media. For more information go to www.h4mh.org.uk or to get involved email [email protected]. We want to hear your story.

The company, Europe's leading sandwich maker, supplier to M&S, has put staff who tested positive on statutory sick pay and all other staff on the furlough scheme. So the government is paying 80% of the salary bill. The company has refused to provide the 20% top-up. This despite posting £56.4 million pre-tax profits last year. Employees were furloughed and sent home to self-isolate for 14 days. They're carrying the burden of the Covid-19 outbreak. Hundreds of families will be plunged into poverty as a result of Greencore's actions. The Union estimates that 60% of the workforce will be left below the minimum wage. If they only get 80% of their current wages - which is what the Government's furlough scheme provides - they won't be able to make ends meet. The managers are self-isolating on full sick pay. The workforce should get the same.

Children have been shown to be asymptomatic carriers of Covid 19 and could infect staff who take it back to their families.

Because did you know it's not a legal requirement to walk your dog in the UK? This is really quite sad. I have an email from the RSPCA saying it's not a legal requirement to exercise your dog, plus it's not a wellfair issue.. This all began due to my neighbour refusing to walk their dogs and the fact I've noticed they do not clean up their dogs mess in the communal garden. When my neighbours are out, the dogs bark all day, which is causing them to become distressed. I believe it's in every dogs right to be walked exercised, socialised and stimulated. I am going to stand up for these dogs in the UK and I hope you will join me. *Petition time: I hope you will all sign it, because our dogs deserve better 🐕*

Very important to all them that work so hard and the long hours and caring for our most vunreuble and elderly , They work hard and they seem to be forgotten yet again its so sad . I looked at my partners wage on a normal 3 days 12 hour shifts no overtime and was getting only a , , £1000 pounds clear and that her working nights its shocking . We and our goverment should consider this with high proirty , I personally have voted the goverment in and live in scotland and boris please do the right thing it could cost you next election

So here is our story and why i feel strongly enough about this to start a petition. Myself and my husband have been trying for a child now for close to two and a half years, after a year and a half we were referred to a fertility specialist in Glasgow and we got our first appointment in Oct 2019, we saw Dr Sastry who was wonderful and extremely helpful, we were advised however that we could not go on the list for IVF until we had been trying for at least 2 years which we expected so this was fine. We had some scans done to check that everything was ok and it was found that i have what looks like a cyst on one ovary and also on the other side what could be a cyst or a possible blockage of a tube they couldn't tell so at this point we were advised the best thing to happen would be surgery to check, we were fine with this and were placed on a waiting list. There were some other conditions for the IVF too i had to lose weight and get my BMI under 30, this was also expected so i got to work on losing the weight. At this point we were so relieved that things were moving forward and we had a plan, for anyone going through struggles with fertility its easy to feel lost and like your getting no where. All was going well we received a date for surgery the 31st March and we received a letter for our next appointment with the fertility specialist for April this would be to get weighed and be put on the IVF waiting list. Then Covid struck and everything fell apart, not just for us but for every other couple waiting for fertility treatment. A week before my surgery i got the call that it was cancelled, it was expected but still a shock and upsetting and then in came the letter that the appointment at the fertility clinic was postponed then shortly after cancelled. I was devastated, id lost the 22lbs to get my weight where it needed to be and id been mentally preparing myself for the next stage of our journey. Luckily we contacted our specialists secretary who advised our specialist that i'd lost the weight and she agreed to add us to the waiting list. Now to why do a petition? In Scotland if your under 40 you get 3 rounds of IVF on the NHS if your 40 as long as they think your chances are good, and you have a good egg reserve etc you will get 1 round, so, what about those people including ourselves that would of had time for 2 or 3 rounds but due to Covid will only get 1, what about those of us waiting on surgery whose surgeons aren't doing gynecological surgery at the moment but when you ask about being referred to a surgeon who is they suggest they send you materials on having it done private? Why should couples be penalised for delays outwith their control? This petition is for allowances to be made for those couples effected by the delays, if someone turns 40 before treatment can be given however they are in good health and have a healthy egg reserve why shouldn't they receive the 2 or 3 rounds they would of had if Covid hadn't hit. My specialist advised that the best way to get the government to look at this was to shout about it, so here i am, shouting, please shout with me.

Even before Covid-19 and the lockdown, the Shooting Star charity shop has always been extremely popular in our area, particularly as it specialises in selling good quality second hand (and often brand new) items for babies and children of all ages at reasonable prices, and all for a very important cause. There are a huge amount of young families (many on low incomes) in Ashford who benefit from the large selection of toys, games, equipment and clothing. Not only is it the only place in our local high street to have such a large selection of children’s items, but if you needed something urgently, the only other choice would be to travel to Staines and many don’t have their own transport to do so easily. It is an absolute asset to our community and has been for many years, being only the second Shooting Star shop to open. Without it and it’s fundraising the Shooting Star House hospice wouldn’t have been able to be built. At this present time, many families are struggling financially because of the affect of Covid-19. Many have lost their jobs due to lockdown or are unable to work due to shielding. People in this situation really will miss the benefits of this essential charity shop. So although we are all in difficult times, it doesn’t make any sense to close the shop for good, especially as it was so popular and is now in more demand than ever before. We all need it as much as they need our donations. Also a large housing project is being built on Church Road which will mean that very soon, even more families will be in the area, so a shop like this will be in even more demand. Not only this, but the wonderful ladies who work there will be without jobs. There are all so friendly and welcoming and have worked so hard for this great cause We implore Shooting Stars Children’s Hospice charity to please think again about keeping this absolute asset to our community in Ashford.

Our Trees and hedgerows are precious to us, they are characteristic of the area having been here for a very long time. Since Covid-19 hit there is even less need for a new bus, our roads In the stokes and surrounding areas at rush hour are practically empty and the busses that do run have even less passengers than before. Our hedgerows thrive with small birds and other wildlife. Where will they go? If the trees and hedges are removed there will be nowhere. This is not the behaviour we would expect of a local authority in an area so caring about its wildlife and trees. We question whether there’s even a need for this bus, the COVID-19 crisis is predicted to last years not months, what a huge waste of local council tax payer’s money. Surely our money could be better spent helping small businesses and families rebuild and adjust to our new post lockdown normal.

The expertise of teachers has been completely devalued by the unjust and incomprehensible reduction of subject grades and consequently, thousands of students nationally have suffered. Across the board, this reduction has been aimed at secondary schools, academies and sixth form colleges, whilst independent and smaller schools have received a disproportionate rise in top grades. This is blatant discrimination. It is a biased and unjustified action suggesting qualifications are now based on postcode and affluence, not ability. Potentially, highly knowledgeable and hard-working students, completely committed to their subjects, have had their futures obliterated by a skewed, unfair and inscrutable system. Furthermore, to lodge an appeal to the system that discriminated against them is simply unacceptable and students should not feel this is a reasonable way to receive their due results. We urge the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, to reinstate teacher assessed grades for A level with immediate effect.

It is a fundamental human right to have access to a fair and representative trial. But right now in the UK, there is a risk that the suspension of trial by juries will create avoidable stress for those of us waiting to get justice. Virtual trial juries would help to tackle the backlog of cases and make sure that people are given a fair and representative trial. Not having trials can have huge implications on those of us who face oppression and discrimination. The diversity of jurors helps ensure the justice system is fair and efficient by having more experiences and voices in the room. The risk of not having jury trials could have lasting impacts and hit certain groups who experience discrimination - like Black, Asian or other people of colour - harder.

Because I and I’m sure others are sick of seeing their offensive headlines every time we go into a shop. Today their “Death Express headline was utterly disgusting.