PEOPLE SAID "a community resource not luxury flats": after a petition, an Independent Inquiry and a local referendum (July 2015) 96-98 Shoot up Hill was listed as one of the community facilities to be protected from any change, in the Fortune Green and West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Plan. Both occupiers: the current day centre and People's Centre who run projects after day centre hours and weekends are recognised as communities (alive, developing and growing). But now the council is looking to reverse this decision changing the use to residential, in order to eventually sell it on the open market. THE IMPACT OF DAY CENTRE CLOSURES: The council wanted to close the day centre at Shoot up Hill in 2012. Day centre closures leave many people with learning disabilities even more isolated, stuck at home, without meaningful occupation, friendships lost, ever more dependent on their family carers. (see Mencap report “Stuck at Home”). PERSONALISED (choice) BUT NOT ATOMISED (excluded): the council justified the closures saying that people wanted other choices than day centres and they should go out and about in the mainstream, using their personal budgets. Many people with learning disabilities are ready to embrace the changes in social care and to take control of their individual lifestyles using personal budgets to make choices. But the “community out there” does not yet provide the environments, activities and social opportunities they need and deserve and which give them a sense of belonging. Some people also need the continuity and familiarity of a vibrant and inclusive community where they they are understood, fully accepted and welcomed and can choose from adapted and suitably challenging activities, and develop relationships with all sorts of people. PEOPLE'S CENTRE = AN ALTERNATIVE: a group of family carers campaigned against the closure and in April 2012 the council agreed to delay the closure and give them time to develop their proposals and raise money to buy the building. People's Centre was then set up as a not for profit organisation to fill in a gap in provision and offer an alternative to a traditional day centre, taking advantage of personalisation: excellent individually tailored choices of activities, social and employment opportunities and support to people with a wide range of learning disabilities in a friendly, INCLUSIVE environment as well as new opportunities for the wider neighbourhood; modelling successful inclusion and supporting people to access other community venues. NOT BACK TO INSTITUTIONS!: the council recognises the need for “building based” services but want to build a single, purpose built, large institutional facility (Greenwood Place) grouping people with all manner of impairments in discrete units: learning disabilities, mental health, dementia, autism, multiple and profound learning disabilities. People will be segregated according to what they cannot do, as well as set apart from the neighbourhood (in a back street, semi industrial area). Moreover Greenwood Place also lacks capacity to provide facilities for the current and growing numbers of people with high support needs. SMALL SCALE, INCLUSIVE, COMMUNITY RESOURCES, INSTEAD: People's Centre is developing a friendly and welcoming community place where people of all abilities and backgrounds complement each other, can get the support they need and engage in meaningful activities as well as go out to other places. We will model good practice. BUILDINGS AT 96-98 Shoot up Hill ARE IDEAL: two semi detached houses which front a main road, look just like the neighbouring houses and allow for flexible use. They been adapted with accessible lift, WC facilities, changing room etc. There are no equivalent premises in the area and the cost of providing such facilities in another building will be prohibitive as well as wasteful. WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW, outside day centre hours and weekends: - Weekly creative, social and therapeutic sessions for adults and young people with learning disabilities supported by volunteers, family and support workers. Open to everyone in the neighbourhood. Cafe with freshly cooked delicious food. - a “Unique Products” enterprise where people with and without disabilities work together. - weekly sessions and special events for unpaid carers in Camden - Saturday Stay and Play for families with children with disabilities, siblings and friends. - (soon) Weekend specialist yoga to families with a member with disabilities. - Open Days, Special Concerts, Carers Week Day and Community Festivals bringing together people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to make music, art and enjoy life. VOLUNTEERS: from all backgrounds and abilities help make it happen FUNDING: we have received funding from Co-op, National Lottery, School of Social Entrepreneurs, Comic Relief, Camden Carers Service, SIBS, a local Hampstead Trust, Baily Thomas and individuals. SUSTAINABILITY: our business case demonstrates that we can be a sustainable enterprise, taking advantage of the changes in adult social care which give people with support needs the means to decide on the services they want and combining this with provision of opportunities for the wider community and small businesses. We are continuing to develop the service offer and detailed business plan. CAPITAL FUNDING: People's Centre are working to raise capital to buy the building and keep it for the local community. This won't be possible if the building goes up for sale in the open market as a residential property. SUPPORT PEOPLE'S CENTRE PETITION and the opportunity to continue providing support for people with severe learning disabilities, their families and carers and creating an inclusive community resource for local people. We need 100s of signatures http://peoplescentreforchange.org.uk/ [email protected]

This is a nature reserve and contains an array of wildlife that will be affected as a consequence of building on the green land.

Our high streets are being taken over by betting companies whose business model is to create and exploit gambling addictions. This isn’t about placing the odd bet on a football match or horse race. Bookies use their electronic gambling machines to filter out that casual crowd: they’re looking for people with the potential for a serious gambling addiction. Fixed-odds betting terminals feed a dependency just as powerful as drugs or alcohol. Their high speed games, with stakes as high as £100 every twenty seconds, mean you can easily lose a month’s wages in under an hour. Eventually you realise you’re not doing it for the money – you’re doing it because you’re physically addicted to the rush. I’ve lost numerous jobs because of electronic gambling. I’ve lost two properties through failure to keep up with mortage payments, I've amassed £100,000s in debt, I’m separated from my wife and children, and I’m trapped in a situation where I can’t rent accommodation because my credit score is so low and I haven’t enough money for a deposit. Now I’ve got special blocks on my computer that stop me straying onto a betting site – I even had to disable them to set up this petition. We can do something to change the tide of misery and reclaim our high streets. We can sign this petition.

Children are dying from internal injuries - According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), between 2011 and 2020, more than 140 million girls will become child brides (before the age of 18). 50 million will be under the age of 15. One of the main issues is that there is currently no consistent established definition of a “child” that has been agreed upon worldwide. This leaves various interpretations within countries and little protection for those who are affected. Establishing this age limit is among the top priorities of groups like HRC which was responsible for publishing the 54-page report “How Come You Allow Little Girls to Get Married?”, documenting the lifelong damage to girls who are forced to marry at young ages. Most pro age-limit organizations agree that 18 should be the legal age for marriage. In February 2009, a law was created in Yemen that set the minimum age for marriage at 17. Unfortunately, it was repealed after more conservative lawmakers called it un-Islamic.

For Fairness and equality which clearly doesn't exist anymore for the under 25's. The fact that people over the age of 21 have all the responsibilities of an adult but not the wages is an absolute disgrace and grossly unfair and an total insult to the hard working people between the ages of 21 and 25 who really should be entitled to this rise. The message from George Osborne seems perfectly clear - people between the ages of 21-25 are adults, should be expected to work as hard as an adult and shoulder all the other responsibilities of an adult but just not earn the same amount of money as one.

The Darwen 3 Day market plays a key part in the community of Darwen town centre. It provides a place for community to grow and for people to bond, it provides the livelihoods of dedicated and long-standing stall holders and local business people, it forms part of the story of Darwen and its people, and offers the potential for further growth and regeneration of this Lancashire town. The loss of this market, which is part of Darwen heritage, will deprive the community of a meeting place, traders of the businesses and loyalty they have worked hard for decades to develop and the town centre of another genre of commercial enterprise.

It can not be right in a civilised and fair society that children should be placed in poverty and disadvantaged because of the failure by successive governments to effectively manage the British economy.

Good nutrition is essential to patients recovering in hospital. We believe that fruit and vegetables should be free to people in hospital. We are fully aware that the funding for such a idea is not there, however we are also aware that supermarkets throw away millions of pounds worth of perfectly healthy fresh fruit and vegetables every year and we want to stop this waste. We want supermarkets to deliver the fresh fruit and vegetables to local hospitals, where it will be available to patients. We want the hospital sweet trolley to be replaced by a free fruit trolley. Help us stop this waste and bring essential healing nutrition to the people that need it the most.

The bank top public house ( former hotel) has stood here , an iconic landmark since 1903 , and we feel strongly that this traditional hub of the community should be saved . It is a great asset to community value and is vital to the local residents who meet up , enjoy a pint and socialise. Darts and pool teams thrive. A beer garden , childrens play area , car park are all provided . A free function room is available for family parties and celebrations .The room is also used as a meeting place for various clubs ,social gatherings ,sporting activities eg : weight lifting and , high intensity keep fit This pub deserves to be saved for our community and for generations to come. Please support us

In 2007 consultation on mental health facilities in north Essex gave rise to lively public meetings which resulted in the ward being saved, but in 2016 there was NO consultation because apparently moving a ward to another hospital in another town so long as it bears the same name is NOT a closure!!! At the very least, N.E.P.T. (North Essex Partnership Trust predecessors along with S.E.P.T. South Essex Partnership Trust, to E.P.U.T. Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust) should have held a new consultation process, but our feeling is still, along with the views and sentiments expressed by many eleven years ago, that nothing has changed, except that the facilities in Clacton needed revising including to allow for NHS single sex privacy and dignity accommodation, for which there was ample space available by using the adjacent and connected former Freeland Court. While people are often sent many miles away to find an available bed, we contended that mental health services could ill afford to lose beds in Clacton, though we would have welcomed extra beds in Colchester, but in addition, not instead of! As we were protesting the Colchester move we learnt from a whistleblower that the trust intended to downgrade the ward to an assessment centre, making a mockery of their assertion that the ward would be exactly the same in it's new location and if true, this would be a very definite change of service demanding thorough consultation! This was vehemently denied at the time but now we learn, not even 18 months later that service changes are being considered and this time, unlike the move, they do intend to consult! If after a wide consultation among all stakeholders including professionals, staff and public it can be demonstrated that the consulted changes would be in the best interest of patients, we shall be content, though we do not believe it will. If, as we are led to believe, the plans are indeed to downgrade Peter Bruff from an acute ward to an assessment centre this will amount to a de facto loss of 17 beds at a time of continuing high occupancy and the likelihood exists that patients needing continuing acute care may not find a bed within Colchester hospital and maybe forced to travel many miles away to find one. Two years ago we raised concerns over the difficulties many living in Clacton would face accessing Colchester. "With Colchester being about 15 miles away from Clacton concern was raised for patients who when discharged would face an expensive taxi bill or the prospect of at least two buses, train, long walk or combination! This distance would also likely make it difficult for many reasons, perhaps financial, for friends and families of patients to visit. Day visits and weekend visits home, for those recovering all made that more difficult when recovery itself is difficult enough!" 15 miles may soon seem like wishful thinking! And all this mainly on the pretext of saving the money spent on rent at Clacton!. Here's what we found out about that! " N.E.P.T. did not own the Clacton Peter Bruff Ward, but RENTED it from NHS Properties!! This was one of their excuses for wishing to CLOSE, I mean, MOVE the ward so as to save money on rent, but a freedom of information request revealed that N.E.P.T. were in fact only paying a "PEPPERCORN RENT!" https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/346733/response/855134/attach/2/FOI%20190716%2001%20reply%2018.8.16.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 Safeguarding the service as it is may well be within our gift. It is doubtless thanks to everyone's efforts that E.P.U.T. are contemplating any consultation whatsoever because our first notification from a whistleblower indicated a fait d'compli. Well done everyone! I still dream that the day will come when we can "Keep Peter Bruff Ward Open In CLACTON!

Since the opening of Westwood Cross and the insertion of yellow lines all around the commercial centre of Ramsgate, residents have seen many businesses close down and struggle. Recently, new businesses have been opening and long-standing businesses have persevered. Unfortunately, double yellow lines throughout the commercial centre of Ramsgate mean that many shoppers prefer to use the big chains who can offer parking causing a loss to local businesses. If the yellow lines were replaced by free 30-minute parking, people would have the incentive to whizz round Ramsgate's small businesses and ensure the longterm sustainability of our precious town centre with its diverse businesses run by local people.

The Developer Ashfield Land Ltd has categorised this development as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. The implication of this is that it by-passes the normal Northamptonshire planning application process and is determined directly by the Secretary of State who quite possibly has no knowledge of our local environment and might not even visit the affected villages before making his decision. Whilst South Northamptonshire Council are fundamentally against this development as it is contrary to their local plan, their power to reject it has effectively been taken away from them.