We are a group of asylum and refugee organisations working directly with vulnerable and scared people, asylum seekers and refugees, accommodated in Home Office hotels across the country.  Over the past eight days, our clients have been terrorised, re-traumatised and further dehumanised by organised far-right racist violence, unfolding on our streets and across our country, leaving communities at risk.  Asylum seekers, refugees and wider communities of colour are scared for their lives, alongside our colleagues who support them, as many non-governmental organisations are being targeted by the far-right. The far-right can not and must not be allowed to dictate how and where asylum seekers and refugees are housed. The failed policy of housing asylum seekers and refugees in hotels has been a gift to the far-right and those scapegoating vulnerable people, protected under international law, for racist and political violence.  The isolation of these hotels and the stigmatisation of asylum seekers and refugees housed in this way has allowed their further dehumanisation and segregation from wider society.  This must end now.  Dangerous disinformation about asylum hotels has spread online and in real life, leading to the devastating consequences we are seeing. The Home Office must reclaim false narratives back from the far-right and centre the humanity, dignity and lived experiences of asylum seekers and refugees.  Refugees and asylum seekers deserve safe homes, not hotels. 

These sanctions are cruel and leaving single parents and people to suffer , these are bullying tactics by the government in hopes for people to work , millions of people signed on during COVID that never claimed benefits before , so you can imaging having no money bills to pay and needing food , the government can not solve the work problem so they are using bullying tactics, problem is people are getting sanctioned for stupid things , these actions are cruel and leaving people in dyer situations especially single parents , this needs to stop 

The housing developer, Crest Nicholson, have a contractual obligation to care for the park on Baker Crescent. Shockingly, they have failed this community and after 2 years of delays, the only thing they have done, is replace some flooring, and fix one swing. Play areas are so important for children, for both their physical health, and as a way of engaging socially with other children in their communities. Sadly, children in the local area have now lost out on two summers of play and despite multiple attempts by the community and Dartford Borough Council to hold Crest to account, they continue to delay and push this issue down the road. 5th August 2024 - https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/it-s-disgraceful-parents-fury-as-developer-leaves-dereli-310702/ Everyone has had enough of the platitudes and constant excuses for not updating this park. We are now coming together to demand Crest fulfil their obligations and provide the play park that is desperately needed, and that has been promised to this community. Photo shared with permission of Kent Online.

The proposed tiered VAT reduction scheme for deep energy retrofits is crucial for several reasons:  * Addressing Climate Change: Buildings are a significant source of carbon emissions. By incentivizing energy-efficient retrofits, the scheme directly contributes to reducing the UK's carbon footprint and achieving net-zero targets.  * Energy Security: Reducing energy consumption in buildings lessens reliance on fossil fuels and volatile energy markets, enhancing energy security and resilience.  * Economic Benefits: The scheme stimulates the green economy by creating jobs in the retrofitting sector, boosting demand for eco-friendly materials and technologies, and reducing energy bills for homeowners.  * Health and Well-being: Energy-efficient homes are warmer, healthier, and more comfortable, improving the well-being of occupants and reducing health-related costs.  * Social Equity: By making deep energy retrofits more affordable, the scheme helps to address fuel poverty and ensure that everyone has access to a warm, healthy home.  * Resource Conservation: Retrofitting existing buildings is more sustainable than demolishing and rebuilding, as it conserves resources and reduces waste.  * Future-proofing: Investing in energy efficiency now prepares the housing stock for a low-carbon future, ensuring long-term benefits for homeowners and society as a whole. In summary, the proposed scheme is a multi-faceted solution that addresses climate change, energy security, economic growth, health, and social equity. It is a vital step towards creating a more sustainable and resilient built environment for the UK.

Too many of our young people, including young families, are living in overcrowded housing, insecure private rentals or even being forced to sleep in their work vans.  Too many have had to move out, even though they work here.  The town is becoming 'unbalanced', with too many retirees.  Dorset Council did not take the opportunity to buy Jewson's in July 2024, and this and other sites, like Mountjoy School and J C Phillips, have gone to luxury retirement flats.  The new Labour government is providing councils with more finance to build social housing and our councils need to prioritise homes for local residents of working age from now on.

My name is Emma Louise O'Connor and I'm a disabled Grenfell tower survivor from the 20th floor, yes I got out alive but so many of my fellow neighbors and animals didn't I'm passionate about getting rid of this housing 18 metres rule abolished just because the London fire brigade can reach that height why do our lives matter so less to the people who build these high rise yes the London fire brigade have equipment to reach above but every human life should never have a price tag on, London has 33 boroughs with only 102 fire stations is this enough when another Grenfell happens, the fire in hackney with those wood effect cladding outside that was only 6 floors high, with legislation to scrap the 18 metre rule it will be a goal to make all properties a fire safe standard. The goverment and councils needs to put lives before money and aesthetics.

Sitting on the southern edge of Colchester, the Middlewick Ranges is a former Ministry of Defence firing range that has become a much-loved wildlife space in an increasingly congested city. Locally known as ‘the Wick’, this 76ha mosaic of flowery acid grassland, sandy slopes, scrub, woodland and hedgerows is home to a rich diversity of animals. The Wick is a key breeding area for the second-best population of Red Listed Nightingale in the UK, and a home to nesting Skylarks and Vulnerable Barbastelle Bats, while small mammals and reptiles also find a refuge here. It supports almost 1,500 invertebrate species, including a quarter of all the UK’s spiders and a quarter of all the butterflies and moths found in Essex. This includes threatened species such as the Four-banded Weevil-wasp (Cerceris quadricincta) and the Endangered Necklace Ground Beetle (Carabus monilis). However, despite the Wick’s huge value for wildlife and people, the site has been earmarked for up to 1,000 houses in Colchester’s Local Plan, and the Ministry of Defence has put the site up for sale. This would be a disaster for its precious wildlife. This petition calls for Colchester City Council to recognise that Essex’s largest acid grassland is too special to be lost under concrete.  We urge the Council to take this vital opportunity to remove the Middlewick Ranges allocation as part of its Local Plan review and find an alternative site that is less harmful to nature. Please sign our petition to save the wonderful Wick! This petition is supported by Buglife, Butterfly Conservation, Colchester Natural History Society, CPRE Essex, Essex Field Club, Essex Wildlife Trust, Friends of Middlewick, Essex Birdwatching Society and RSPB. For more information, please visit the Buglife campaign webpage and the Save the Middlewick Ranges website. 

Elderly people deserve better of you.

What would Jesus do if he owned 108,000 acres (over 60,000 football pitches) of land? Would he farm the vast majority for profit, or would he use some of it to restore forests, wetlands and meadows to help save our vanishing wildlife?   This is the dilemma faced by the Church of England whose wealthy and secretive investment arm - the Church Commissioners - own this staggering amount of land. In total the estate is worth over £10bn! Forget the churchyards - they’re just the tip of the iceberg.  How are the Church Commissioners stewarding their land in England? • Only 4% of the Commissioners’ land is covered by trees (compared to the UK’s already poor 13% average). • Over half of the special habitats on their land are in an unsatisfactory state. • The Commissioners’ land includes 5000 acres of degraded peat in the Fens which is emitting tonnes of carbon every year instead of sequestering it. As one of the biggest landowners in England, with a moral duty to care for all of creation, this is a BIG problem! Dear Church Commissioners: the Church of England, which you serve, is playing an important role in protecting all of God’s creation from the climate and biodiversity crises through initiatives such as Eco Church. Yet most of the 108,000 acres of land under your control is still part of the nature loss and climate change problem, when it could be part of the solution. The UN has recommended that we need to rewild 30% of land globally by 2030 to avert the worst environmental collapse. If you met this target,  you would be able to restore nature to land over half the size of Dartmoor! It would send a huge and powerful signal to landowners and governments around the world and could inspire a wave of rewilding action. Committing to rewilding 30% of the land you own would be an act of good stewardship for both people and nature, actively working towards a future more liveable for all. Will you invest in nature and rewild your land?

We all have different disabilities and illnesses so the money we get are spent on different things to help us have a better quality of life. My domestic and gardener won't take voucher, I want to choose who I have in my home to help me with my disability, how do you feel about this. Please sign this petition to stop this from happening 

People from across Dartford are in shock with the senseless killing of a group of geese, who were viciously run down along Anchor Boulevard last Sunday. There is no excuse for such behaviour and it's been hard to come to terms with anyone choosing to harm innocent creatures in this way. Crossways Boulevard and the surrounding roads have long been dangerous for humans and wildlife alike! Whilst we acknowledge steps taken by local representatives, local authorities and the police to implement road safety measures such as Public Safety Protection Orders (PSPOs) and Dartford Council installing an ANPR camera in 2023, a speed camera being installed here would ultimately be the most effective deterrent.  We would also like to see more being done to protect wildlife! Currently there is just one wildlife warning sign by a roundabout. We are pushing for the installation of "wildlife crossing" signs at the locations where geese and other wild fowl most frequently cross over to and from the 3 lakes that are positioned in this busy location.  It's imperative that action is taken and that KCC do all they can to protect wildlife in this area, to create an environment where people and nature can co-exist more harmoniously. Dartford Animal Rescue are in contact with Kent Wildlife Police to try and bring the perpetrator to justice. Unfortunately, nothing can be done to change this appalling act of violence, with an individual choosing to behave in this cruel manner. What we can do now is to gather our strength as a community and to highlight the urgent need for road users in general to be sensitive to wildlife living along here.  Petition by: Green Party Councillor Laura Edie and Ciara O'hare, on behalf of Dartford Animal Rescue Team. 

Roseland Court Nursing Home is a thriving care home in Tregony. It has amazing reviews, runs at a profit, is always full, and has a great name in the community.  It's the only care home in the area. The freeholders want to close the home, and turn it into apartments.  Our residents and families, staff and friends are extremely distressed and have been given notice to leave.  Residents who live in the existing apartments are very worried, as they purchased the properties with the security of having the nursing home at hand if they required nursing care.  Nursing Homes are vital in Cornwall. We have an elderly population, people come to retire in Cornwall for the beautiful countryside and quiet pace of life.  Cornwall has lost 138 nursing beds in the last 3 years, which has caused significant bed blocking in our only main hospital. The community hospitals are stretched, and some have closed.  Nursing Homes need to be protected to help our vulnerable elderly and our NHS.  The Government needs to support Nursing Homes and prevent this from happening.