Successful Campaigns

THE region’s ambulance service has been forced into a U-turn over plans to cut services across parts of Cumbria. The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) has announced it will not be removing an ambulance from Carlisle or a rapid response vehicle overnight from Penrith, after campaigners gathered 11,500 signatures from local people. Campaigners held a heated public meeting and thousands of people signed a petition, which was delivered to Downing Street. http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/11352023.Ambulance_service_is_spared_cuts_of___2_2m/

On 4 November we handed in our petition to NSDC's Castle House, along with an envelope of the Sycamore trees' seeds and a letter from the trees asking for their legacy to continue. We had a huge crowd chanting 'FREE THE TREES' as local children handed in our total 6,081 signatures. It was a real magical community moment. Just twenty minutes after handing in the petition, NSDC formally voted to preserve the trees and Library Garden for good at an Extraordinary Council Meeting. Newark residents and visitors are in huge relief from the outcome. It's been such an emotional rollercoaster for our community, but team spirit, love and passion prevailed.

Update 22/02/17 National Express met with the victim and committed to reviewing their training procedures. Marvin Rees, now our elected mayor, was involved and oversaw the relationship with National Express. Thank you to everyone involved.

This 2017 campaign was a success

GOOD NEWS! 09/04/20 As a result of our campaign and petition, which achieved a fantastic 16,000 signatures, the Rose Theatre has been saved from closure. Kingston Council has announced that, instead of cutting the entirety of the Rose's £265,000 budget allocation, it will simply reduce funding by £20,000 this year, £15,000 next year and a further £30,000 in 2022-2023. After that, it is proposed that the yearly budget allocated for the Rose will remain at £200,000 a year. This is a major victory. The theatre, which was threatened with closure, now has a secure future. Politicians of many colours will undoubtedly try to claim credit for this victory, though no political party officially supported us in our fight; protecting the Rose was simply not on the agenda before our campaign and, without us, it would not have been saved. This is a real victory for community activism and demonstrates just how powerful ordinary people can be when we come together in the service of a common goal. Thank you so much for all of your help and everything you have done. This is a great outcome but not a perfect one. The Rose is still facing a significant reduction in funds over the next few years and there is still much to do (any thoughts on how to continue the fight are very welcome). Unfortunately, reforms by the current Council administration also make a future petition like this all but impossible. But, right now, we can enjoy this victory and take heart from a bit of good news. Kind regards, Phil Bevin Convener of Coalition Against Demolition (the organisation behind the Save the Rose campaign)

28/01/22 We won! London Borough of Waltham Forest did not rezone the large swathe of green open space around The WaterWorks Centre for housing, and has committed to protecting the borough’s Metropolitan Open Land in its draft local plan. That’s not to say that the Waterworks Meadow is safe from development. The Lee Valley Regional Park Authority still has plans to knock down the WaterWorks Centre and build something on the site of the Centre and its car park, but their original plan to build housing has been scuppered and it will be harder because the site hasn’t been rezoned. If you want to keep an eye on the story as it unfolds, follow Save Lea Marshes on Twitter (@SaveLeaMarshes) or online (www.saveleamarshes.org.uk).

UPDATE 29/11/16 We won! People power! Soup kitchen gets new location after Dover council bends to public opinion Read more at http://www.kentlive.news/people-power-soup-kitchen-gets-new-location-after-dover-council-bends-to-public-opinion/story-29944494-detail/story.html#sDDlvHCX6sdock6v.99

Thank you for signing the petition Councils in Derbyshire- declare a Climate Emergency!, On Wednesdays Derby City Council passed the Climate Emergency motion unamended and with no abstentions. We won in Derby, at least. Thank you all for helping make this happen. Have a look at the report in the Derby Telegraph, which begins with: Dozens of protesters who packed into the public gallery for the first meeting of a new Derby City Council administration saw unanimous agreement to create a working party to tackle climate change. See https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/celebs-tv/new-derby-city-council-unites-2898147

We won! Tony is allowed to stay in his Home