Successful Campaigns

Aintree racecourse have made safety improvements to the Grand National race in 2024. This includes reducing the number of horses running from 40 to 34 and bringing the start time forward to improve the Aintree ground. Despite these welcome new safety measures for the feature race, two horses still sadly died during the 3 day meet. We hope that Aintree racecourse will continue their progress and consider how the Grand National race in 2025 could be even safer. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/racing/grand-national-2024-safety-changes-horses-b2528159.html https://www.express.co.uk/sport/horseracing/1887883/Grand-National-Festival-Pikar-dead-Giovinco

With many thanks to everyone who signed the petition, we heard yesterday from Haringey Council that *they will not be progressing with the SUD scheme in the Chestnuts Park playing field*. This is fantastic news for the park, and shows that your voice makes a difference! We got over 1000 signatures in just 3 days, which is a fantastic response. Thank you to our Councillors (Tammy Hymas, Mike Hakata, and Emily Arkell) for fighting our corner; and thanks again to you for raising your voice and stopping this scheme.

We have sent this petition to the council

Update 13/11/23 Following widespread public anger, including our petition, Rishi Sunak has sacked Suella Braverman as Home Secretary https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67401753

We won! Incredibly, our campaigning seems to be working: in 2023 the Duchy of Cornwall agreed to our petition to expand Dartmoor’s temperate rainforest. The Crown Estate (the biggest of the Royal Estates) announced its first ever beaver release. And now, the unthinkable: even the king’s beloved Balmoral, once a bastion of bloodsports, is set to get its first rewilding project. https://www.wildcard.land/rewild-the-royals.html ​Read our Guardian article celebrating our successes here. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/28/revolt-royals-rewilding-rainforest-beaver-balmoral

The House of Lords has blocked the UK government's plan to relax restrictions on water pollution to encourage housebuilding in England. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-66804160

Dear all We hope you are well. We are so happy to report that as of 4.30pm this afternoon, the Woodman is now open for drinks. They are still working on bringing us food but we are sure you will join us in celebrating this mega milestone. Hope to see you there soon for a drink. Best wishes Polly and David

Yesterday four of our group spoke in front of a full Edinburgh Councillor meeting and handed in all your signatures to the Lord Provost of Edinburgh. The council then debated the issue and voted on what to do next. We are absolutely delighted to report that the council voted overwhelmingly to continue Edinburgh Childcare 4 All, and so we have won!!! We're due a full investigation and report into how this happened , guaranteed funding for children currently in the scheme and, importantly, a guarantee that the scheme remains open to new applicants! For all of us this was never just about our individual children. Because we know how vital this support is to vulnerable children and their families, we are so relieved that more kids and communities will now get to benefit! Edinburgh remains a shining light in inclusive practise and can be proud of the example it is setting to the rest of the country. If you are interested to watch our deputation and the petition hand in, a recording is available on this website. https://edinburgh.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/801091 Our speeches and the hand-in begin at 1 hour 5 mins and the debate and vote begin at 3 hours 49 minutes. We couldn't have won this without you all sharing this petition and emailing your councillors. You really made a huge difference by putting pressure on when it counted. Thank you for your time and energy! We will keep the petition open for now while we hold Edinburgh Council to account and make sure they keep their promises. You'll hear from us again if we need you to put the pressure on again. But just now we can all celebrate! Woo Hoo! From all of us in our Keep Edinburgh Childcare4all group - thank you from the bottom of our hearts! PS - Here's a news report from yesterday https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/parents-demand-edinburgh-council-restart-27630509?int_source=nba

07/09/23 - We Won! Following pressure from our campaign, The Government has confirmed that the UK will re-join the EU's flagship scientific research scheme. Congratulations to everyone who signed. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-66737714

26/04/25 Back in 2022, you kindly signed our petition calling on Islington Council to simplify planning rules to allow more energy efficiency upgrades in listed and conservation area homes, for both owners and renters. For three years, thanks to your more than 2000 signatures, our campaign group has lobbied hard for the Council to modernise its approach and strike a better balance between conservation and energy efficiency. In the autumn, the Council will finally publish a brand new set of rules. Although progress has been slower than promised and the first draft document has been flawed, we are pleased that many of our recommendations for a more user-friendly and cost-effective approach to planning will be adopted. https://www.letstalk.islington.gov.uk/draft-climate-action-supplementary-planning-document It took a huge collective effort by residents and experts to get us this far. We are particularly grateful to Chris Procter, author of a seminal climate emergency conservation area toolkit, for his meticulous critiques of the council’s work and getting the council to rectify important gaps like accepting slimline vacuum glass for windows. Having got this far, it is now time to end our campaign. However, Chris Procter will continue to lead the way with both the Council and residents on all things retrofit. So if you wish to explore retrofit opportunities for your home please feel free to get in touch with him at [email protected] https://www.procter-rihl.com/ In other news, our co-founder Leyla Boulton was recently elected councillor for the City of London's Bassishaw ward, where she will continue to campaign for better and more sustainable use of buildings. In the meantime she’s thrilled to have installed solar panels on her roof in Islington. Thank you again for your support and happy retrofitting! Leyla Boulton and Anne-Marie Huby Co-founders The Green Conservation Campaign