Since the Low Traffic Neighbourhood was put in place in Blackheath Westcombe back in November 2024 businesses have started to struggle. Now, a year later, and the Council has decided to make the scheme permanent despite its negligible improvements to air quality, despite its displacement of traffic onto boundary roads and despite the high levels of inconvenience that it has caused both residents and businesses. Many businesses in both Westcombe Park and Blackheath Standard are recording a drop in trade of up to 30% and some will not be able to stay open for much longer. We believe that we make a really valuable contribution to our community, making it unique and interesting in a way that only such a large proportion of independent businesses can do. We urge the Council to listen to us, support us and accept our demands in order to keep this area vibrant. We need a cast iron guarantee that 2 hours free parking will remain on the roads where all of our shops are situated. We need the Car Park on Old Dover Road to remain. We need the LTN scrapped in its entirety. Or at the very least, the hours of operation to reflect the hours of business i.e. from 7.00 until 9.00 in the mornings and from 5.00 until 7.00 in the evenings. Plus the cameras removed from Langton Way and St Johns Park.And a permit system linked to individual shops that allow deliveries to be made without penalty.

If you are a bus user and rely on this service to get to work, go shopping, visit friends, QEQM Hospital, the new medical facility at the junction of Westwood Road and Northwood Road, any reduction in the frequency will have an impact on you, possibly creating a sense of isolation, additional cost and possibly affecting your ability to get to work. In recent years we have lost many bus services, we cannot risk another loss in frequency or even the route itself.

It is important because lives are at risk

Most people already personally know someone injured in a road crash. 20mph is not a silver bullet- it is a basic plank of road safety just like people wearing seatbelts in cars. It is proven to reduce the frequency and severity of crashes. Speed limits need to be judged not only in the context of what is safe, but also what makes for a liveable city in terms of noise, tailpipe and brake dust emissions, ease of crossing roads, pleasantness of being on the pavements and so on. The remaining 30mph roads are largely single carriageways with homes and businesses each side, schools on or very near them and often in busy pedestrian areas. For example: - Outside Widcombe Junior School (A36) - Along Bear Flat High Street (Wellsway A367) - Both sides of Newbridge Primary School (A4 and A431) You can view a map here to view what little is left to do to create a 20mph city.  We will look back on 30mph in urban areas just like smoking in pubs, and be shocked at how long we tolerated the prioritising of speed over safety.  Enough is enough. 

Faye Cunningham died at 27 after years of mislabelling, ignored symptoms, abnormal results, and missed safeguarding. Her death was preventable. Faye’s Law would stop these failures, protect vulnerable patients, and ensure no one is dismissed, judged, or left untreated again. Disclaimer These statements reflect the experience and understanding of Faye’s family, based on available medical records and evidence. They highlight systemic issues, not individual blame, and call for policy change in the public interest.

The horrific mass stabbing attack left 11 people in hospital, but thanks to brave staff and passengers, lives were saved. Showing this kind of bravery in a nightmare scenario is incredible, and we’re calling for national honours to properly recognise these remarkable people. Sign the petition now to show how much we appreciate them and how grateful we are for their sacrifice.

Although these plans seem to enhance the country's need for green energy, their completion will bring about devastation for the marshland environment they plan to build their ten story converter station on, damaging a habitat used by a variety of bird species already under threat of extinction. It will cause disturbance to the nature and serene beauty of the area in particular the old Hoverport site in Pegwell bay which will be disturbed by drilling and trenching an undersea cable onto the site and used as a staging area for the massive amounts of hardcore and building materials used in the construction of the converter station, which will be the largest in Europe if it gets completed. This scheme seems to be the worst possible option for the environment but it seems to be the cheapest option for the shareholders of a private company which will maximise their profit at the expense of OUR natural resources and wildlife which is in desperate need of our care and protection. The net effect of this scheme will be the opposite of green energy as it will cause so much environmental devastation. We must not be hoodwinked by this private profiteering company to let them destroy so much natural habitat.

Right now, the government is propping up the declining oil and gas industry by giving oil and gas producing companies massive tax breaks - to the tune of £2.7 billion every year. Meanwhile these same companies have paid billions of pounds to their shareholders, all whilst laying off large sections of the workforce. This scandal has to end. This financial support could and should be redirected to create jobs and support workers instead. Part of the additional revenue created by ending these tax breaks could fund a targeted jobs guarantee for those currently working in high-carbon industries like oil and gas, that ensures they can find equivalent alternative employment or funded retraining. It’s time for the government to take real action – end tax breaks for fossil fuel companies, and back workers instead. 

⚠️  Shock planning return for Our Village?! 🏡❌ I’m honestly baffled 😳 to see this planning application back on Somerset Council’s table. Not often that happens — usually, once it’s gone through an officer’s report, that’s it. So why now? Here’s the kicker: it’s an outline application 😡. That means:  • No actual houses need to be built yet 🏚️  • They just get to change the principle of the land from agricultural ➡️ housing 🌾➡🏠  • And it could push our village boundaries further out 🚧 Meanwhile, there’s plenty of land already available ✅ — old factory sites, brownfield plots, areas in the local plan. We don’t need to eat up more countryside just to satisfy developers’ profits 💸. Also, I’m incredibly puzzled .. 🤷‍♂️why is there no new officers report or any assessment and  why  has gone directly to planning board From what I can see, this has all the same problems as the last plan:  • Wrong type of housing ❌  • Wrong location ❌  • Minimal benefits to the village ❌ And here’s a huge problem: we STILL don’t even have a secondary school locally 🏫. Children would continue to be forced onto circular bus routes to Shepton Mallet or Castle Cary 🚍💨, and those additional transport needs are often ignored. This isn’t just inconvenient — it’s a real community failure. And don’t get me started on developer 💰💰💰 contributions… supposedly to help the community, but Somerset Council has one of the worst records for making developers actually pay up 💀. “Oh, they can’t meet their profit margin” 💸… and the council rolls over. Seriously? 😤 We need homes, yes. But we need: ✅ Affordable homes ✅ Properly designed homes ✅ Homes in the right places Not another cookie-cutter sprawl ruining our village and our community 😡 Perhaps this is yet another incompetent error administration? By  who ? The developer ‘chancing it”.. someone else ? 🕵️🪽🐷🐖🪽- I mean given it is adjacent to a former pig farm perhaps flying pigs are as likely! If you care about our village, this is the kind of thing we can’t let slip through. Speak up, comment, and ask questions before it’s too late 🗣️✊

I’m starting this because too many families are being hurt while a small number of online operators make huge profits. Gambling is causing sleepless nights, maxed cards, and the shame of chasing losses on slot games designed to keep you playing. That is not a fair fight. The scale is big. Industry takings are around £15.6bn a year, with online casino £4.4bn of that and £3.6bn from slots alone. These are exactly the products most linked with harm. At the same time, NHS referrals to gambling clinics have more than doubled in the past year, showing rising demand for help. Public health officials estimate gambling harms cost England £1.05–£1.77bn a year when you add direct costs and the wider health impact. Children and young people are still heavily exposed to gambling advertising online, even as rules tighten. Raising duties on the highest-harm, highest-profit online products and ringfencing the money for treatment, prevention and research is a fair, targeted step. A new statutory levy exists, but ministers control tax and can go further where the harm is greatest. This petition asks them to do exactly that.

The rainbow rail at Mile End skatepark is the least used part of the park, no-one likes it, no one skates it.  It's especially frustrating as underneath the rail is a perfect kerb, but the stupid rail is in the way. The park would be SO much better if we could chop out the rail and skate that instead. The kerb is what we all want to skate. It's perfect for beginners and more experienced skaters to practice on before taking tricks to one of the bigger ledges. Simply chopping out the rail would open up the obstacle and make the park much better.  Seriously, NO ONE wants to skate the rainbow rail. Please chop it out and get rid of it. 

Despite prostate cancer affecting tens of thousands of men each year - including one in four Black men - routine screenings for men at risk still aren’t available. But right now the UK National Screening Committee is deciding whether to recommend routine screenings, which could save thousands of lives every year.  Public figures and politicians are already calling for it and now we - the British public - are making the same demand: introduce routine screenings for men at risk NOW to save thousands of lives.