The BBC isn't perfect, but we must come together to make it better and stronger. We must use the upcoming Royal Charter review to protect our BBC for us, the British public. For too long, the public has been shut out of major decisions about the BBC. Governments have abused their power over the Royal Charter, twisting the BBC’s purposes to suit their own interests, while back-room negotiations have damaged its accountability. Right now, the BBC is in danger. Donald Trump is threatening to sue our public broadcaster for billions. But this is just the latest in a long line of attacks from people who want to weaken the BBC. We cannot allow the whims of foreign leaders or political pressure to dictate the future of our national broadcaster. The Government must put the British public at the centre of the upcoming Charter review to ensure the BBC answers to us - not to the likes of Donald Trump.

Moretonhampstead Community Hospital was originally established for the people of Moretonhampstead and the surrounding area. Although it is no longer a hospital with beds, it remains a valuable community space suited to hosting local healthcare, district nursing, a care agency, and wider community projects. NHS Property Services is now preparing to sell the building on the open market. This comes despite more than a decade of pressure from the local GP practice, Wellmoor, and other local groups to secure a community-led future for the site. To date, there has been no sustained support from our MP or the Devon ICB to help the community regain ownership of the building. We were informed that district nurses had to leave the building because the roof was leaking and the site was unsafe. As soon as the building was vacated, we understand that Devon ICB was able to declare it surplus to requirements and begin the process of instructing NHS Property Services to arrange disposal. We are now told that the roof has been repaired. NHS Property Services has, to date, not permitted local organisations access to carry out a full independent survey. This makes it impossible for the community to present an informed proposal for reuse. The GP practice fully supports a community-led plan but cannot afford to buy the hospital and cannot relocate. The practice must remain in its existing health centre, which itself requires funding to renovate and improve. This makes a community ownership model even more important — ensuring the hospital building is used for hosting local healthcare, district nursing, a care agency, and wider community wellbeing projects, while the health centre remains the base for GP care. Local residents, the GP practice, and community groups are ready to take responsibility for the hospital if given time and support to do so. This would protect the building for NHS and community use and prevent its loss to private development. We call for: • An immediate pause on any sale or disposal process by NHS Property Services. • Guaranteed access for the community to carry out a full independent building survey within the next 8 weeks. • Agreement in principle to a transfer of the site at a nominal cost of £1, recognising its historic purpose and community value. • Support from the Integrated Care Board to develop a health and community hub on the site which would include; district nurses, a care agency, GP overflow and local wellbeing services. Witnessing this building edge toward a quiet sale is bleakly predictable. Rural primary care and rural communities have been treated as an afterthought by succesive governments — too small to invest in, too remote to understand, and too insignificant to trouble the priorities of larger boards.  The government’s 10-year plan for the NHS barely acknowledges that rural general practice exists at all. The system continues to chase bigger solutions, bigger networks, and ill fitting administrative geographies. Yet every bit of real-world evidence shows the opposite: small communities work. We look after each other, we adapt, we are small but significant and we deliver care in ways no distant “neighbourhood model” would be capable of. This hospital has stood here for more than a century, shaped by the same landscape that shaped the town. Conan Doyle wrote about Dartmoor that “The longer one stays here the more the spirit of the moor sinks into one’s soul.” It has sunk into this building too — into its walls, its purpose, and the generations it has served. It is remarkable that bureaucracy cannot see what is obvious to anyone who lives here: this is not surplus, it is an anchor. If it is lost, it will be because the system has forgotten what community healthcare looks like. 

It might be your parents or a relative that this could happen to. These are very elderly people and some confused or with Alzheimer’s and being moved would greatly affect their health and wellbeing. If Reform want to win the next General Election they are going about it the wrong way by targeting the elderly and care homes. If they need to save money look at other ways. 

We believe this proposal is unfair and discriminatory. It goes against the principles of fairness set out in the School Admissions Code (2021), which requires admissions to be reasonable, clear, objective, and procedurally fair. It may also breach the Equality Act 2010, as it disadvantages certain groups within the Binfield and Warfield communities. Every child deserves a fair chance to attend their local secondary school. Take Action Please sign and share this petition to help protect fair access to Kings Academy Binfield for all local families. If you haven’t already, send your consultation response by 24 November 2025 to: [email protected] Together, we can make sure local schools remain for local children.

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.

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 🗣️✊