We've been aware TDBC have been planning to replace the aging metal Mini Ramp at Staplegrove for a long time. As far as we're aware, there has been no user group consultation with the skateboarding, BMXing or other communities in the town, The plans have been passed without any proper consultation with the wheel sports community in Taunton. The design shows the existing 4 foot mini being replaced with a skatelite 6 foot mini and a separate 10 foot vert ramp. Which aren't connected in anyway. The plans are completely outdated and unwanted by the overwhelming majority of the demographic it would apply to. We already have several ramps exactly like the ones that are proposed in the local vicinity and not one of them is used for it's intended purpose because they have absolutely no appeal. They are cheap and horrible things; Skatelite ramps are of a time now gone and so in part are these kind of basic designs. Councils all over the country have clocked that these ramps aren't wanted and are opting for concrete parks and ramps designed by professional skatepark builders. Hamilton Park is a well used and well loved park because of the fact that time and care was spent planning, designing and corresponding with the right people to get the right thing built. With next to no correspondence with the people that would actually be using the facility, this WILL be a complete waste of the councils, tax payers and other funders money. Viridoor Green and Lyngford Park are perfect examples of this. The right people were not involved with planning and there are now two parks that are not used and have been essentially written off to the community. The planning application can be found here. Along with PDF links to the proposed plans. http://www2.tauntondeane.gov.uk/asp/webpages/plan/PlAppDets.asp?casefullref=34/17/0010 While the planning has already been passed, we feel it's not too late to let TDBC hear our voice. If you agree that the plans for two separate outdated ramps should be revised and replaced with a properly up to date professionally designed concrete ramp, then please sign this petition. I'm sure I speak for almost every person whether they be a skateboarder, BMXer, rollerblader, when I say that we do not want these awful ramps!

After speaking to residents along the full length of the Village, the majority of people mentioned either suffering near misses with speeding vehicles, being fed up of 'boy-racer' types speeding noisily through through our streets at all hours and also disdain at users of the A470 using our village as a short-cut. We have only one speed camera by The Swan Inn aimed at slowing people down as they enter the Village from Nantgarw. Firstly - this only slows down drivers at the first 50ft of Cardiff Road, at which point they can drive any speed they like past the school, shops and surgery. Secondly, the camera doesn't stop everybody from speeding through the Village from the Tongwynlais end and exiting the village at speeds of approximately 50mph towards Nantgarw. The traffic situation needs urgent attention and we, the residents are now prepared to enter an official dialogue with the Local Authority with the view of agreeing a plan of action to make our community a much safer place.

The annual Velothon of Wales and the route are inconvenient and disrupt the lives of local people, cutting some residents off from local amenities, family and work over an unacceptable period. The route and length of time the roads are closed for this event are unsuitable and this offers little benefit for ordinary residents or small businesses, some of whom have to close. Some cannot get to work or have to take lengthy detours to do so. Some roads were closed before the advertised times, officials were misinformed about alternative routes and roads did not reopen at the planned times. The route and event, if it is to remain in the area, must be adapted as to not close major A roads or limit the movement of local residents for prolonged periods of time. Roads should be closed in stages and vehicles should be free to pass until the stage of the race is within the vicinity. What would happen in some areas if there was a need for emergency vehicles to attend a critically ill person or fire? How would patients or family attend A & E? How do people visit sick relatives? We ask that the organisers are more considerate of the people their event impacts and a consultation of local residents is held for future events so their concerns are aired and acted upon. Consider a rolling road block, adjusting the route to give communities or areas a break or use improved B roads.

This is a valuable asset to the people of Maghull and used regularly as a green space.It is a social venue and provides an important sporting venue for young and old.

It is not glamorous and can sometimes be unpleasant but we do it because no-one else will. Community Furniture Aid (CFA) is a fine example of what can be done, on a local level, to help the poorest in society as it recycles unwanted furniture and household items, donated by the public. It works with over thirty agencies including SSAFA, Womensaid, Homeless charities and the local council so as to furnish homes for the poorest in society who have lost everything and cannot afford to buy new or even second hand. With over a million people using Foodbanks, in the last year in the UK, and millions more living below the poverty line, we are now seeing the need for help, not just with food, but with the general household items that many of us take for granted. Hidden poverty is not truly accepted in our society but this charity deals with it on a regular basis. In the 21st century we are still finding children sleeping on concrete floors, houses being flooded but the clients too poor to afford insurance, beds being re-possessed from finance companies and people running away from abuse and having to start afresh. In the last three years this tiny charity has fully furnished 275 houses which were all referred by agencies and saved over 150 tonnes from going to landfill. All this has been done by gathering up items that the local community were going to dispose of. Whether they changed their bed or ordered a new sofa, emptied a house of someone departed or just had a general clear-out, all the items were gathered and put into packs. In a throw-away society, by taking a moment to think “Could this be of use to someone else”, we could help end hidden poverty and reduce the amount of waste contaminating the country. One of the latest deliveries found us making up a bed and a five year old saying "what you doing mister?" I explained that I was putting feet on the bed so that it was not on the floor and the child dashed downstairs to tell his mum that he did not have to sleep on the floor anymore. Then we furnished a house for a lady who had suffered terrible abuse and it had taken two years for her to gain the confidence to live on her own again. Arriving with just a bin bag full of clothes, she looked at the bare walls of the empty property and started crying as she did not know how she could furnish the whole house. However, after we delivered all the essential items such as a bed and bedding, storage units, sofa table and chairs, curtains, pictures and kitchen items plus some extras, she was crying for a different reason. She could not believe that people would be so generous and she could start her life again. Another situation arose when an elderly lady had been discharged from hospital, after a long stay, only to find that her furnished flat had been re-let and she was moved into a totally empty property. On arrival we found the lady sitting on a chair, with her zimmer frame, in distressed state as there was no carpet or even light bulbs in the empty flat. Although a care plan should have been in place, for this lady, she had slipped through the cracks and we were there to help at the crisis point. And finally, SSAFA referred a gentleman who had been discharged from the army with PTSD. Shut down and not knowing what he needed, the charity provided everything that makes a house a home, so that he could start his rehabilitation, without the worry of having to source everything himself. In the current economic climate and the increase in the use of Foodbanks, a network of dedicated storehouses for household items would help ease the burden of the poorest in our society from suffering in silence.

It is a well known fact that great pleasure was taken in relegating the club to the lowest league and in fact some wanted them banned all together. This is not about sporting integrity. It demonstrates the small mindedness of those whose only focus in life is convincing themselves and others of a bias in favour of RFC from football authorities, press, etc. It is time that focus was centred on their own clubs and the issues within. It is time to move on.

It is important that our Shire Hall is used and preserved being of historical significance to the town. It is totally unnecessary to have a new development built for the purpose of the History Centre when we have this building vacant that would bring character to the project rather than a costly development made of glass.

Batley ITI Tennis Centre was purpose built for grass roots tennis and as an indoor tennis training centre, and is the only indoor Pay and Play Centre outside of Leeds suitable for players of all levels and abilities. The centre is only in decline because KAL have not appointed a suitable dedicated tennis manager at the centre who would develop grass roots tennis in the locale and surrounding areas and build the centre back to its former popularity with mini-tennis training and tournaments and adult classes and sessions for all. The centre is also the home ground of Batley ITI Tennis Club who have mens, womens and mixed teams playing competitively in the HADTL league and the Wakefield Tennis League, and these members also pay and regularly attend the Pay and Play Sessions. The Club was born out of the first users of the Tennis Centre when it opened as an Indoor Tennis Initiative over 25 years ago and the club members are dedicated pay and play attendees at the Centre on a regular weekly basis. We believe the Centre should remain a dedicated Tennis Centre and by carefully selecting a Tennis Business Development manager in co-operation with the LTA, the Centre can return to a thriving tennis centre of excellence once again. It would also pay for itself that way. The costs involved in attracting the right personnel to run the centre are far less than the costs involved in changing the use of the centre to be a multi-sport non-tennis environment. Let's keep Tennis a grass roots sport in Batley available for every child to be able to experience tennis. Please keep Batley ITI Tennis Centre open for Tennis for all, as that is what it was built for, and let's rebuild the centre attendance up to its potential again by working in close association with the LTA to bring in the right Tennis Development Manager.

ITS A FAMILY ORIENTATED PUB, THAT IS THE HUB OF THE SCOOTERING AND BIKING COMMUNITY.

Ben Ashworth is a hero and an inspiration. I was so sad to read that he passed away earlier today. Despite being diagnosed with ‘Terminal’ bowel cancer, Ben did not give up but fought it all the way – raising well over a quarter of a million pounds for cancer charities. Not through sympathy but through sheer bloody determination. In his last few years Ben ran over 24 marathons – he ran round the Guild Wheel in Preston twice in one day and for three years he organised ‘Cheeky Santa Dashes’ in Preston – persuading all and sundry to do a lap of the Avenham and Miller Parks wearing special shorts that had plastic backside cheeks protruding from the rear. All this to not only raise a fantastic amount of money, but also to raise awareness of this cruel disease. Read the blog - https://bensbowelmovements.com/

There is no heart to this village anymore. Unless you can count Tesco as a viable community (as it is prolific to the extreme in Braintree) to meet people in GNGV? Due to an originally chosen bad choice of 3 planning applications and succession of bad management, the site was closed earlier this year. It is the Centre of what is supposed to be a community, but due to the aforementioned reasons, in order to make up for lack of profits the prices went up and drove customers away. It was a lack of foresight from 3 planning options that Braintree District Council allowed this inappropriate venue to be built. It was not the favoured option but they did it anyway. From other local 'family' orientated pubs, the format can work and has a proven track record. The fact that Shepherd Neame and Braintree District Council made a bad decision in choosing this option is not the fault of the community. We have to live with those decisions. I do not think that a simple redevelopment of the land for housing is conducive to the inclusivity of residents to form a coherent community. I doubt that will happen in a concession of the local predominant Tesco that seem to litter the district of Braintree. We have 4 stores already and if that's the heart of the community then it is dead. I would ask people put their name to this petition to evidence that the community wants to retain a central point where they can meet. A village hall is insufficient for an inclusive social environment as the activities are specific to what's available. Should you choose not to sign, then I think we will be resigned to a demolished pub that's replaced by more houses.

So our community can feel safe in our own town. To reduce local crime, littering, urinating in streets. It's having an effect on our local stores as people are avoiding certain hotspots, it's having an effect on our children who are witnessing swearing, arguing, fighting in broad daylight. I walk to work through town everyday and walk around vomit and urine. This is then costing the taxpayers money.