We, the ZADA elders, have been members of, and attending functions including our own coffee mornings at Hibbert Community Centre for many years now. All voluntary groups that use the centre raise their own funds for all their various youth and community activities. The only thing that we have relied on from Bolton Council since 1997 is our core costs which go towards heating, lighting and insurance costs. In late 2016, Bolton Council decided that it would stop funding these basic costs for our thriving community centre based in one of the most deprived areas in Britain. As a result, it is making it harder for our elderly members to attend as frequently as they did given how the cold disproportionately affects the elderly and taking away a vital lifeline to challenge loneliness. Outside of summer, gloves and hats have had to be worn and this makes it harder to participate for so many.

There is clear evidence that pesticides (such as the herbicide glyphosate) used for pest and weed control across Mole Valley District are causing declines in biodiversity and are harmful to human health, especially children. Our children need to be able to play safely in the parks of Mole Valley face down on the ground without fear of exposure to glyphosate and other potentially harmful chemicals. But it is not just children. Everybody who lives, works, plays, visits, or walks their dog anywhere in this beautiful district should have the right to enjoy the area without the fear of coming into contact with unnecessary, toxic chemicals. Glyphosate alone is linked to cancers, infertility, birth defects, and neurological disease. The World Health Organisation has publicly stated that glyphosate ‘probably’ causes cancer. However there are 40 different types of pesticide that can be and are used in and around towns and cities in the UK. Progressive cities such as Paris, Toronto - and recently Brighton - have already voted to end the use of toxic chemicals in all public spaces. If they can do it, so can Mole Valley District! Effective alternatives for weed control already exist which are not harmful to people, pets, or the environment. Furthermore, the use of non-toxic alternatives will encourage greater local biodiversity - and give us all the pleasure of seeing more bees buzzing, butterflies fluttering, and birds singing! The increase in pesticide use since the 1970s has seen farmland bird populations decline by over 50% and catastrophic declines for insects such as several butterfly and bumblebee species (of up to 70% for some species). The loss of bumblebees and other pollinators has knock-on effects for growing food, as 75% of crops are pollinated by wild insects. So why risk the health of our children, ourselves, and the environment when there is another way? Let us employ non harmful ways of dealing with – or living with- those things that toxic chemicals are used to kill. These products are already available. We can start this process in our local district, and in Mole Valley. PS - Get informed! Read up on this issue by visiting the Pesticide-Free Towns campaign page on the Pesticide Action Network website. http://www.pan-uk.org/pesticide-free/

The people using these facilities are friends and family! With the amount of housing being put in surrounding the town, this problem can only get worse and our parents and grandparents will be the ones to suffer. They are some of the most vulnerable in our society and they deserve the best care and facilities that we are able to provide. The care provided by Eskgreen and The Hollies is second to none but they provide that care, in spite of the chronic under investment made by our council and government.

Because too many cars come zooming down the road outside the school and around the other school entrances one day there will be a fatality. There has already been several near misses and a few incidents involving children who required hospital treatment after traffic accidents.

These libraries provide a quiet place for people to study and work in peace and safety, and the books on the shelves provide a vital lifeline of education to many children across the city region. Without them, many will lose a vital part of their everyday lives!

There are charities that are doing amazing jobs getting into schools to run mental health awareness sessions but it is not regular enough or even existent in some schools. I struggled hugely growing up in school and struggled with mental health but did not know what was wrong with me until I experienced a mental breakdown at around 15 years old. I have trained with 'Mind' as a youth wellbeing trainer and delivered mental wellbeing sessions in schools and it really is needed permanently.

The continuous spread of radiation from the destroyed nuclear plants at Fukushima will not only affect those who live locally, but also many countries with coastlines on the Pacific Ocean and to a lesser degree the whole world. Therefore it is not just in the interests of the Japanese Government and TEPCO to solve the crisis, but the whole international community. On March 11th 2011 a tsunami knocked out the generators of the cooling systems of the Daiichi Nuclear power plant, resulting in explosions and three meltdowns of the reactor cores. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster

If all packaging had to be collected back by the companies selling products littering would be a thing of the past. Companies would automatically reduce packaging to a minimum and make sure they can reuse or recycle. Also everyone would be rewarded by returning packaging and getting their deposit back. This would also save millions for local councils on litter picking and landfill

sherdley park is part of our heritage,we all went there when younger and we continue to take our kids there

The future of our country

New babies and mother's are leaving hospital too early. This is affected the babies ability to learn to feed. This is potentially lethal and inhibits a new mothers confidence to continue to breast feed. Such babies miss out on the gifts that breast feeding provides such as increased immunity and decreased sensitivity to food allergens aswell as the emotional bond and comfort breast feeding provides.

Since the introduction of the Care Act, many local authorities are reassessing people's ability to pay for their own care and/or support. My daughter relies on her support worker to help her to live independently. For the last 6 years she has received funding from the Local Authority to pay a support worker to help her cook meals, shop, keep her flat clean, deal with correspondence, go to medical appointments and get out and about. Without any warning or discussion, it stopped on the same day she was visited to 'check' she was receiving the right amount of benefits. A subsequent letter informed her that after the general living allowance was deducted from her benefits, there was enough income left to pay for her own care. The Government 'say' that she needs £x amount to live on then our Local Authority say she can live on less than half the benefit amount. It is very wrong and very soon you will be talking to someone who is affected by these assessments (parents of disabled adults, people with aging parents and/or people who need care). Please support this campaign to force Local Authorities to ignore disability benefits when assessing people's ability to pay for their own care so they can exercise choice and control over their lives.