Parliament declared a Climate Emergency over a year ago - and still not enough is being done to stop the worst effects of the climate crisis - in the UK and across the world. The Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill, which already has the support of 70+ MPs, calls for the UK to make and enact a serious plan to cut our emissions, protect our nature, and give ordinary people a real say on the way forward, through a citizens’ assembly. The climate and ecological crisis is the biggest threat to all life on Earth we have ever faced, it is vital we act now and this bill would be a very encouraging step. But for this Bill to stand a chance of becoming law, a majority of MPs need to support it. That’s why I am calling on our MP Rushanara Ali to please support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill. Please join me! You can find out more about the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill here: https://www.ceebill.uk/

I see on your website that you are closing our local branch Glynnneath in Feb next year. It also says that the next available bank is in Swansea 16.4miles away ......... or Measteg 9.6miles away. If you are working on these calculations, THEY ARE WRONG. IT STATES ON YOUR WEBSITE THAT OUR BRANCH IS IN NEATH AGAIN, WRONG!!! IT IS IN GLYNNEATH - over 10miles further up The Valley than NEATH. Swansea is 21miles away or 3hr round trip by bus Maesteg is 24.1 miles or a 5hr 30mins round trip by bus !! This is without waiting around for a bus to arrive. The population of our village/small town is nearly 4,300. It has a very large quota of elderly people. They do not have the ability to travel even the shortest of those choices. Most do not possess the ability to use your online facilities. They find this action of closure totally dicscriminatory against the elderly and those with mobility issues. An absolute betrayal of their loyalty to you over many years. Many do not have children living near to be able to help. This bank has been the mainstay of this village. You are the only bank of any kind left with 11miles of our village. I therefore urge you please reconsider this action. I understand that financial decisions have to be made, but, there are also moral issues here. The people of Glynneath have supported your bank for decades and feel totally abandoned at this decision. Hopefully now, you are more aware of the huge impact your decision will have on our community. Please would you reconsider your decision.

***New coal mines = climate crisis*** This mine will create 9 million tonnes of CO2 every year through coal burned in UK and European steelworks.That's three times what all the people of Cumbria produce every year [1]. It's 2% of the UK's carbon footprint, which makes it a decision of national importance. Top economists and energy experts agree that this mine cannot be 'carbon neutral' as Cumbria County Council claim, instead it will worsen the climate crisis. [2] ***Breaking the law*** The Heathrow judgement showed that the Paris Agreement [3] must be taken into account in decisions about new high-carbon projects, which is why Robert Jenrick must step in. The UK will host the UN climate summit COP26 in 2021, so starting a mega-polluting coal mine would undermine these vital talks ***No more coal for steel*** The UK's two steelworks are the biggest single-site emitters in the country[4] because of their current reliance on coal, but you can make steel without coal. The mine will lock the steel industry in the UK and Europe into using coal for decades to come, instead of switching to viable alternatives, when instead a transition to clean steel could begin right now.[5] ***The impacts on Cumbria*** The impacts of climate change fall first and hardest on communities in the global south, who are already being impacted. But Cumbria itself is also vulnerable to increasing sea level rise and flooding, which are predicted to get more severe if we don't keep global temperatures under 1.5 degrees [6]. The economic impact of the jobs the mine would provide would be far outweighed by climate impacts on the local economy. [7] As Communities Secretary, it's Robert Jenrick's job to refuse permission to projects that are harmful to communities and that conflict with the UK's international commitments on climate change. It's his job to promote alternatives that would be better for communities. We need a Green Recovery that invests in our futures, instead of being forced to rely on polluting projects for jobs. THANK YOU Learn more about the local groups leading the fight to stop this mega-polluting project: https://www.coalaction.org.uk/2020/09/07/campaigns-to-stop-woodhouse-colliery-cumbria/ REFERENCES [1] Small World Consulting: A Carbon Baseline for Cumbria https://slacc.org.uk/cumbria-carbon-baseline/ [2] UCL: Top Economists & Energy Experts claim Ministers mislead over coal & climate https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/sustainable/news/2020/sep/coal-and-climate-ministers-need-reject-misinformation-new-coal-mines [3] Heathrow Third Runway Ruled Illeagal Over Climate Change https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/27/heathrow-third-runway-ruled-illegal-over-climate-change [4] EU ETS Emissions 2019 https://ember-climate.org/project/ets-2019-release/ [5] Materials Processing Institute Report Coal & Steel June 2020 https://slacc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SLACC_Appendix-2_MPI-Report_11-06-2020.pdf [6] Areas in Cumbria that could end up underwater due to global warming https://www.lancs.live/news/local-news/areas-cumbria-could-end-up-18256314 [7] Presentation by Duncan Pollard on WCM https://slacc.org.uk/new-presentation-by-duncan-pollard-on-wcm/

This gym was built on love , and all members have given back over the years, whether it be painting, cleaning, etc . As a member I became a volunteer for many years and helped in many classes, including children with learning disabilities.

Since the 1930s, our traditional wildflower meadows have declined due to human practices - we now have a responsibility to regenerate land wherever we can; from adding natural verges, and wildflower areas to tree planting and halting the use of pesticides. If managed sensitively, the Stray can add to a local diverse and ecologically complex environment to help reverse the decline of insects, including essential pollinators.

We are currently the only school in Eastbourne with purple, it is popular with the families. The children voted for it only two years ago and it forms part of their sense of school identity. Many families have a stock of purple uniform that they hand down to younger siblings, all of which would be wasted if a new uniform is introduced, a poor example to the next generation in environmental terms. Providing parents with one jumper, one PE shirt and a bag still involves considerable outlay for parents at a time when finances are difficult for many. We believe the proposed changes to be utterly without good reason and the money spent on subsidising new items could be better spent on educational items.

“I’ve worked in social care for a long time and I love my job. Each day is different and I still find new situations that I’ve not experienced before, where I’ve had to think on my feet and adapt, in order to give the person I’m supporting their best quality of life. I believe this has made me an expert in what I do. When the first lock-down came along, I had to make a decision about how I would care for and protect my children. I am a single parent and my eldest has autism and a few other conditions which leave him with a weaker immune system. Not working wasn’t a financial option. Also, I would lose relationships with the people I support and would have felt I was letting my team down. In the end, for me to be able to continue to work and protect my children, I made the difficult decision to move my kids in with my parents. I’m highly trained and have a lot of experience behind me. The job I do is intricate, but I don’t get paid enough for the responsibilities I undertake. It’s kind of soul destroying. This is my chosen career because I want to help others, but the wage is not enough and I struggle financially. It’s not fair.” Beth The pandemic has shown just how much we rely on our nation's 1.52m care workers and the risks they take to fulfil their role to the people they support and to society. But they're not given the rate of pay that they deserve; few front-line care workers get above the national living wage. Non-profit social care providers are paid by local authorities to deliver vital support to vulnerable people. But the amount social care providers receive isn't enough to pay care workers a minimum of the Real Living Wage. We urge Government to provide additional funding to ensure care workers receive a minimum of the Real Living Wage. The Government is putting together its Build Back Better plan for social care and NHS - social care worker pay simply must be a priority. Please sign and share this petition today and show Government how much the country is behind our care workers.

A new dual carriageway is being proposed, to run from Park Square to Granville Square, behind the station through Sheaf Valley Park. It is part of a £1.5 billion scheme to develop the Sheaf Valley area of the city centre. City planners have had the gall to proclaim that this will help meet our climate targets! Although the aims for pedestrianised streets and better public transport to the front of the station are laudable, to say that a new road will reduce emissions is laughable. The carbon footprint of the building plans will be humungous. The construction industry accounts for an incredible 36% of worldwide energy usage, and 40% of our CO2 emissions. Swopping the tram tracks for dual carriageway behind the station and vice versa in front of the station will be massively expensive in terms of money, carbon emissions and disruption to the public, but will give no real improvement to the transport system. Demolishing the relatively new Cross Turner Street car park, only to rebuild it at Granville Square, is wasteful not only in money but in the carbon already embodied in the building. Any big transport plan should encourage drivers to opt for less polluting means of transport, be it tram, bus, train, bike or walking. This plan will encourage drivers to drive more. Residents in Park Hill and Norfolk Park will be faced with the pollution and noise from the new road. Sheffield Station is one of the most polluted places in the country, especially for Nitrogen Dioxide as the diesel fumes from the trains and taxis combine with the road traffic. NO2 is responsible for increasing lung problems, asthma, cancer and stillbirths. Moving the road may transfer some of this pollution away from the front of the station, but it will be closer to the residents of Park Hill and Norfolk Park. A sensible solution would stop the pollution, not move it from one place to another. The new road will cut deep into Sheaf Valley Park, presumably taking out many of the trees that have been planted in recent years. It will ruin the Amphitheatre, as the road will be so close to it that audiences will no longer be able to hear the performers. Now the survival of theatres is seriously threatened, this outdoor performing space should be greatly valued. Open-air performances are far safer than in the theatres. The scheme is being proposed to accommodate the hugely destructive HS2 project. This is set to destroy 108 ancient woodlands and almost 700 wildlife sites. As well as costing the UK taxpayer well over £200 billion, the high-speed rail project is causing extensive and irreversible damage to the environment and will be a vast new source of carbon emissions for at least the next 120 years. The money would be far better spent on improving local transport, making it sensible for commuters to leave their cars at home. Don’t let HS2 ruin Sheaf Valley Park. References Plans http://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/documents/s38895/Midland%20Station%20Development%20Framework%20Summary.pdf The construction industry accounts for an incredible 36% of worldwide energy usage, and 40% of CO2 emissions. https://www.british-assessment.co.uk/insights/what-is-sustainable-construction-and-why-is-it-important/ Recycle and reuse buildings to curb climate change, the report insists https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2020/02/recyle-and-reuse-buildings-to-curb-climate-change-report-insists/ Government Committee on the Medical effects of Air Pollutants https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/411756/COMEAP_The_evidence_for_the_effects_of_nitrogen_dioxide.pdf. Amphitheatre https://twitter.com/FOSVPSheffield/status/757253987175428096 HS2 Rebellion https://hs2rebellion.earth/ Stop HS2 http://stophs2.org/facts Cabinet Minutes (see point 18) http://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/documents/s40542/Minutes%2018032020%20Cabinet.pdf

John Coles Park is a lovely, central & safe environment for all users which include a large community of dog walkers who exercise their dogs on and off lead in the appropriate designated areas. This split has worked well for many years and it is disappointing that Chippenham Town Council have decided to make this decision without a full public consultation and by their own admission in their report for the Amenities, Culture & Leisure Committee meeting dated 9 September stated that the split of users who would prefer dogs on or off leads is 50/50. Although this is not an outright dog ban it does by its enforcement mean that many dog walkers will not be able to use the park to ensure their dog gets their full exercise. It will also cause issues for for those who are less able or without cars to get to places where they can let their dogs run. The majority of the regular dog walkers using the park do so twice a day most days of the years, either earlier or later in the day. Therefore, they don’t interact with the main bulk of public who use the park for socialising etc and feel unfairly treated in this matter. Also, as we are approaching winter would be the main and, in some cases, the only users of the park. Instead of this complete change in usage the signage in the park between the two areas could be much improved to educate, not only the dog walkers but also the non-dog owners as to which area is safely designated for them and the status quo can remain. Or as a compromise certain times of the day, ie a couple of hours early and a couple of hours late on could be designated as dog off lead time and the rest of the time in between dog on leads. There are lots of options that could be considered that would work for all parties without alienating one very large group of regular and loyal users. Suggestions for using other areas – Donkey Field – needs better maintenance and is a less suitable environment esp mornings for dogs of lead with the children going to school. Birds Marsh, so much more difficult to get to now that the new massive estate has been built across most of the access. Monkton Park – a little further away and more difficult to access for some. The main points are that: This decision seems to have been reached very quietly and without discussion with actual regular users of the park. Walking dogs on lead only is not suitable for a large proportion of the dogs currently walked in the park. Dogs on lead can actually become more stressed and more likely to act aggressively. There are no other similar local environments that are as safe to let dogs off lead. Please sign this petition if you would like this decision reversed or at least reconsidered fully and with the input of all park users. Please also petition your local councillor and Chippenham Town Council if you feel strongly about this and have other points to add. Many thanks

This is important because there is a very little amount of public entertainment in the local area. Building a skatepark would bring new people into the village and would help the local stores by bringing in new customers. A skatepark provides endless hours of entertainment for all.

All NHS Trusts across England should allow birth partners to support mothers throughout their whole pregnancy and birth. The government has made it clear that during the coronavirus crisis, birth partners are allowed to be present during pregnancy appointments and the birth. But still, a huge number of trusts in England are preventing birth partners from attending all of the big moments in the pregnancy: the 12-week scan, the 20-week scan and the duration of labour. This means that some mothers are going through birth alone, finding out that they’ve suffered a miscarriage, or that something is wrong during the pregnancy, with no one there to support them. No one should have to go through that alone. It shouldn’t matter where you live in the country - every mother should have access to the same support during pregnancy and birth.

For the 2nd time in 6 years a planning application for an 18-hole international golf course threatens Coul Links, within Loch Fleet Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Loch Fleet & Dornoch Firth Special Protection Area (SPA) & Ramsar wetland. Councillors approved of this Groundhog application by a whisker on 6 Dec 2023, but Scottish Government called it in on 8 Feb 2024 for review. The Screening Request was from a councillor on behalf of a defunct football club, but Scoping & Full application were adopted by an astroturfing & greenwashing stalking horse, Communities for Coul (C4C), purporting to represent local populace (see Updates ↓ of 16 June 2021 & 27 Aug 2023) but representing golf & tourism interests in coastal Sutherland, appointing same developer, applicant of 1st failed planning application, & intending to dissolve! The 2023 golf course plan is similar to the ‘environmentally friendly’ design of previous Coul Links Ltd planning saga, first mooted in Oct 2015, approved almost unanimously by councillors, but refused in 2020 after Scottish Government intervention. The decision followed crucial objection by government agency Scottish Natural Heritage (now NatureScot); recommended refusal by Highland Council’s Planning Officer; 1864 planning objections, a campaign by Buglife, Butterfly Conservation, Marine Conservation Society, National Trust for Scotland, Plantlife, RSPB, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Ramblers, Scotways & Not Coul (all objecting again); a Wembley Stadium capacity 38Degrees petition https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/conserve-coul-links-for-nature-not-golf-1 (please sign); & 4 weeks of Public Local Inquiry, whose Report recommended refusal.   Scottish Ministers summarised in Feb 2020: “Reporters have concluded that the harmful impacts of this development to protected habitats & species would outweigh the potential socio-economic benefits. This proposal does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Highland Wide Local Development Plan & runs contrary to Scottish planning policy’s emphasis on protecting natural heritage sites & world class environmental assets. The Scottish Government has considered the reporter’s findings carefully & agree with the recommendation that planning permission should be refused”.   The developer to re-emerge is Mike Keiser of Bandon Dunes Oregon, Cabot Nova Scotia (NS) & Cabot Highlands UK. He was a funder of Heartland climate change denial Institute https://littlesis.org/person/42895-Michael_Keiser & doesn’t have an impeccable conservation record in Oregon: https://oregoncoastalliance.org/bandon-dunesbiota-bulldoze-roads-and-dig-bore-holes-in-bandon-state-natural-area/. Cabot NS failed to obtain a lease to convert wild protected public dunes to a golf course: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/west-mabou-beach-provincial-park-cabot-golf-tory-rushton-1.6817243. The only substantial improvement to the previous course design is abandonment of the major juniper translocation experiment within the SSSI. Assertions common to both planning applications & their inadequate Environmental Impact Assessments were refuted by Inquiry. One is that golf will only impact 1% of the SSSI, which is predominantly tidal estuary & contains substantial areas of beach, saltmarsh & native pinewood. This ignores effects of retreating coastline, expanding wetlands, golf management & disturbance beyond constructed tees & greens of biopoverty lawns, & intensively mown fairways, & effects of habitat fragmentation on ecological integrity. Tees & greens would be excavated, recontoured, turfed with amenity grassland, fertilised & irrigated. Fairways, ostensibly to preserve biodiversity & naturalness, would be mown weekly during growing season, compacting irregular topography & gradually reducing any sward to the most mower & trampling-tolerant (from 25,000 rounds per annum) grasses & mosses, with no opportunity for surviving herbs to flower. Dune heath, chiefly of heathers, mosses & lichens, with sparser & tussocky grasses, would be obliterated by mowing, leaving habitat susceptible to more wind erosion than desirable. Mowing would nowhere produce a world-class playing surface & eroded areas would likely be patched up with introduced grasses, & 'weeds' treated with herbicide. C4C claims that golf development is the only way to fund conserving Coul Links for nature, with golf management ending management neglect (by the landowner, a 2017 developer), initiating removal of ‘invasive’ species. This is untrue, as a land management agreement with NatureScot has commenced & funds are available for future work. Gorse, birches, Bracken, Meadowsweet & Burnet Rose are all perceived by the development team as undesirables to be severely controlled, despite their collectively supporting numerous insects & some nesting birds. While some control of first three species is desirable to preserve more valuable habitats, they are all natural & native components of dune vegetation. Bracken supports Stonechats & insects including: https://butterfly-conservation.org/sites/default/files/habitat-bracken-for-butterflies.pdf. Coul Links is one of the most biodiverse & intact dune habitat systems surviving in Scotland, where much has already been lost to golf. Naturalness, supported by size, is a chief criterion for SSSI evaluation & selection. Golf would destroy that integrity. 50% of the anticipated market for Coul Links golf would be from USA, jetting to Scotland to contribute to climate warming emissions & coastal erosion. DPEA Hearing: Scottish Government - DPEA - Case Details (scotland.gov.uk) Planning: https://wam.highland.gov.uk/wam/ ref. 23/00580/FUL Not Coul: https://notcoul.org/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bnm7krCGoGQ&t=4s Coastal Erosion Crisis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_Zpr6c1elI&list=LL Information: https://www.coullinksgolf.com/ Coul photos: https://twitter.com/VisitGroatbury/status/1636675680938217472 'Community' propaganda: https://www.communities4coul.scot/