Southern Water seek to gain Michael Gove’s approval to increase river abstraction to levels NEVER SEEN BEFORE. Climate change is exacerbating the situation. We desperately need alternative & timely options to supply public water. The internationally rare English chalk stream riverine habitats & their wildlife are now under severe threat from over abstraction, especially in times of drought. This could prove catastrophic for species such as the genetically unique chalk stream salmon, sea trout, or Hampshire’s last population of the rare native crayfish, let alone the rivers themselves & the livelihoods that depend upon them. We must stop Southern Water using a Public Inquiry to gain Michael Gove’s approval to increase river abstraction to potentially catastrophic and reprievable levels. They intend to sidestep the correct procedure and ride roughshod over our public bodies, which are there to safeguard our environment. Challenging Natural England’s advice & the EA's sustainable licensing to increase abstraction to ruinous levels on our precious chalk streams, in order to meet their corporate goals – profit. We desperately need alternative, sustainable and timely options to supply public water. Action NOW is essential to ensure our rivers are properly protected in the future. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Hampshire Wildlife Trust, Natural England, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Hampshire, Salmon & Trout Conservation, Wild Trout Trust, Test and Itchen Association, Angling Trust and Fish Legal, and the Wessex Chalk streams and Rivers Trust, all oppose Southern Water’s position. HOW? Beginning 13th March, Southern Water through public inquiry are asking Michael Gove (Secretary of State) to approve their increased abstraction plans directly. If upheld, this will by-pass the normal procedures for obtaining an abstraction licence, and will not involve full public consultation including direct and fair engagement with river owners and users - an absolutely CRUCIAL involvement as there is so much at stake in these very complex decisions. SW are using ‘strong arm’ tactics in the Inquiry to make the EA use their legal powers to force river owners and users to co-operate. Some of these proposed actions are highly emotive and again deny the public the fair right to comment. WHAT OTHER DAMAGE COULD THIS CAUSE? Increasing populations and housing in Hampshire are greater than our natural water resources can now sustain. Demand has already exceeded the capacity our rivers and aquifers can supply. So at a time of water scarcity, on already over abstracted rivers, the threat is that SWS customers will be literally sucking the life out of the rivers Candover, Itchen and Test. This will deplete the river flows to levels that will devastate the natural aquatic environment. People will be watering their gardens as the flow of these rivers falls to dangerously unprecedented levels. Is this what people would want if they knew about it? THE SOLUTION - As we speak, Southern Water are preparing to publish a 'draft Water resources management plan' (and Drought Plan) for public consultation. They claim their plans will have a bold vision, with ambitious and innovative ways to secure the necessary alternative sources of supply to enable the Environment Agency’s licence changes to be made. These alternatives will be costly and include trading with Portsmouth Water, Havant Thicket Reservoir and a desalination plant in the Solent. That is what it will take to protect our Chalk streams from over abstraction. HOWEVER, SOUTHERN WATER WILL ONLY IMPLEMENT THESE AMBITIOUS NEW PLANS IF IT LOSES THE INQUIRY! If it wins then it may well in likelihood implement a shadow version... This Inquiry is Southern Water’s last-ditch attempt to cling onto its 40-year-old business model of over exploiting our chalk streams – one that generates a healthy profit margin at huge expense to the environment. TO CONCLUDE - No more stalling by this corporate Leviathan, which is investing large amounts of bill payers’ money on scientific models not fit for purpose to prove their 'case'. Instead they should be working together with and not against NGO’s, stakeholders, their clients and you the people to find alternative water supplies that will safeguard our rivers for generations to come. Please help support the EA's and NE's efforts to protect our rivers by signing our petition to ensure that Southern Water Services take note of their customers’ concerns for the sustainability and protection of these British gems. Many Thanks, Jim & Howard. "The proposed increase in water abstraction from the Test, Itchen & Candover will have a serious, if not disastrous, effect on the delicate balance of this unique ecosystem. We obviously need to meet the water needs of our ever-expanding population but there are less harmful ways to do this. The true chalk streams are only found in Britain (apart from a small presence in Normandy); we are custodians of these precious jewels & we owe it to our children and grandchildren not to undermine them" PAUL WHITEHOUSE - Comedian & fisherman. SW's turnover last year was approx £800 million, with a profit of more than £250 million. Their divis to corporate shareholders were somewhere over £100 million. Thankfully their operations and behaviour are now being scrutinised. See BBC news: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43139857 Documents for the public enquiry - http://www.hwa.uk.com/projects/itchen-candover-and-testwood-water-abstraction-inquiry/ Photo by Charles Rangeley Wilson

its the heart and soul of the community of reddish. we should encourage people to swim for its health benefits,

At Yarl's Wood IRC in Bedfordshire 120 inmates are currently on hunger strike on these issues and others. The poor care at Brook House IRC has been exposed on Panorama. Detainees in IRCs are among the most vulnerable people in Britain. They require our support.

The Derbyshire Unemployed Workers’ Centre (DUWC) received a grant of more than £41,000 annually and a further £50,000 from Public Health to carry out tribunal representation work for people challenging decisions by the Department for Work and Pensions regarding benefit reductions and withdrawals. But the funding from the County Council will come to an end on March 31. Colin Hampton, co-ordinator of the centres for the past 33 years, said: “DUWC, irrespective of who is in government, gives a voice to those who come to seek our help." “You would think those in power would welcome this feedback but it appears that this authority would rather not hear what they have to say." “The centres have many funding streams and even more supporters. We will be embarking on a massive fundraising campaign to bridge the gap left by the Council’s cynical move.” Thousands of Derbyshire residents use the service, which has offices throughout the county. It also comes at a time when the centres are dealing with the full digital roll out of universal credit. Please visit our website for more information about the service: http://www.duwc.org.uk/

Renters in Edinburgh are struggling. Year in, year out rents go up far faster than wages, and it is reaching a breaking point. Edinburgh City Council has the power to designate areas as so-called ‘rent pressure zones’ and bring in rent controls, to stop landlords ripping tenants off for poor-quality housing. It’s time for them to use these powers.

The Scottish Government is currently promoting the increase of forestry by awarding huge sums of money through the Forestry Grant Scheme. But this is being abused by some landowners. Currently landlords are in a position to legally evict tenants, who are in non-secure leases through no fault of their own, and then obtain large sums of money from the Scottish public purse to plant trees on viable agricultural land. Every farm unit that closes means a loss of livelihood to the tenants, a loss of tenant farmers for Scotland, a loss of farming diversity in a country with the most concentrated pattern of land ownership in the developed world, and a loss of people, skills and trade for fragile rural economies. I first became aware of this when good friends who had farmed as managers for a previous tenant for 8 years, and a further 10 years in their own right, were abruptly told that their lease would not be renewed and their farming ground would be turned over to trees. I have witnessed at first hand how their lives have been devastated. All attempts to negotiate an extension have been handled appallingly by the landlord's estate and even the intervention of MSPs, the new Land Commission, and the local Tenants Association, have failed to halt the imminent eviction.

Wolsingham is a market town in Weardale in the west of County Durham. There has been a secondary school in Wolsingham, serving the Dale and beyond, since 1614. Children of the area have always been able to continue their education to the sixth form and Wolsingham School has consistently had good results. Some families have seen generations of children attend Wolsingham School. Wolsingham School is currently in the top five performing schools in the county and lies in an area of outstanding natural beauty. A recent refurbishment has provided state of the art facilities. The provision of sixth form education in Weardale is particularly important for children who live in the upper Dale, who face significant hardship and long travel times to suitable alternative sixth form providers. Some children will be required to travel for almost four hours per day and will then have to find time to study. Wolsingham School is more than a school. It is central to the sustainability and vibrancy of Weardale, a rural area covering around 200 square miles. As well as catering for the children of established Dales families, the school brings new settlers into the area in search of a rural lifestyle and a good education for their children. Of course, the entire infrastructure of Weardale depends on a stable population – shops, businesses, GP surgery, pubs and restaurants – and a threat to the school is a threat to the very life of the Dale itself. The Board of Governors has taken the decision without prior consultation with parents, students or the wider community, to suspend the sixth form for two years, from 2018 to 2020. Although this is reported to be temporary, closing the sixth form will lead to student numbers declining in favour of applications to schools with access to on site sixth form facilities. Indeed, parents are already choosing to take their children out of Wolsingham School. The Board of Governors can, and indeed should, overturn its decision. If Governors believe that suspension of Wolsingham's sixth form facility is a viable option then this should only happen after a major consultation exercise. We, the parents and wider community are passionate about protecting our school and ask the Board of Governors of Wolsingham School to: 1. Overturn the decision to suspend the sixth form; 2. Undertake a meaningful, open, inclusive and far-reaching consultation programme to present a range of options for the school to the Dales community; 3. Work with the parents and wider community to tackle the very specific issues facing the school to ensure its survival for generations to come.

This is the follow on from the Southern Link Road, which was always a stealth precursor to the bypass plans. We will be updating this with more info in the coming days, meanwhile tell all your friends and relatives to get on board with this new campaign specially if your property is affected. Highways England have said "under current guidance the building of new road infrastructure could only be justified in policy terms when other avenues such as travel planning and sustainable travel modes had been developed and shown not to address the transport needs and issues identified" (2014). Following public consultation in 2017, Herefordshire Council acknowledged that "improving pedestrian and cycling routes were a priority" for respondents, and that "more reliable and quicker bus journeys were among the top five improvements that should be made a priority in Hereford". One may legitimately ask why they are not acting on this feedback. They obviously have a different agenda that doesn't fit with the electorate's views. We have been aware of the presence of way too many traffic light controls which rather than facilitating smooth transit around the city, are badly timed to seemingly snarl the city traffic on a daily basis ... 18 sets of lights on one junction being the perfect illustration of our point, and if you're a pedestrian you need to be amazingly nimble ... not a city for the weak and slow. We also doubt there is anyone out there who believes this next item was a right way to behave ... Apologies don't cut it when people's homes and lives are at stake. PEOPLE living on the proposed routes of Hereford’s new bypass were not given notice that their houses could be demolished. Many of the residents living on Kings Acre Road only discovered their homes were in the firing line of the western bypass when they saw reports in the Hereford Times or were told by neighbours. http://www.herefordtimes.com/news/15998820.Hereford_residents_left_in_the_dark_about_proposed_bypass_through_their_street/

The Arundel skate park is small and the ground is rough with cracks in it. The ramps are made with metal which is slippery and loud. Benefits of a better skate park: 1. Kids and teens do not have much in the way of recreation facilities in Arundel. This can cause them not to get out as much and maybe stay and in using electronics and computer games too much. 2. Many kids want to learn how to skate but a rough and small skate park can discourage them from learning new skills. 3. Skating can help people make friends and socialise outside of school. 4. A refurbished and improved skate park will go hand in hand with a better recreation area and playing field, both of which are long overdue renovation and redesign.

Our local Nottingham hospitals, the Queens Medical Centre (QMC) and the Nottingham City Hospital (NCH), are struggling to provide patients with adequate care at acceptable standards. Waiting times at A&E are rising, there is a shortage of beds and many patients are either bed ‘blocking’ due to lack of suitable accommodation to move on to, or being discharged prematurely. The same is true of most hospitals throughout England.At the same time NUH Senior Management are demanding hard-pressed and overworked staff members make more cost-saving cuts in the care they provide. This is probably impossible without a drastic deterioration in the standard of patient care. Organised by Nottingham & Notts Keep Our NHS Public through 38 Degrees. Your personal information will be kept private and held securely. By submitting information you are agreeing to us keeping you informed about Nottingham & Notts Keep Our NHS Public campaigns. For further info please contact [email protected]

For everyone living, working and commuting in argyll and bute, the A83 is a very large part of it. But the state of it needs fixing ASAP before people start to needlessly die as a result. It may sound a bit harsh but it is the truth. Even the road outside my house has 6 potholes in it, which is just a fraction of the total amount on fairly small road. The A83 is over 100 miles of running a gauntlet. The Government have already stated that they are going to reduce the budget for road repairs over the coming years when we still have over £1 billion back log of repairs. I have personally almost died on this treacherous road and I have lost count of how many accidents have happened. It is now at a point where something needs to be done before incidents occur that could have been avoided. We need as many signatures as possible to get this to Parliament and a minimum of 10,000. Lets make the difference

Protect the 10 overnight nursing beds at Babington hospital. Babington Hospital faces closure. This means up to 18 beds for rehabilitation, palliative and end-of-life care are being lost. The Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) claim that the nursing beds will be provided at Ashbourne, Ripley and Ilkeston. This presents immense problems for people who have to travel. Furthermore there are questions about capacity and there is no guarantee that these beds will remain available. The strategy is to cut 535 beds across the county in the NHS. There has been no full, open and public consultation over the closures of Babington hospital and the loss of nursed beds. Make no mistake. These nursing beds will be lost if we do not object now. Please make your voice heard by completing the questionnaire in the link below. There is little room for expression other than using the free text box at the end to reject the Engagement Process and call for a full public consultation: http://www.southernderbyshireccg.nhs.uk/have-your-say/engagements/belper-health-services/