|
Letter from Green Councillor Lindsay Southcombe
published in Western Morning News 4th March
 |
Dear Western Morning News,
You appear to have a somewhat ambivalent opinion of walking. You understandably express concern that a Royal Society of Arts study reveals that some middle-class parents have concerns about taking their children on country walks, in case they get muddy, tired or lost (WMN 23.02.10).
|
This is, indeed, concerning given that we have rising levels of childhood obesity and may be raising a generation who will have reduced ability to assess risk and negotiate their environs. Recent studies have also shown that outdoor play boosts a young child's brain development and gives them a better sense of well-being and confidence.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Letter to the Editor of the Cornish Guardian from Roger Creagh-Osborne
Congratulations to Kevin Lavery on seeing the light over Newquay Airport
Dear Sir
Could I offer my congratulations to the Chief Executive of Cornwall Council, Kevin Lavery on his recent 'Road to Damascus' moment with regard to the prospects for Newquay Airport. To remind readers, he said in a briefing "The original business plan was over-confident. The airport will always remain a small regional facility and on its own will probably never make a profit."
Quite a climb down from the hyperbole of the flawed draft masterplan published little over a year ago. As predicted by Bob Egerton and the Groundswell report on the airport at that time, passenger numbers have declined by over 20% and there is no evidence of any net economic benefit to Cornwall; rather the reverse.
Hopefully Mr Lavery is now getting ready for the next step of his volte face and preparing to admit that the millions of pounds of our money that continues to be poured into the airport has been entirely wasted, and he will announce that council taxpayer support for the airport will now be withdrawn.
Roger Creagh-Osborne
|
|
Letter to the Editor of the West Briton from Ian Wright
Cornwall faces an Exodus of our young people unless something is done about unaffordable housing.
I totally support Kate Tregunna’s letter to the West Briton (House prices remain out of reach of average earners; WB 18/2/2010) House prices in Cornwall are nothing short of scandalous, and are totally unaffordable for many people living here, particularly the young and those who have to get by on the minimum wage.
Housing development in Cornwall must focus on the needs to the local population . Too many developments aim at people who already own their own homes, and/ or those moving down to Cornwall. Meanwhile too many local people have to pay high rents for substandard housing and /or cannot afford to get on to the housing ladder in the first place.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Press Release from West Cornwall Green Party
Monday 22nd February 2010
Justice is Theme of Green Conference
Tim Andrewes, the Green Party’s parliamentary candidate for the St Ives constituency, attended the Party’s spring conference in north London last weekend, and has welcomed a raft of new policies that were agreed.
A strong theme running through the event concerned justice for ordinary citizens. New policies were agreed to curb excessive pay and bankers’ bonuses, to increase patient power within the NHS, and to defend civil liberties in the face of the growing power of the state.
Tim Andrewes commented: ‘One of the most inspiring sessions at the conference looked at how unequal our society has become. The gap between rich and poor has continued to widen under this government. This inequality is causing ill-health, increased crime, family and community breakdown.
‘Here in West Cornwall, the impact of inequality can be seen most starkly in the housing sector, where many people cannot afford to rent a home, while thousands of houses, owned by the wealthy, stand empty or underused for much of the year.
‘The Green Party has a number of policies to tackle inequality, including a fair system of taxation that would narrow the gap between rich and poor.’
The conference considered a number of other issues, including fisheries and marine conservation, creeping privatisation in the health service, and support for a ‘Robin Hood’ tax on international financial transactions.
|
|
Green Policy Supported By Fuel Poverty Expert
 |
Euan McPhee, Green Party’s candidate for Camborne and Redruth, has welcomed the message delivered at a recent lecture on fuel poverty at the Tremough Campus.
The lecture was given by Dr Brenda Boardman of Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute and a former government energy policy expert. She stated that 5 million UK homes are currently in fuel poverty, and are unable to afford to heat their homes effectively. This is leading to as many as 45,000 excess winter deaths per year.
|
“The Government has set itself the target of removing these 5 million households from fuel poverty by 2016,” says Euan. “So how will this be achieved? The Winter Fuel Supplement has been one way, but such a policy misses many of the really needy people. Also, just handing out more money for people to burn more fuel does not tackle the underlying problem of poor quality housing with low standards of energy performance.”
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Letter to the Editor of the West Briton from Ian Wright, 15th February
Council staff disciplined by bosses / £200, 000pa council chief heads expenses list. One rule for one, and another for the rest of the staff..........?
I could not help but darkly chuckle when comparing the contents of two articles in last week's West Briton. On page 2 we read that 78 staff have been disciplined by Cornwall Council in the last year, and on page 4 we read of Kevin Lavery, the council's Chief Executive, who has claimed over £10,000 in expenses in his first 9 months, despite his £200,000 salary. Maybe I pick on Mr Lavery unfairly as other senior officers in the organisation do not fare too well in their expenses claims according to your report.
It is just a shame that your editorial staff did not decide to juxtapose the two articles to amplify the irony-particularly as you note there were no cases of disciplinary action taken in the Chief Executive's department.
|
|
Read more...
|
Greens Highlight Housing Backlog
The Green Party has today called for urgent investment in social housing to tackle the lack of affordable homes in Cornwall.
The call comes in response to a new report by the housing charity, Shelter, which analyses the gap between social housing need and provision in local authorities across England. The report reveals that, on current trends, it would take Cornwall more than eleven years to clear the backlog on its housing waiting list.
Cornwall’s backlog is within the worst 25% of all English local authorities, a reflection of the persistently high pressures on housing in the region.
 |
St Ives parliamentary candidate Tim Andrewes commented:
‘Shelter’s research demonstrates just what an uphill task faces us in Cornwall if local housing needs are to be met. The Green Party supports calls for more investment in social housing. The money spent would not only help provide much needed homes, but would also stimulate the construction industry in this time of recession.’
|
The Green Party is highlighting the housing issue as part of its campaign to promote its policies on social issues and fairness. In the run-up to last autumn’s Pre-Budget Report, the Party called for a £6 billion programme of council house building, along with initiatives to bring empty homes back into use and support housing co-operatives.ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Tim Andrewes 01736 795387 or 07815 441490
Tamsyn Williams 01736 795695
The figures for Cornwall have been aggregated from the district totals.
Details of the Shelter report can be seen at:
http://england.shelter.org.uk/news/december_2009/over_10_years_to_clear_waiting_lists |
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 1 of 2 |
News
