Jane wrote to her MP, Cherilyn Mackrory (Truro and Falmouth) to object to the illegality and inhumanity of the despicable ‘illegal migration’ bill. We are publishing the cut and paste letter she received in response and then her own final, infuriated and exasperated reply. She emailed us, saying: ‘Dear team, I’m so incensed by the […]
Bournemouth residents today joined Extinction Rebellion Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole (XR BCP), who gathered at Horseshoe Common while chanting and ringing bells. The group cycled around Bournemouth in a mass bike ride, in support of better sustainable transport infrastructure. Cars were slowed by the procession cycling around Bournemouth centre, while protesters carried placards and flags […]
As a young man I took a holiday in the West Country in my van, carrying a small home-built sailing boat, looking for beaches and slipways from which to access the endless ocean. The map showed a slipway in one small town on a beautiful Cornish estuary, so I headed off the main road and […]
Chris Packham lends Dorset campaigners his support for local ‘COP’, urging Dorset attendees to ‘shout above the noise for the future of humanity’. Three of Dorset’s leading climate action groups have come together to organise a pioneering event with the aim of spurring the local community into urgent action to combat the threats posed by […]
We are currently living under a regime which is happily removing rights willy-nilly and, in most cases, appearing to get away with it. It seems that most people are quite relaxed about the fact that a child born in England (specifically) today has fewer rights than one born 13 years ago. That should bother all […]
West Country Voices will have a permanent presence and drop in, chill out space in the Ship Studio throughout the festival between 10:00 and 20:00. Come and see us! Look out for our banners. NB: the festival is sold out. It is not possible to get in without a ticket. Friday 14: 17:00 Michael Young […]
Two women from the South West were among a group of campaigners at the Supreme Court last month fighting to ensure that fossil fuel developments are not given planning permission without a proper assessment of their climate impacts. Sarah Finch, from Exeter, fronted the case on behalf of a network of campaigners called the Weald […]
The banks have gone, post offices are closing, your minor injuries unit might be shut, your library closed or desperately trying to hang in there and if you don’t have a smartphone you can’t park the car that is your lifeline because there’s no reliable bus service. Welcome to the real world of rural living, […]
On Friday 14 July at 19:15, we will be hosting a panel event to be live-streamed from the Byline Festival, which is being held for the first time at Dartington Hall. The theme? Dartmoor’s future from political, agricultural, societal and environmental perspectives. Your panel for the evening: Caroline Voaden: the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for […]
Plastic Free July is an initiative of the Plastic Free Foundation, originally started inAustralia in 2011 and which has now spread worldwide. One of its core values is that “small changes add up to a big difference”. So, how about resolving to further reduce your ‘consumption’ of single-use plastic packaging? Start with baby steps and […]
We import nearly 50 per cent of all our food in the UK …. and yet waste one-third of it. Food waste alone, if it were a country, would be the world’s third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions after China and the United States, and the way our food is produced is a major […]
Environmental campaigners from across Dorset met on Sunday June 11, to protest about the continued extraction of oil in Poole Harbour by Perenco. Daniel Glennon from Extinction Rebellion Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (XR BCP), said that “local groups from Wimborne (XRW), Purbeck (XRP), and Dorchester, Weymouth and Portland (XR DWP), supported the event, demonstrating against […]
Vote for the Changemaker of the Year Award! Voting is open from 12 June to 17 June. ‘The Changemaker of the Year Award celebrates devoted volunteers, individuals or groups who have gone above and beyond their role working in National Parks. Their passion is unmatched and their dedication to a future where National Parks and […]
Dear Sir Conor, The topic of my letter to you today is constitutional overreach by the government. I have long been concerned by recent governments’ excessive use of Henry VIII powers and statutory instruments (S.I.), allowing ministers to make rules that govern us all without proper democratic scrutiny by our elected representatives. Imagine my horror […]
Following their successful march to Perenco’s Wytch Farm facility in Dorset, environmental campaigners Extinction Rebellion are returning to Poole Quay this Sunday, June 11 from 12:30. On this, their third family friendly protest, they will gather to demand that Perenco’s operating permits and license be revoked as the risk that Perenco’s extraction poses to the […]
*** UPDATE *** Last month, we reported on the efforts of developers to push through the controversial Hospital Cross development on greenfield land on the outskirts of Helston, in the teeth of strong local opposition and after planning permission for the site had been turned down. Following a meeting of the Downsland Trust (the charity […]
When news broke of the destruction of some 136 mature trees in central Plymouth in March 2023, I was unimpressed by reports of local council plans to replace them with semi-mature trees and claims of an increase in local biodiversity as part of the new development. I’m not knowledgeable about trees or arboriculture, but I […]
I was beginning to despair about the state of our politics and voter apathy. The multiple assaults on democracy, the poor, the environment and the truth perpetrated by successive governments under Johnson, Truss and Sunak, voted in by a minority, have left our democracy looking very weak indeed. Many have tuned out of politics altogether. […]
Gyllyngvase Beach in Falmouth is renowned for sand, rockpools and clean water – at least that’s what the locals and tourists expect to find when they visit. In recent years, however, would-be paddlers and swimmers at Gylly have been met by the products of a nearby Combined Sewage Overflow (CSO). These include everything you’d expect […]
People understand sewage. It stinks. So does the system that has allowed privatised water companies to make huge profits while failing to upgrade our sewage treatment system. Over the last eleven years the companies have paid out £16.8 billion in dividends while sewage discharges continue to be unacceptably high. Graphic pictures of raw sewage spilling […]
I was recently invited onto the board of trustees of an inclusive cycling charity called Wheels for Wellbeing, which is doing amazing work, changing attitudes and the road network, to make it safer for everyone who cycles, regardless of ability or disability. I had to go to London for a meeting with the other trustees; […]
One year ago today, I submitted a major complaint to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council (BCP). The full case touches on potential negligence, misconduct, corruption & perhaps even breach of law. I’ve chased many times, & met with senior BCP officers. But a year later, BCP has failed to respond at all. This defies reason. […]
If you are incensed by the water companies pumping sewage into our rivers, waterways and seas and bitterly resent the fact that WE, the consumer, will be paying for them to clean it up, then join a protest! The water companies have been making huge profits, which they have partially distributed to shareholders, and paying […]
The head teacher of a Devon primary school wrote to us as follows: Since the first lockdown in March 2020, leaders and governors in our school have prioritised the mental health and emotional wellbeing of children, staff and families, recognising the far-reaching consequences of the pandemic for all members of our school community. We have […]
A number of local newspapers, including the Totnes Times and Ivybridge Today, published excerpts of a letter by the Stars are for Everyone (SAFE) campaign group to Totnes MP, Anthony Mangnall, complaining of bias and the “gaslighting of constituents” in his article published in the Totnes Times in February. SAFE invited Mr Magnall MP to […]
Not a single arrest of climate, ecological and societal crises protesters: a report from the front line at Extinction Rebellion’s (XR) United Action, April 2023 I and around 50 others from North Devon and Torridge attended the massive climate and ecological crisis event in London, on 20-24 April 2023. This report is from the XR […]
The Conservatives are now criminalising peaceful protesters for no more than demanding that we follow the science and stop drilling for new oil and gas. What are people supposed to do when their Government ignores the world’s scientific experts who say we are ‘firmly on track to an unlivable world’? Would you sit meekly on […]
Editor’s note: Bayside Restaurant was funded by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, ostensibly to pilot the feasibility of beachfront eateries. It was open on the seafront, between Bournemouth and Boscombe piers, for just one month in August 2022. From the start, it was dogged with controversy, first about the poor quality of service and […]
Campaigners call for Poole Harbour oil leak company Perenco to lose its operating permits and licence. Support the rally to end fossil fuel extraction in the county. On 26 March 2023, we woke to the news that 200 barrels of oily liquid had leaked into Poole Harbour, causing extensive pollution and endangering the health of […]
Four years after its first election, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP) faces another day of reckoning on May 4, 2023. Since the 2019 poll that formed this new, unitary authority, BCP has had two administrations, three leaders, three votes of no confidence, racked up record debts, achieved national infamy, flirted with insolvency, and even […]