Tag: county

Anti-cuts events from Monday 31st Jan 2011 and into February and March – mainly Nottingham & Notts [updated as new events come in]

picture of a diary to add the following anti-cuts dates toHere is advance notice of (mostly local or regional) anti-cuts events we know about from Monday 31st Jan 2011. These will be added to as more events are announced so please revisit this page. See also: Budget consultation events: Nottingham City Council from 31st Jan until 10th Feb.. Also take a look at our Recent Events, Comments and Twitter feed columns for more info and comments.

Monday 31st Jan – “1 million green jobs”, 7:00–8:30 pm. Friends Meeting House, St Helen’s Street, Derby DE1 3GY.
Details: https://nottssos.org.uk/2011/01/18/one-million-climate-jobs-now-solving-the-economic-and-environmental-crises-public-meeting-in-derby-on-31st-jan-2011/.

Tuesday 1st February. What’s happened to the Big Society? An open meeting to be addressed by Andrew Redfern, Chief Executive, Framework – the umbrella organization for the homeless in Nottingham and Notts. Hosted by St Barnabas’ Cathedral Justice & Peace Group. All welcome! Time/Date: 7.30pm – 9pm, Venue: St Barnabas Cathedral, McGuiness Room, Derby Rd, Nottingham, NG1 5AE. Details: httphttps://nottssos.org.uk/2011/01/18/whats-happened-to-the-big-society-open-meeting-on-1st-feb-2011/

Saturday 5th Feb – National Read-In event. Events being organised in Nottingham & Notts on the day include a read-in at Beeston library. Others include Stapleford and Sneinton. All start at 11am.

Saturday 7th Feb Regular Notts SOS planning meeting. Monday 7th February 2011, at ICC/YMCA, 7.30-9.15pm. Fortnightly, but check website for next meeting on 21st as venue may be changed.

Saturday 12th Feb – Anti-academy schools stall in Rushcliffe. Details to be announced. Previous meeting in Broxtowe: https://nottssos.org.uk/2011/01/05/fighting-academies-in-nottingham-and-nottinghamshire-broxtowe-meeting-thursday-6-january-2011/

Saturday 12th Feb – Mansfield SOS demo. March/Protest/Rally. Starts ‘Feather’ 11am. Short march finishes Mansfield Market Place for rally, 11.10am. Download leaflet [Word] [PDF] & poster [Word] [PDF]

Saturday 19th Feb – Keep The Post Public. CWU demo. Date: Saturday 19th February 2011. Assemble from 1pm (march will commence at 2pm). Place: Mail Centre, Padge Road, Beeston, Nottingham, NG9 2RR. Details: http://www.cwu.org/keep-the-post-public-march-and-rally-in-beeston-nottingham.html. See also: http://www.eclectech.co.uk/savethepostoffice.php in case anyone forgets privatisation started under Labour.

Tuesday 22th February Nottingham City Unison is organising a public protest on 12.30 in the Market Square . This is the day that the City Council Executive Board discusses and recommends the 2011/12 budget to the full council. All welcome. Public demonstration with speakers.

Wednesday 23rd Feb – Mencap Big Cuts Event, Nottingham Racecourse. One of a series of roadshow events across the country to tell people about the cuts happening in their area, and to look at ways we can work together to fight them. Details: http://www.mencap.org.uk/page.asp?id=20547. However – their aim to engage as a workfare provider as ‘Disability Works UK’ consortium seems problematic: http://wheresthebenefit.blogspot.com/2010/12/disability-works-does-it.html. If you are going to this event maybe this issue could be raised?

Thursday 24th Feb – Nottinghamshire County Council Lobby. Major lobby of County Hall, West Bridgford on the day the full council meets to set its Council Tax budget. Download Lobby flyer: Alternative to Notts County cuts lobby 24 Feb 2011

Monday 7th March – Nottingham City Council, at 2.00 pm. The City Council’s budget for 2011/12 will be considered at a meeting of the full City Council to be held at the Council House, Old Market Square, Nottingham. The agenda for the meeting will be published a week in advance and agendas for Council meetings can be viewed by following this link http://open.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/comm/goto.asp?Type=1|32. Previously, from Unison: previous article on Notts SOS. See also: http://www.nottinghamcityunison.org.uk/

Saturday 26th March – TUC ‘March for the alternative’: http://marchforthealternative.org.uk/. Put this in your diary now! London – initial details of route are here – http://marchforthealternative.org.uk/march-logistics/getting-there/.

PROTEST GROWS AGAINST LIBRARY CUTS – Beeston & Chilwell campaign report and future events including 5th Feb ‘Read-in’

Opposition to cuts to library services is growing after more than 100 people attended a public meeting in Beeston.

Protesters will gather at 11am on Saturday 5th February at Beeston Library to oppose Conservative-run Nottinghamshire County Council’s plans to reduce opening hours and to slash the new book fund by 75%.

Under the proposals, Beeston Library’s opening hours would be cut from 57 hours a week to 52, while at Inham Nook Library in Chilwell the opening hours would be cut from 20 hours to eight.

Public opposition to these plans is escalating. On Saturday 15th January more than 500 people signed a petition against the cuts during just two hours of leafleting in Beeston town centre.

More than 100 people attended a public meeting organised by the newly-formed Beeston and Chilwell Defend Library Services group (part of the wider Notts Save Our Services campaign) at College House Junior School on Thursday 20th January.

Read full story: [Word] [PDF]

Read report from public meeting: [Word] [PDF]

Beeston & Chilwell residents queue to sign petition in opposition to proposed tory county council library service cuts - photograph
Beeston & Chilwell residents queue to sign petition in opposition to proposed tory county council library service cuts

Nottingham City Unison: “NOTTINGHAM CITY COUNCIL PREPARED TO PASS ON CON-DEM CUTS” – press release 14th Jan 2011. Plus Notts Unison Press releases about Country Parks, Care Homes & NCC Lobby on 24th Feb

Read Nottingham City Unison press release 14th Jan 2011 about City cuts: “NOTTINGHAM CITY COUNCIL PREPARED TO PASS ON CON-DEM CUTS” [Word] [PDF]. Source: http://www.nottinghamcityunison.org.uk/

For Notts County, see also: Unison: alternatives to proposed Nottinghamshire service and job cuts.

Plus: FOR YOUR INFORMATION forwarded on from: Mike Scott (Notts Unison Branch Organiser)

(1) Please find attached letter we would like you to distribute to anyone you know who may be a user of our local Country Parks.

Notts County Council budget cuts will have a particularly devastating affect on the service provided by our local country parks and it is important we campaign vigorously against these disgraceful cuts.

Please get involved in this campaign and together we can stop this attack on our natural heritage.

(2) Equally unpaletable please circulate press release about closure of ALL existing 35 day care centres providing specific care support
-Replacing them with just 10 ‘generic’ centres providing ‘one service for all’.
-Only opening new centres for 46 weeks per year, not 52
-Cancelling meals and drinks provision unless this service can break even in each centre.
-Reducing staffing by half from 377 to just 192
-Cutting access to the centres for elderly care home residents to just 2 days per week maximum

Please respond to the County Council’s consultation on this matter by the 21st Jan and prepare to attend a major lobby of County Hall, West Bridgford on Thursday 24 February when the full council meets to set its Council Tax budget.

Dowload Lobby flyer: Alternative to Notts County cuts lobby 24 Feb 2011

What’s happened to the Big Society? – open meeting on 1st Feb 2011

What’s happened to the Big Society? An open meeting to be addressed by Andrew Redfern,
Chief Executive, Framework – the umbrella organization for the homeless in Nottingham and Notts.
Hosted by St Barnabas’ Cathedral Justice & Peace Group. All welcome!

Time/Date: 7.30pm – 9pm, Tuesday 1st February.
Venue: St Barnabas Cathedral, McGuiness Room, Derby Rd, Nottingham, NG1 5AE.
Contact: Patricia Stoat patricia.stoat [at] virgin.net

SAVE SHERWOOD FOREST – public meeting at ICC/YMCA Thursday 27th Jan 2011

SAVE SHERWOOD FOREST

What can we do to ensure that Sherwood Forest is not privatised, in a mad rush
to shore up the Government’s coffers, and then denied to us forever? …we need to act fast.

Update: Private Eye in ‘Forest Chumps’ article explain how a piece of land sold at £60,000 to a private concern attracted an initial government grant of £55,000, and can take even more after: http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=hp_sauce&issue=1280

PUBLIC MEETING: 7:30 – 9:00pm, THURSDAY 27 January
International Community Centre61b Mansfield Road, Nottingham NG1 3FN

Update: we are delighted to add Paddy Tipping to the original list of speakers.

Speakers include:

  • Andrea Oates – Notts Save Our Services
  • Kaye Brennan – Woodland Trust
  • Peter Robinson – Climate Alliance
  • Paddy Tipping — Ramblers, Vice President

Let us know if you are coming please by sending a message to info [at] hiye.org.uk

Download poster for the meeting:

More Council spending cuts oin ITV (from last Dec 2010) : http://www.itv.com/news/council-spending-cut67122/

Background info: https://nottssos.org.uk/2011/01/08/forests-and-allotments-selling-em-off-or-raising-prices-in-nottingham-and-notts/

Forests and allotments – selling ’em off or raising prices in Nottingham and Notts

National Forests, including Sherwood Forest in Notts and allotments across Nottingham City are one very vunerable focus of national government and local authority plans to ‘reduce the deficit’ by either privatising assets or making us pay vastly more to use them.

Last week it was highlighted in the press that Sherwood Forest in Notts is to be included in the sell off of Forestry Commission land as part of the forthcoming Public Bodies Bill – there have been previous reports but the Bill is due in parliament within the next few weeks. National campaigning exists http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/content/save-our-forests-campaign and especially in Gloucestershire about the Forest of Dean seel off, but a vibrant local campaign will be needed here to stop Sherwood Forest being sold off. A national protest rally was held earlier in the month with more than 3,000 people and a petition of over 110,000 pledging to defend “the people’s” trees from what is likely to be a corporate land grab:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/03/forest-of-dean-protesters-woodland. What more can be done here in Nottingham and Notts?

Furthermore Nottingham City Council is holding a consultation of changes to allotment tenancies, rent levels and plot allocation. They claim that the review “aims to encourage more people to get involved with growing food in Nottingham.” In fact, the changes would involve the trebling of rents for allotments in Nottingham. More details on Nottingham Indymedia: http://nottingham.indymedia.org.uk/articles/854
 and http://nottingham.indymedia.org.uk/articles/889

Save Our Forests Campaign – want to get involved?

The government is planning a massive sell off of our national forests. They could be auctioned and fenced off, run down, logged or turned into golf courses and holiday villages.

We can’t let that happen. We need to stop these plans now. National treasures like The Forest of Dean, Sherwood Forest and The New Forest could be sold off. Once they are gone, they will be lost forever.

There has been significant media coverage of the risks to the public forests and a huge “Save Our Forests” petition at www.38degrees.org.uk/save-our-forests has attracted nearly 130,000 signatures and is growing all the time – please sign it.

Local campaigns have also been set up to fight the sell off in Cannock Chase and the Forest of Dean; but there isn’t much time. The Public Bodies Bill, the legislation that will enable this to happen, is due in parliament in the coming weeks.

Please contact us if you want to get involved in a Save Sherwood Forest Campaign and let us have your ideas about what we can do. You can also visit the Facebook group site: Save Sherwood Forest !!! ( FoSF ). Also on Facebook: What is the issue about the forest sell off — what is happening and why does it matter? And who cares?

More background info from Climate Alliance…

Public Bodies Bill
The Public Bodies bill, of which the ‘modernisation of forestry legislation’ is a part of, is going through the House of Lords at the moment and will then move to the Commons. So anyone who is in contact with their MP or wants to be on this issue, has time to call or write to your MP and raise your concerns/opposition/request for amendments to the bill. The link below takes you to the status of the bill & a short explanation of it, plus you can sign up to email updates which alert you whenever there’s progress/activity on the bill.
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-11/publicbodieshl.html

Natural Environment White paper
This white paper is still open to to grassroots consultation, responses can be submitted until the end of January.
http://ww2.defra.gov.uk/environment/natural/whitepaper/

Parliament briefing updated 23rd Nov 2010: The Forestry Commission and the sale of public forests in England
http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/briefings/SNSC-05734.pdfThis document provides historical & current background info on the sale of the public forest estate, plus a number of other links to info sources.

Forestry in England: A new strategic approach (apparently!)
http://ww2.defra.gov.uk/news/2010/10/29/forestry/
Letter to MPs from DEFRA to clarify position on public forest sale.

Forestry commission: Modernising forestry legislation
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-7T9B67
The Forestry Commission’s position on the government proposals

More general comment & analysis

London School of Economics – Detrimental consequences of sell-off:
http://tiny.cc/ybm2g

Jonathon Porritt blog:
http://www.jonathonporritt.com/pages/2010/11/forests_on_the_front_line.html

Tax Breaks on forestry investment:

http://www.moneyobserver.com/issue/features/pros-and-cons-forestry-investing

http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2011/01/07/forestry-commission-sale-is-a-massive-tax-planning-bonanza-for-the-rich/

http://www.stepjournal.org/journal_archive/2010/step_journal_april_2010/top_tips.aspx

Notts Cuts Watch #11 [plus videos of recent Anti Cuts, Corporate Tax & Student Fees demos]

Notts Cuts Watch #11, from Notts Indymedia, covers cuts and anti-cuts news in the period from Monday 20th until Sunday 26th December 2010.

Even as Christmas approached, the cutting of public services in Nottinghamshire continued. The festivities have taken the sails out of the resistance to these attacks, but I’m sure it will be back with a vengeance in the new year. (On which note, make sure you put the Combating the Cuts event on January 15th in your diary.) Until then, why not spend some of the post-Christmas lull reading up on exactly what’s being cut? Knowledge is power and all that.

Continues here: http://nottingham.indymedia.org.uk/articles/831

Also on Notts Indymedia, a video of our recent Anti Cuts, Corporate Tax & Student Fees demo involving a walk-through of Boots:
http://nottingham.indymedia.org.uk/videos/832

More Nottingham video here from demos on the 18th Dec 2010: http://ukuncut.org.uk/actions/149

Notts Cuts Watch #10 – cuts and anti-cuts news from Nottingham and Notts – last one for 2010

A Yuletide missive from the compiler of Notts Cuts Watch, hopefully to be resumed in 2011:

Even with Christmas only just over the horizon, the cuts have continued over the last week, with the announcement of the funding settlement for local councils hitting Nottingham particularly hard. Even Cuts Watch has been cutback, this week’s edition arriving late and in a slimmed down version. “Normal” service may or may not resume after the holiday period.

Read Cuts Watch #10 (covering December 13th-19th 2010): http://nottingham.indymedia.org.uk/articles/821

Plus – somethings to amuse…

Introducing a new economic comparator: Pudsey. Ministers say charities can step into the gap caused by cuts to services. So how many Children in Need appeals would it take to fill the gap? False Economy blog. 20/12/2010.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koY6kXhQDQo]

Lively protest rally at Notts County Council while cabinet agreed plan to close Gedling school – 15th Dec 2010

On Wednesday 15th December, supporters of the Gedling School held a demonstration outside County Hall to protest plans to close the school. Despite this protest and others, councillors in cabinet decided to go ahead with a “consultation” on the closure of the school. This is an unfortunate development, but it isn’t the end of the story.

Indymedia article with video: Save Gedling School rally at County Hall

Video link: Kids Chanting Outside County Hall

Evening Post article: Council goes ahead with Gedling School closure consultation

About 100 people, including pupils, teachers and residents, demonstrated against the Nottinghamshire County Council plans to start a consultation with the public on closing the school.

Year 11 pupil Sophie Foster, 15, was among 70 students holding banners and chanting ‘save our school.’

She said: “It’s disgusting that the county council are even planning to put Gedling School up for closure.

“The school definitely should not shut – I’ve been there nearly five years and it has been fantastic.”

Terry Chambers, Year 9 progress leader at Gedling school, said: “I’ve been there nearly 31 years and it would be a massive blow to the community not just in academic terms but for the whole of Gedling.”

CAMPAIGN LINKS:
Save Gedling School: http://savegedlingschool.wordpress.com/
Save Gedling School (campaign supporters network): http://savegedlingschool.ning.com/
Save Gedling School Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Our-School-The-Gedling-School/146243182088229

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