The Co-operative has launched Plan Bee, a campaign and 10-point plan to help save the bee. Worried about the disappearance of bee colonies in recent years the campaign aims to get research going on the causes of the losses and to get people involved in saving bees.

As part of the Campaign the Dukes Cinema is showing the film The Vanishing of Bees on Thursday 21st of Jan at 6.30pm

The Plan BEE website has suggestions on what people can do to help including:

Green councillors have called on the County Council to prioritise gritting of pavements rather than just major roads.  John O’Gaunt ward Councillor Jude Towers said: “Many people, including me, have fallen over in the last few weeks and there seems virtually no gritting of pavements outside the town centre. Lots of old people have been rendered virtually housebound – especially in hilly areas such as Moorlands.”

Cllr John Whitelegg who has seen problems on steep roads and icy pavements in his area said: “Residents in Bulk Ward are happy to lend a hand themselves – however, the County Council has refused my request to re-fill the grit-bins on the Bath Mill estate. Surely, pedestrians should be a priority in this sort of weather.”

Green councillor Jon Barry has contacted County Council officers and asked for a change in policy so that pavements as well as roads are gritted. Green County councillors Sam Riches and Chris Coates will be formally asking for this change in policy at the February County Council meeting.

North Lancashire Green Party has welcomed the rejection of the Centros planning applications for Lancaster’s Canal Corridor, describing it as “a very fine Christmas present.”

Yesterday, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government John Denham has accepted the report of the Inspector at last summer’s planning inquiry into the Centros scheme and rejected all the planning applications.

“This is fantastic news and vindicates what hundreds of my constituents have been saying for the last two years,” commented local Bulk Ward and Green Councillor John Whitelegg.

“We now need to move on and produce a plan that delivers a community vision for this site, celebrates our distinctive buildings and places and does not set out to make us a carbon copy of Basingstoke, Preston or Slough. This work starts today.”

For further details on this story see the Virtual Lancaster News Blog

Green County Councillor Chris Coates has called for ‘Green Jobs’ to be a priority for Lancashire. The call came as North Lancashire Green Party launched a report on what a Green New Deal for the County could look like.

The report includes suggestions for a County wide Green Skills Network, help to improve energy efficiency in the areas housing stock and help for those in fuel poverty as well as measures to support local business.

The local report is based on the national document published last year by the New Economic Foundation.

Green Cllr Chris Coates (pictured) said: “The NHS prefers Option 3, but concentrating more services on Ashton Road could make it easier for them to develop Royal Albert fields later on. I will push for Option 1, and I urge residents to do the same.”

For more info, see: http://www.lancashirecare.nhs.uk/consultations.php . The deadline for responses is 21 Sept.  A consultation event will take place at the Trust’s Lancaster HQ (Moor Lane Mill) on Monday 7th Sept, 6-8pm.

New Green Councillor for Lancaster East Sam Riches addressed the crowds who had gathered outside County Hall in Preston to protest as Sharon Wilkinson of the British National Party arrived for the first meeting of the new County Council.

Cllr Riches said ” We will make sure that the BNP knows that there is opposition to thier ideas whenever they try to put them forward inside County Hall.”

For further info on oposition to the BNP see the Stop The BNP website or for local info see Lancaster Unity.

The Green Party held Lancaster Central and gained Lancaster East in the Elections for Lancashire County Council on June 4th – congratulations to Chris Coates and Sam Riches and their teams! There was also a Lancaster City Council by-election in our strongest Green ward (Castle) as Catriona Stamp stepped down after a 6 year stint on the Council – Melanie Forrest won it by a long way and joins the 11 other Greens on the City Council for the next 2 years – congratulations Melanie, and thanks to Catriona for all her work over the last few years.

Unfortunately we missed out on other hoped-for wins in Lancaster South East and Skerton – but Jane Fletcher and Ian Chamberlain both came within 300 votes of winning.

The Conservatives now have a big majority on the County Council (51 out of 84 seats), with Labour on 16, Lib Dems on 10, Independents 3, Greens 2, Idle Toad 1, BNP 1 (in Padiham & Burnley West). Overall turnout was 38%.
Results for Lancashire County elections can be viewed at http://www.lancashire.gov.uk

Aurora Trujillo, one of the protestors, said “We’ve been acquitted, but we’ve still got the real battle ahead, to stop Centros turning Lancaster into one more Clone Town.”

All four had been involved in the formal planning process and the Carnival of Culture, but felt increasingly disempowered. The protesters were being prosecuted under a law introduced in 1994 as part of the Criminal Justice Act, which was directed at stopping various forms of direct action, such as hunt sabotage and anti-roads protesting. Since then, even more laws have been introduced to control and define protest.

Green Cllr Chris Coates was due to speak in court in defence of the protestors, but the case was dismissed before he was called to give evidence.

For more info on the trial, go to http://virtual-lancaster.blogspot.com/

The meeting saw proposals from Labour, Conservatives and Liberal-Democrats to rejig the cuts proposed by cabinet replacing cuts to the Dukes Theatre and Citizens Advice Bureau with cuts that are likely to fall on Summer playschemes and Youth Sports Activities.
Commenting after the meeting Cllr Jane Fletcher said “These cuts to areas of my portfolio are cuts to invaluable services that play a crucial role in supporting and improving both the physical and emotional health of people across the district. These services enrich the lives of some of the most vulnerable members of our communities, from disabled people, young people at risk from offending, looked after children, and those in rural areas. This work also helps to pull in well over a million pounds in external funding. Except for Green Party Councillors, political groups were eager to cut these services despite my repeated calls to reconsider in light of the serious implications of their actions”

The Green Party had proposed that the grant to the CAB’s be reinstated by a 10% reduction in management subscriptions to professional journals and organisations. This was rejected by other councillors who preferred to take the money from the Arts and Leisure development budget that funds the playschemes and sports activities.

To reinstate funding for Mayoral expenses, public  toilets, The Dome and the Dukes other councillors voted for cuts to playground maintenance, Community Cohesion and the councils Your District Matters Magazine. Cllr Coates added “Whilst some groups have ended up winners, this really has been a case of robbing Janet & John to pay Peter & Paul. Whatever way you look at it this was a bad day for the district.”