Lancaster has been combined with Fleetwood & Over Wyre to form the new Lancaster & Fleetwood parlimentary Constituency.
Lancashire Green County Councillor Chris Coates was the guest speaker at the regular meeting of Scottish Greens in Castle Douglas in Galloway last week. Cllr Coates spoke about the success of the Green Party in Lancaster and there was a lively discussion on how that might be repeated in South West Scotland.
Also speaking at the meeting was Cllr Kieran Wild from Glasgow Green Party.
Cllr Maia Whitelegg has been campaigning for the replacement of Lollipop crossing posts. Lancashire County Council has been unable to replace lollipop crossings positions and there have been a number of vacant posts in the district, including 2 in Bulk Ward (Keswick Rd/Kentmere Rd and Derwent Rd outside Christ Church School).
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Saturday 1st of March saw Lancaster’s Carnival of Culture come off without a hitch. During the day, between 250-350 people joined in a fantastically colourful, creative and vibrant street procession that snaked around the town through the afternoon, stopping in spots that are due to be blighted by car-parks, big box retail shopping and so forth, as well as the town square with it’s Trumpton-style Victoria statue, the City hall and the planners’ offices.
For full report by ‘anarchoteapot’ see Indymedia. For more pics,video etc see the Carnival website.
Opponents of the controversial Heysham M6 Link road are convinced that their district is still worth fighting for, despite a green light from Minister Hazel Blears for the unpopular scheme. Local campaign group Transport Solutions for Lancaster and Morecambe (TSLM), are out to show the public how damaging and polluting the £160 million plan is, and why it is wrong for the local community and the district.
It is one year since a joint committee of County and City councillors (Lancashire Locals - Lancaster) supported a proposal from Green councillors to adopt a 20mph speed limit on every residential road in Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham. In that time Lancashire County Council has done precisely – Nothing . Lancaster City councillor John Whitelegg, also an internationally-regarded expert in transport matters Said “The County Council has done nothing to put this idea into practice and nothing to put it out to public consultation. So today I’ve sent a birthday card to County Councillor leader Hazel Harding reminding her that this decision is one year old and that we are still waiting for action”.
Canal corridor developers Centros Miller have admitted that their plans had hit the buffers in Lancaster. In an interview in Property Week they admitted “‘The job of development is hard enough, but Lancaster is particularly sensitive and has a very vociferous Green Party.’
Over 100 people attended Lancaster Holocaust Memorial Day events at the Town Hall in Lancaster on Thursday 24th January. Candles were lit for the various group persecuted and murdered by the Nazi regime; Jews, Roma & Gypsies, gay men and lesbians, people with disabilities, political activists, and those targeted for their religious beliefs.
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Proposals announced on January 22nd to close sub-post offices across the district have been met with anger and disbelief from residents and local councillors. The closure threat is part of a nationwide plan to axe upto 2500 Post Office from the network. Bulk ward Green Councillor John Whitelegg, who faces closure of the Ridge Post Office in his area, said ““This is a kick in the teeth for Ridge residents. Local post offices are an essential part of the community and do much more than sell stamps.” (more…)
Green County Councillor Chris Coates has criticised colleagues at County Hall for accepting an invitation to visit BAE Systems at Salmesbury. In a letter to all County councillors Cllr Coates said “I have no wish to be associated with a company that appears to think that bribery and fraud are acceptable business practice and I think that the visit of County Councillors to the site at Salmsebury brings the County Council into disrepute.” (more…)
The Big Lottery Fund has announced that Lancaster City Council has been successful in its bid for £307,430 of Lottery money. The cash will help the council deliver its new Play Strategy, a five-year plan to develop children and young people’s play services in the district. Green Councillor Maia Whitelegg, Lancaster City Council’s cabinet member for Culture and Young People, said: “This is wonderful news. The investment by the Big Lottery will benefit thousands of children and young people in our district over the next three years and provide lots of new and exciting opportunities for play.” (more…)
