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 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.

Commenting on the DfT announcement, Councillor John Whitelegg (Bulk Ward, Green Party) who gave evidence at the public inquiry into the bypass said:“It took DfT over 3 years of discussion with the County Council to get to this point when it normally takes 6 months.  DfT knows this bypass was not properly evaluated by County, is bad value for money, destructive and damaging to the green belt and the residents of Torrisholme.”

The Green Party and other opponents of the bypass have long argued for alternatives to road building and even Lancashire County Council’s own research shows that a 12% drop in traffic and associated congestion relief can be achieved by non roadbuilding solutions

Cllr Whitelegg went on to say “The decision to grant programme entry is simply DfT cowardice.  The DfT knows that it will not fund the £6 million for the park and ride at Jnct 34 and neither will County.  It knows that that the cost will escalate even more than the current high of £137 million and that County will have to pay 50% of any cost increase and it knows that County will eventually have to drop the scheme.  DfT would rather that County got the political flak for dropping it rather than ministers.”

Lancashire County Council has run a large scale project called “Travel Smart” to reduce car trips and increase the use of walking, cycling and public transport.  In Lancaster this produced a 12% reduction in car trips and a 16% increase in the sustainable forms of transport.  Details can be seen on: http://www.sustrans.org.uk/default.asp?sID=1173362006921

The scheme, put forward by developers Centros, would see the triangle of land bounded by Stonewell, Moor Lane, the Lancaster Canal, Alfred Street and St Leonards Gate become an alternative city centre shopping mall with potentially disastrous consequences for the existing centre.

Councillor Andrew Kay who objected to the proposals at the two day long local planning committee meeting said on hearing the latest news “Centros is bad for our local  economy as more shops would close in the city centre Now at last local people will be able to have a real voice – not just  our ‘3 mins of fame’ at the  planning committee.”

No date has yet been set for the inquiry, although it is likely to take place later in 2009.

Following misleading stories in the local papers the protesters issued the following statement “Articles in the press this week have called the protest an anti-development campaign; but the people involved would love to see this area developed in a genuinely sustainable way, restoring existing historic buildings, building sustainable and affordable housing, providing real green spaces, and ensuring that the existing city centre and its many small, independent shops remain viable.”

For further details of this story see: http://virtual-lancaster.blogspot.com

The scheme has been refered to the secretary of state to decide whether to call a public inquiry to look at the details of the proposal because of the size of the development and its potential impact on shopping centres in surrounding towns.

Demolition and construction work is expected to take a month.

Councillors voted 15 to 4 in favour of the scheme – with Labour proposing the motion to approve the application and the Conservatives seconding it. They were supported by all the Lib-Dems and Independents with only the four Green members of the committee voting against the proposals.
The application will now be referred to the secretary of State who will decide whether it should be subject to a public inquiry.

Green County Councillor Chris Coates a supporter of the Compassion in World Farming campaign against intensive farming welcomed the councils move “The County has followed the lead set by Lancaster City Council who introduced free-range eggs in the districts town hall catering earlier in the year. This is really good news especially if you are a chicken!”

In 2007, more than 573,558 eggs were used by Lancashire school kitchens and other venues supplied by commercial services. These include the Bowland Visitor Centre café at Beacon Fell Country Park, Turton Tower, Lancaster’s Adult College and County Hall itself. These will all now be serving only free-range eggs.