Apple Evening
Jubilee Pavilion.
Bring along your surplus apples to share, and any unusual apples to be identified, and share recipes.
Grow It Group
In the Jubilee Pavilion. For anyone interested in growing and food, to share ideas and problems. The autumn/winter programme will be planned at this meeting. Phone Deryll on 392587 for more information.
Food Group open meeting
To discuss possibilities of Community Supported Agriculture in the village.
Jubilee Pavilion.
Run
Town and Country Harriers are running from the Bird in Hand next Thurs at 7pm, and we will be running on the land proposed for housing development as well as the new football stadium. We have forwarded details to all the running clubs in bristol, so you never know a crowd may turn up.
Running
Thought you may be interested to know that my running club, Town and Country Harriers are running from the Bird in Hand next Thurs at 7pm, and we will be running on the land proposed for housing development as well as the new football stadium. We have forwarded details to all the running clubs in Bristol, so you never know a crowd may turn up. The run will be led by Chris Smar.
Transition news 3/9/09
Lots of new things at the moment, so I’m including some here, and sending the Warm Streets and Transition Training information in separate posts.
Food group open meeting about possibilities of Community Supported Agriculture in the village – Tuesday 15th, 7.30 at the Jubilee Pavilion
Grow It Group:
- next meeting Tuesday 8 September, 7.30 in the Jubilee Pavilion. For anyone interested in growing and food, to share ideas and problems. The autumn/winter programme will be planned at this meeting. Phone Deryll on 392587 for more information.
- Apple Evening, Tuesday 13th October, 7.30 in the Jubilee Pavilion. Bring along your surplus apples to share, and any unusual apples to be identified, and share recipes.
350 day – Saturday October 24th. This is an international day of action ahead of the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December, calling for agreements that will reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere back to 350 parts per million, which is the maximum for continuing life as we know it (current level is 384).
In Long Ashton we will be collecting pledges of actions already done or in the future to reduce carbon footprints. We aim to collect 350 pledges!
In the evening we plan to show the film Age Of Stupid.
More information closer to the time.
Eco feature-length documentary: ‘Home’
Has anyone come across ‘Home’? Have a look at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU&feature=related (You can watch it in high definition, full-screen). It’s a 90 minute beautifully shot documentary narrated by Glenn Close, with the message ‘it’s too late to be pessimistic’ about the ecological crisis, after lots of explanation of the problems consumer capitalism is heading us towards.
10:10 campaign
The brainchild of Franny Armstrong, director of Age Of Stupid, this is the campaign of the film if you like, and aims to enrol as many people, companies, councils, etc as possible, to pledge to reduce our carbon emissions by 10% in the year 2010. Publicised by the Guardian and the Sun, it was launched on Tuesday at Tate Modern (fittingly, a former coal-fired power station), and there’s loads of information and tips on the website at www.1010uk.org. There’s also information at www.guardian.co.uk/10-10. And everyone who signs up gets a free aluminium tag in the shape of the logo, made from a retired jumbo jet!
Franny came up with the idea after reading something to the effect that we need to make a 10% reduction by 2010, and the campaign also aims to be a very large voice asking for meaningful agreements at the Copenhagen summit. In contrast to something I read the other day about how nations like the Maldives are fed up of delegates at these conferences being moved to tears by hearing about the plight of nations like them, but failing to make any real changes.
The Story of 10:10 – a message from Franny Armstrong that I feel moved to pass on verbatim:
If you put yeast into a jar with some sugar, they will gobble up the energy as quickly as possible, reproduce wildly out of control and then wipe themselves out in their own waste products.
So far, our response to climate change has been of the yeast variety. All the talking, all the documentaries, all the international negotiations have resulted in a net achievement of less than nothing: global emissions just keep going up and up.
As Pete Postlethwaite’s character says in our, er, documentary, The Age of Stupid, “We wouldn’t be the first life form to wipe itself out. But what would be unique about us is that we did it knowingly.” And there’s the crux of it. We are the most intelligent creature ever to evolve. The first to understand how the overstretching resources->extinction pathway works and the first with the potential to use our big brains to jump off that pathway before it’s too late.
So… to maximise our chances of preventing runaway climate change, we must quickly and massively cut global emissions. To quickly and massively cut global emissions we need a binding international treaty and the last chance we have to get that treaty within the timescale of the physics of the planet, is the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December this year. Hence the “Most important meeting in human history” moniker.
Clearly the treaty isn’t just made up on the spot, they’ve been working on it for years. The best deal currently on the table is that from the EU, which calls for a 30% reduction by 2020 (compared to 1990 levels). If this deal were to be accepted (which is a very big if, given that Japan argues for 8%, Australia for 5% and America for between 0%-6%) and if the emission cuts were then carried out (which is an even bigger if, given that no country has ever deliberately cut its emissions), this would give us about a 50/50 chance of not hitting the dreaded two degrees. Two degrees is where we trigger runaway climate change: two leads to three, three to four, four to five, five to six… by which time it’s about over for life on Earth.
In other words, our elected leaders are giving us – at best – a coinflip chance of avoiding catastrophe. It is hard to imagine a more total failing of our political system. Imagine if they were standing at a plane door… “Come on citizens, everybody on board, 50/50 chance of a safe landing….”
All of which means that we non-politician human beings who depend on the climate remaining habitable had best jump into action.
By signing up to 10:10, you will commit yourself, your school, your hospital, your church, your business, your whatever to cut 10% of your emissions next year. Which is easy. It’s at the level of changing lightbulbs, turning down heating, driving a bit less and maybe sticking in some (free) insulation. Four of the big six energy companies have already signed up to help their customers cut their energy usage over the course of the year. In fact, one of the first inklings we had of the 10:10 magic was when everyone from Eon to the Women’s Institute to Spurs to the Science Museum started rushing to sign up before we’d barely formulated the plan.
As well as being achieveable for the vast majority of the population, 10% in one year is the kind of cut the science tells us we need. Forget those long-term put-it-off targets of 80% by 2050 - we need to start cutting right now.
Once we have a sizeable chunk of the UK signed up, the next step is to challenge the Government to follow suit: to commit to reduce the whole country’s emissions by 10% in 2010. Which would be difficult. But the other option – runaway climate change and a humanitarian catastrophe – has got to be worse.
And if one of the biggest historical climate culprits – that’s us – stepped forward and made the first move, it just might change the outcome at Copenhagen. The international talks have long been hamstrung by “It’s all China’s fault” or “We’re not playing if America’s not playing” and so the UK going 10:10 has a small chance of breaking the deadlock.
One week after the talks finish – whatever the outcome – on January 1st 2010 the people of Britain will start getting on with solving the problem, supported by the Energy Saving Trust, the Carbon Trust and tonnes of online resources. Everyone who successfully completes their 10% cut should find themselves richer (for saving money on their energy bills), fitter (for the walking & cycling which replaced some car trips) and with more friends (the colleagues they car-pooled with or the neighbours who helped walk all the kids to school). More importantly, everyone who takes part will know that their efforts are part of the nationwide effort to prevent catastrophe. Hell, if 10:10 takes off as we are dreaming, their efforts will be part of the international effort to prevent catastrophe.
I was born in the early 70s and am part of the MTV generation who were told by a million adverts that the point of our existence was to shop more. Daunting though the task ahead may be, I personally feel enormously inspired and quite relieved that it turns out that we have something important to do. The people who came before us didn’t know about climate change and the ones who come after will be powerless to stop it. So it’s down to us. Other generations came together to overturn slavery or end apartheid or win the vote for women. There is nothing intrinsincally more useless about our generation and there is no doubt about what we have to do. The only question which remains is whether or not we give it a go.
Franny Armstrong
1st September 2009
Lanch of 10:10
HOLA newsletter August 09
Have You Sent Your Objections (Stadium and BIA)?
This is really important. The number of objections makes a difference, get your neighbours to send an objection as well. If you don’t know what to say, see the HOLA responses at the end of this email. Change the words if you want, but send in something. It is easy to do on line or by letter. Addresses etc given below.
The big issue for both the stadium and the airport is the lack of adequate infrastructure. This is a real planning issue to which there is no easy answer, (from the developers) and needs to be emphasised.
Baker Associates (Land Trust)
The planning application has been received for the 9500 houses, but is not yet available on the North Somerset website. Again, it is important that every one responds. We expect North Somerset to turn it down and for an appeal and public enquiry to follow. The appeal is where the real decision will be made. All representations made to the original application are handed to the planning inspector.
Land at Failand
A planning application is expected soon.
Balloon Fiesta
The Whitchurch Action Group spent £400 from their own funds and attended the fiesta over the four days, gathering 3000 signatures on letters supporting the green belt. Sally and I helped for one day and were heartened by the extent of the support from all over the country. I was disappointed that there were no other volunteers from Long Ashton, as the number of signatures could have been even greater.
Other News
The stadium developers have started to remove the wildlife from the site, in anticipation of planning approval. It seems that most of the Bristol Councillors will support the application. The views of North Somerset councillors are not so clear. There is nothing for North Somerset in having the stadium on the boundary and the access in North Somerset so we will need to target NS councillors and make sure they do not approve the application.
A letter has been sent from the Government Office for the South West to Chief Officers of the District Councils saying the RSS should be given substantial weight in determining planning applications. However, it appears that this is contrary to government planning policy, which state that an adopted plan should given more weight unless it is old, and the NS plan is 2007.
Some good news
Perhaps?? There are rumours that the revised date for the RSS is to be announced soon and it will involve a long delay. Lets hope!
The following statement was obtained by another SOGS group from Tim Collins, Chief of Staff to Grant Shapps MP, Shadow Minister for Housing:
“We are fully committed to protecting the green belt. We will lend our cross-party support to measures which build sustainable, eco-friendly communities on Brownfield sites, provided the plans have local support. Yet we are concerned that Gordon Brown’s top-down plans will undermine local democracy, harm the environment and will not be accompanied by the necessary infrastructure.
Environmental protection and tackling climate change need to be at the heart of Government policy. We will not weaken national Green Belt protection (PPG2) or national protection for farmland, or undermine special designations like National Parks, SSSIs or AONBs. We shall also scrap RSS’s and if necessary local authorities will be able to re-designate the green belt that was forcibly undesignated by the RSS.”
The Secretary of State has refused an appeal against refusal of permission to build on a green field site near Swindon. The reason given was that it would hamper redevelopment of inner city areas of Swindon. Are there parallels here with Ashton Park and South Bristol?
Feedback Please
We have not had a meeting for some time. Do you want one? If so what do you want to discus, when is a good time? Should we wait until the schools are back?
Rod Sterland (Chairman)
How to Send your Objections
Address to: Planning Department Town Hall, Walliscote Grove Road, Weston-super-Mare BS23 1UJ, or through the North Somerset website, “planning” in the “do it on line” menu box. BIA is an immediate option, for the stadium go to “search and submit” and put in 1061 into the application number box, it will come up with the number 09/P/1061/F2. You will then be given the option to comment on the proposal. You can paste in comments from a Word document.
Stadium Objections
This application is opposed for the following reasons:
- The proposed site is in the green belt and the application is not of “overwhelming” importance, such that re-designation of the green belt is justified. Even if it were, the views from the surrounding green belt would be adversely affected by the development. The economic benefits have not been adequately demonstrated, certainly not to the extent that would justify use of green belt land.
- One of the roles of the green belt is to maintain separation between cities and surrounding villages. The green belt land proposed for the site separates Long Ashton and Bristol. This development would all but join Long Ashton and Bristol.
- Part of the site is a SNCI and identified in the local plan as Wildlife network Site. Its proximity to a major city gives it special significance and it should be preserved. The developers need to establish more clearly the extent of disturbance to wildlife including that caused by light pollution and disruption to the flight paths of bats.
- Part of the site is flood plain, which in itself provides a special habitat close to a major city. The developers must show that the arrangements for flood containment are robust to changes in climate which may occur over the life of the stadium.
- The construction would disturb a recently closed rubbish tip. A report has shown that the levels of methane released are such that major construction is unlikely to be economically viable. The developer must state how this is to be overcome. The nature of the rubbish is unknown and may contain hazardous materials such as asbestos. The developer must produce details of how the rubbish is to be monitored and unwanted dispersal monitored and controlled.
- Access from Long Ashton to Bristol will be severely impeded during events at the stadium. The developers should put forward suitable proposals to ensure adequate traffic flow between Long Ashton and Bristol at all times.
- The visual impact of the stadium is completely out of keeping with the locality and its proximity to green belt.
- The inconvenience and disturbance to local residents outweighs the supposed benefit of the stadium.
- The travel plan produced by the developers is inadequate and has been produced using flawed unrepresentative and distorted survey data. In particular the numbers of cars expected to be used greatly exceeds that suggested when more reasonable data are used. More provision is required for public transport, cycling and walking. The adjacent roads are inadequate to permit the numbers of spectators planned for major events to access the site over a reasonable period. The proposed use of limited numbers of buses and the possible BRT will not divert sufficient spectators from the use of cars. The numbers of cars which it is proposed to allow to park on the site cannot be accommodated by the access roads, especially when taken in conjunction with the normal traffic and that to and from the park and ride. It would be essential to have a station on the nearby rail line and suitable links to Temple Meads and Parsons Street, combined with measures that will reduce the use of cars. HOLA broadly supports the transport related proposals made by Transport for Bristol.
- A separate travel plan is required for non football related events, such as the concerts which are proposed. The number of these allowed should be limited by a planning restriction.
- The developers should produce a sustainability statement for the stadium and show that the new stadium would result in lower overall emissions of CO2 than the existing arrangements.
- Restrictions on parking in local roads are essential to prevent excessive disruption to residents. These need to be adequately monitored and controlled, at the expense of the football club. Parking needs to be prevented in Long Ashton. In order to show that this can be achieved a scheme should be started immediately and subsequently maintained as a planning condition. The developers must put forward suitable proposals that will be acceptable to the residents of Long Ashton.
- The developers have not adequately shown that there is no alternative site. The existing stadium could be re developed. Other sites nearer to major transport links should be preferred. The provision of funding, by sale of the existing site, should not be allowed to over ride this planning principle. The proposed development on the existing site would have a negative effect on the local area, which is currently undergoing regeneration, partly as a result of the Tobacco Factory.
The prospect of the stadium being used as a venue for the 2018 Football World Cup, should not be seen as a factor in favour of the stadium, indeed quite the reverse. It is noted above that the roads and junctions will not be able to cope with a normal match day, so they would be completely unsuited for the additional numbers proposed for World Cup matches. The economic benefits have been greatly overstated and the potential disruption from the additional spectators has not been taken into consideration.
Helicopters should not be allowed to access the site except in case of emergency. This should be a planning condition.
This is a major development but does not appear in any of the current structure plans or even in the proposed RSS, which has yet to be approved.
Objections to Airport Expansion
The expansion would result in an increase in CO2 emissions whereas government policy is to drastically reduce these emissions. Why should Bristol Airport be an exception? Not only would emissions rise as a result of increased aircraft flights, but also from ground transport for passengers accessing the airport.
The transport infrastructure is currently inadequate and totally unable to support an increase in journeys to the airport. The roads in North Somerset cannot cope with the expected number of car journeys. Although the proportion of journeys by public transport is planned to increase this only represents a small fraction of the total and the total number of car journeys would increase. Before any expansion is approved the necessary infrastructure improvements must be designed approved and the funding committed.
We are opposed to any major development in green belt land. We therefore object to the proposal to extend car parking in the green belt. Any development should be within the existing site, making better use of the land currently occupied by the airport.
In making a contribution to improvement of the infrastructure BIA propose to contribute towards the construction of the South Bristol Link. HOLA is opposed to this link for a number of reasons. In this context, we do not believe that its construction would improve access to the airport. The Atkins report showed that this link would have minimal effect on journey times to and from the airport. Construction of the link will not take place until at least 2016, long after the proposed increase in passenger numbers. If BIA is to make a contribution to infrastructure this should concentrate on improved public transport links and in particular improving the radial routes into Bristol. A relevant example would be to improve the access from the A38 to Bristol Temple Meads, or better utilise Parsons Street as a rail link to BIA.
350 day planning
Saturday 24 October is international 350 day, to highlight the importance of returning atmospheric levels of CO2 to 350 parts per million – the most that scientists say is compatible with avoiding runaway catastrophic climate change. The date is planned to put pressure on politicians ahead of the crucial Copenhagen international climate talks in December.
We will be having an event in Long Ashton on that day, featuring as many variations on the number 350 as possible, eg 350 peals of the church bells.
If you can help in planning what will happen on the day and organising it, please let me know, and I’ll arrange a meeting. billroberts@blueyonder.co.uk
We also plan to show The Age Of Stupid in the week leading up to this day.
For a 4 minute video of the wonderful Bill McKibben, who is at the centre of the 350 movement, go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4nZNPnmZAo
Green Energy Open Doors
Help will be needed on the day to set up from 9 to 10 am at the community centre, to run the cafe and stalls and to clear away at 3pm.
Visits will be arranged to houses with renewable energy systems in the vicinity and advice will be available on home insulation, grants and renewable energy.
There will be children’s activities, a Grow It Group stall, bicycle repair advice and much more. Please all come, help if you can if only for an hour or so and make it a really good ‘Transition Day! Offers of help to Ian or Margaret on margerian@btinternet.com please.
Open Meeting at the Village Club (British Legion)
An opportunity to air anything you’d like to, and to find out more about what’s happening.
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