Daily Mirror: "The guerrilla library: As cuts close 8 libraries per month, we visit one that rose again"

Link to the Daily Mirror

"Walk into Friern Barnet Library in North London, and you would think you were standing in a model public library.

"More than 1,000 fiction, non-fiction and children’s titles are stacked neatly on shelves.
There are comfy armchairs, three computer terminals linked up to the internet and friendly librarians making helpful recommendations.

"There’s a DVD and CD section and a kids’ area. Pilates and children’s singing groups abound.
It’s warm, and the carpets and toilets are spotless.

"Tonight, author Will Self is doing a reading from his book Umbrella, nominated for the Man Booker prize.

"You’d want to congratulate the local council on a brilliant service,” says a pensioner on her way to use the free internet facilities.

"Only it’s not the council who are running it. It’s the people."

Daily Telegraph: "Word of the year 'omnishambles' reflects British mood"

Spin to the Daily Telegraph

"Each year, Oxford University Press follows how the English language is changing, and chooses a word that best reflects the mood of the year.

" 'Omnishambles' was coined by the writers of satirical television programme The Thick of It.

"It is still most commonly used in political contexts, but its usage has evolved rapidly in other contexts, to describe any debacle or poorly managed situation."

The Independent: "How can Viagra maker Pfizer pay no UK tax?"

Link to The Independent

"One of the largest suppliers of drugs to the NHS escaped paying any tax to the UK Government last year, it has emerged.

"Pfizer, the company behind the best-selling drug on the UK market, Lipitor, and impotence drug Viagra, had a turnover of £1.8bn on its sales in the UK last year. But despite its huge business in this country, the accounts of the company's British-based subsidiary suggest it made an operating loss of £59m in 2011 and £46m in 2010.

"Critics say Pfizer's operating loss is this country is typical of the way in which large multi-national companies are systematically able to legally avoid paying tax by piling costs into high tax jurisdictions, while reporting profits in low tax havens."

---

Link to web site

The Guardian:
"How to have an Amazon-free Christmas … and save money"

"Amazon, Britain's biggest online retailer, is undeniably cheap. But in the three years in which it amassed £7bn in UK sales, it paid no corporation tax on any of the profits from that income. So can consumers worried about tax avoidance – albeit entirely legal – shop elsewhere without having to face higher prices? Money went shopping and found it is surprisingly easy to enjoy an Amazon-free Christmas, yet still save money.

"... Help is on the way from accountant Richard Murphy of Tax Research, an anti-poverty campaigner and tax expert who is preparing a guide for consumers naming the shops where you can buy safe in the knowledge that tax is being paid, while shaming the tax avoiders."

---

The Observer:
"Water companies pay little or no tax on huge profits"

"Three of Britain's biggest water companies paid little or no tax on their profits last year while generously rewarding their executives and investors, the Observer can reveal. Thames Water and Anglian Water paid no corporation tax on the profits made from their utility businesses while Yorkshire Water kept its payments to the Revenue in the low millions.

"All the companies made hundreds of millions of pounds in operating profits and some have rewarded their senior executives with performance-related bonuses and investors with huge dividends. Martin Baggs, the chief executive of Thames Water, which enjoyed a £76m tax rebate in 2012, was given a bonus of £420,000 on top of his £425,000 salary, and is in line for a further windfall of £1m based on company performance through to 2015.

---

Link to HOME (see all posts).

[Reposted] Thu 15 Nov: Comedy Night

"The Pinkham Way Alliance is very pleased to announce its first funny fundraiser...

It’s a comedy night in the heart of Bounds Green and Bowes Park, at The Step on Myddleton Road. If you’ve not been before, this is a great excuse to visit a venue that’s proving a real asset to the area.

We’re lucky to have the services of their resident compere, Chris Marco K. He’ll be hosting an evening that will include a variety of rising stars on the London stand-up circuit, and includes some musical and character comedy.

Joining Chris are Jenny Beake, Don Biswas, Kate McGann, Tony Marrese, President Obonjo and Andy Onions.

This PWA comedy night starts at 8pm on Thursday 15 November, at The Step, 101 Myddleton Road, N22 8NE. Tickets are available on the door only, at £10 each, and all profits will go towards our campaign.

We can’t promise it’ll be clean... but it will be funny.

For full details, please visit our events website.

Of course, there's a serious motive behind it all: there's an awful lot going on at the moment – more news soon – and we really need to keep the money coming in.

So, please come along if you’re able, and mention it to anyone you think would enjoy an evening of live comedy. Put it in the diary, and we'll remind you nearer the time.

Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter, join the Facebook Group, and make a donation here."

Bidesh Sarkar
Chair, Pinkham Way Alliance

"Could the Sustainable Communities Act help save Friern Barnet Library?"

Link to Local Works [gettit?] web site

"The transformation of the once-closed Friern Barnet Library back into a fully functioning library, community hub and site of resistance has attracted national media attention in recent weeks. If the library is to stay open permanently, however, the people of Friern Barnet will need some help. That help could be at hand, if we use the Sustainable Communities Act, a radical new law that gives people the power to get more help from government to tackle community decline.

"Despite an 18-month long protest against its closure, the Friern Barnet Library was occupied by squatters and transformed into a DIY library, after being left vacant by the council for 5 months. The community response to the occupation has been astounding. The shelves are now full, with roughly 5,000 books having been donated. More than a library, the building has acted as a community hub, holding workshops, music events and meetings. A rota of volunteers help run the library, united by a common goal to preserve this valuable public asset. Despite phenomenal support, the fate of Friern Barnet Library remains in the balance."

Market at Bounds Green every Saturday

"Bounds Green market started on the first Saturday of September, and will be every Saturday between 11am and 3pm at Bounds Green School, behind the main building in the car park.

"You cannot see the stalls from the main road, but if you go in via the main gate on Bounds Green Road it is round the back, or if you go down Park Road to the left of the school you will see the stalls and the entrance on the right-hand side.

"Bounds Green school is on Bounds Green Road on the left-hand side, set back from the road, when travelling north to the tube station road junction.

"There are some fantastic producers who attend, and there is food to eat or takeaway from around the world alongside bread, cheese, vegetables, jams and chutneys. Please do go along and support this local venture, to make sure it continues to be a success.

"If you would like to find out more about what stalls are going to be there each week, then please visit the website: www.boundsgreenmarket.co.uk."

Evening Standard: "Why our public libraries are under threat like never before"

"Kensal Rise library closed"
Link to Evening Standard

"The future of libraries in the UK is in jeopardy because of 'drastic' cuts and the 'looming threat' of privatisation, a leading union warned today.

"Unison accused the Government of 'sleepwalking into a library crisis' which will deprive future generations of the book-lending and other services provided.

"The union said that in the year to April, 100 libraries in England closed or were being run by volunteers or as a social enterprise.

"Local authority library budgets in England have been cut by £122 million in the past two years, according to research by Unison."

Sat 10 Nov: Visit to Pinkham Way

10/11/2012
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

"The proposed plant at Pinkham Way would involves the destruction of a 6.5 hectares of Grade 1 SINC (Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation). Such a loss would be 500% greater than the total loss of SINCs (of all classes) in the whole GLA for 2010/11. The GLA target is no net loss.

"There is an unofficial but guided visit to this site, with a group setting off from Friern Barnet Library at 2.00pm. You can also join the group at the Freehold Community Association, Alexandra Road N10 2EY at 2.30pm.

"Wear old clothes and stout footwear!"

"Councils resort to burning millions of tons of household rubbish as amount recycled by families stalls"

Link to Daily Mail web site

"Millions of tons of household rubbish was burned instead of recycled by councils last year, new figures revealed yesterday.

"The amount sent to incinerators shot up by almost a quarter - while the amount sent for recycling went up by barely a single percentage point.

"The burning boom means millions of families who have been forced to cope with fortnightly collections, rubbish rationing and wheelie bin fines in the name of saving the environment now have to live with the pollution risks of incinerators.

"A report from the Environment Department admitted the amount of rubbish being recycled by town halls is ‘levelling off’ and that the amount of rubbish kept out of landfill is still far short of targets set by the European Union."

Daily Telegraph: "Council bosses can wave goodbye to fat payoffs, says Eric Pickles"

Link to Daily Telegraph

"Mr Pickles will unveil powers to remove employment protection for senior local authority figures, who can now be dismissed after a vote by elected councillors.

"In an article for The Telegraph, the minister says that he wants to end the practice of failing council executives receiving six-figure payoffs and then moving to other posts in the public sector."

Thermal Treatment of Waste

Material from archived Dublin Waste-to-Energy project

What is Thermal Treatment?

Thermal Treatment is a process by which heat is applied to waste, in order to sanitise it and reduce its bulk, prior to final disposal. While thermal treatment plants can operate without generating energy, Irish waste management policy requires thermal treatment facilities to incorporate energy recovery capacity; the energy generated can, in turn, be used for example to power the plant and for district heating systems.

Thermal treatment can involve a number of processes most of which are commonly referred to as incineration. According to the EU Directive on Incineration of Waste 2000, 'Incineration plant'

"means any stationary or mobile technical unit and equipment dedicated to the thermal treatment of wastes with or without energy recovery. This includes the incineration by oxidation of waste, as well as the other thermal processes such as pyrolysis, gasification or plasma processes, in so far as the substances resulting from the treatment are subsequently incinerated."

EU Directive on Incineration of Waste (Approved by EU Parliament and Council November 2000)

Purpose of Thermal Treatment

The primary function of thermal treatment is to convert the waste to a stable and usable end product and reduce the amount that requires final disposal in landfills. Thermal treatment processes recover the energy in municipal solid waste (MSW) and convert it to electricity and/or useful heat, gas etc. Because a high proportion of MSW can produce methane on landfilling, recovering energy from the waste will help reduce the 'greenhouse effect'.

Types of Thermal Treatment

While the terms thermal treatment and incineration are often considered synonymous, it is important to understand that in the context of the Dublin Waste Management Plan the phrase thermal treatment refers to a number of processes, of which incineration in one such process. Other thermal treatment processes include Gasification and Pyrolysis.

Incineration

Incineration is the most common technology used for converting municipal solid waste into energy. Pre-sorted (segregated) waste or unsorted waste is the fuel in a combustion process that uses excess air to ensure complete combustion. Waste is delivered to the plant, where it is stored in a large enclosed bunker that serves as waste buffer capacity. The bunker area is kept under negative pressure thus preventing odours from escaping the building. Overhead cranes feed the waste to the incineration unit, where it is converted into energy. This usually takes place on a moving grate in the bottom of the combustion chamber.

Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is a thermal pre-treatment method, which transforms pre-shredded waste into a gas and a residue consisting partly of inert materials, and partly of a char. The process takes place in an externally heated reactor in which the pyrolysis gas is formed. The gas may be used partly to heat the reactor and partly for generating stream in a boiler. The char may be used as a low-grade fuel in a large power plant, if available or it may be disposed of in a landfill.

Gasification

This process is similar to pyrolysis in some ways. With gasification, the pre-treated waste is fed into an externally heated reactor where the carbonaceous material in the waste stream reacts with a gasifying agent (e.g. air, oxygen or steam) at temperatures of 800-1100°C or higher. Chemical reactions form a combustible gas (with traces of tar) which is stored or burned to generate heat. The process is very inefficient in terms of energy recovery and therefore has a higher cost of processing.

---

(source)

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The basics: terminology (source)

Combustion:

CxHyOz + Excess Air (O2+N2) → CO2, H2O, O2, N2, Heat

Gasification:

CxHyOz + Air, O2 and/or H2O → CO2, CO, H2, CH4, CnHm

Pyrolysis:

CxHyOz + Heat → Char + Liquid + Gas + H2O

Combustion:

– Reaction of a substance at stoichiometric* conditions or greater with air/O2 [l ≥ 1 ]

Gasification:

– Conversion of a carbonaceous feedstock into a gas [“producer gas’’] under sub-stoichiometric conditions [l< 1]

Pyrolysis:

– Thermal degradation of a material in the absence of oxygen [l= 0]

Producer gas or syngas:

– Gas consisting of CO2, CO, CH4, H2, CxHy and H2O

---

* Stoichiometric or 'Theoretical Combustion' is the ideal combustion process, where fuel is burned completely.

A complete combustion is a process burning all the carbon (C) to (CO2), all the hydrogen (H) to (H2O) and all the sulphur (S) to (SO2).

With unburned components in the exhaust gas, such as C, H2, CO, the combustion process is uncompleted and not stoichiometric. (source)

Video: 'Barnet Casino', narrated by Mr Reasonable

BBC: "Ex-Barnet mayor Brian Coleman stripped of committee duties"

Link to web site

"The ex-mayor of a London borough has been stripped of his council committee duties after being accused of assault.

"Brian Coleman, 51, former Barnet mayor and ex-London Assembly member, is to be tried on charges of assault by beating and careless driving.

"The decision by the council means he will no longer chair the budget and performance overview and scrutiny committee or represent Barnet as one of seven local authorities on the North London Waste Authority."

---

Barnet Bugle (Link):

"With customary banal mundanity, Barnet Council's Proper Officer, Mr Jeff Lustig, presides as Brian Coleman is stripped of all his positions on Barnet Council. ... The report is here" [and partly below].
 

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SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT OF THE HEAD OF GOVERNANCE

5. CHANGES TO APPOINTMENTS TO OUTSIDE BODIES

The Conservative Group have proposed the following change:-
North London Waste Authority

• Councillor Daniel Thomas to replace Councillor Brian Coleman as a Council representative on the North London Waste Authority.

RECOMMEND – That the above change to the Council’s representation on the North London Waste Authority be approved by Council. [It was.]

Wed 14 Nov: Barnet Times: "Author and TV personality Will Self backs squatters at Friern Barnet Library"

Link to Barnet Times

"Author and television personality Will Self has backed squatters in the Friern Barnet Library and will be holding a book signing there next week.

"... The 51-year-old will be at the community library on Wednesday, 14 November, from 7pm, signing copies of his latest novel."

Daily Telegraph: "Food has become too cheap in developed world, industry boss says"

Link to web site

"Jan Kees Vis, the global director for sustainable sourcing development at Unilever, the world’s second-biggest consumer goods company, said that food has become 'too cheap' in the developed world, spurring increased consumer waste.

"Half of the food that is purchased in ... London is never eaten, the executive told a conference.

"Despite the rising cost of meals and snacks in supermarkets, takeaways and restaurants, Mr Vis said that consumers and catering firms do not put enough value on the food that they buy."

'Barnet Bugle': ITV and BBC on Brian in the Dock

HopeVision

Barnet Times: "Barnet Councillor Brian Coleman pleads not guilty to assault charge at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court"

Link to Barnet Times

"A former Barnet Mayor today pleaded not guilty to assaulting a member of the public as she took photographs of his illegally parked car.

"Totteridge representative Brian Coleman allegedly attacked café owner Helen Michael as she snapped the shots on her camera phone in North Finchley High Road on September 20."

Video: Team Black Sheep's airborne drone tours London landmarks

The Guardian: "£1bn council privatisation plan 'fundamentally un-Conservative,' says top Tory"

Link to The Guardian

"And so it goes on. After the recent political bloodletting over mega-outsourcing of public services in Cornwall, the spotlight has shifted back to the biggest proposed local government privatisation of them all: the £1bn One Barnet scheme.

"Next Tuesday Richard Cornelius, the leader of Barnet, the London council, faces a vote of no-confidence over One Barnet. Just as in Cornwall, the outsourcing plan is publicly unpopular. As in Cornwall, where the deputy leader quit in protest at the scheme, a senior Tory councillor has come out calling for the scheme to be scrapped."

BBC: "Economic recovery may bypass low and middle earners"

Link to web site

"Millions of poor and middle-income households may be bypassed by any economic recovery, a report for the Resolution Foundation says.

"The Commission on Living Standards argues that their quality of life could stagnate for the next decade, ending no higher in 2020 than they were in 2000.

"... The Commission's members included economists, trade union leaders and employers. Among them were Phil Bentley the managing director of British Gas, Sir Win Bischoff the chairman of Lloyds bank, and Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies."

"AmeyCespa preferred for Milton Keynes waste treatment facility"

Link to 'Government Opportunities'

"On behalf of Milton Keynes Council, AmeyCespa will design, build and operate a new, state-of-the-art waste treatment facility in the borough. The facility will deal with household 'black sack' waste, and some commercial waste.

"... It will bring together three different technologies to treat waste which has not been reused, recycled or composted, rather than continuing to send it to landfill:

• mechanical treatment technology
• an anaerobic digestor
• an advanced thermal treatment facility.

Brian Coleman's Court Hearing

Link to Wikipedia

Court hearing:

10am, Mon 5 Nov.

Uxbridge Magistrates Court

The Court House

Harefield Rd

Uxbridge

UB8 1PQ

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Link to HOME (see all posts).

Barnet Times: "Barnet Councillor Brian Coleman suspended from national Conservative Party"

Link to Barnet Times

"Former Barnet Mayor Brian Coleman has been suspended from the national Conservative Party.

"High ranking party officials took the decision, hours before the Barnet Conservatives were due to vote on whether to suspend the disgraced member from the group at a meeting tonight."

MRW: "'I wouldn't want a waste facility near my home' says Veolia director"

Link to MRW web site
(may need registration)

"A boss at Veolia has said he would not want to live near one of his firm’s waste incinerators.

Speaking at an industry policy event, the waste giant’s executive director for external affairs, Robert Hunt, said planning for waste facilities was a big issue, because nobody wanted one built near them. Hunt added:

"I don’t think I’d want a waste facility near my home, I have to say."

Friern Barnet Library

+++++++ 

Friern Barnet

 Community Library 

+++++++

EVENTS THIS WEEK - TWITTER ACCOUNT @OCCUPIEDLIBRARY :

Thursday, 1st November: Halloween Party 7pm (bring food to share) followed by the fantastic Blues of Cain, will be performing at the library at 7.30pm - http://www.youtube.com/user/realmoosick?feature=results_main

Wednesday 14th November, 7pm: Will Self will be answering questions and signing copies of his latest novel, Umbrella, which is set in Friern Barnet, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2012.

Thursday 15th November, 7pm: The amazing Classical Mix are returning to play another night. They will be bringing a very special guest, a lady who took the first library book out!!! Classicalmix.webs.com

Saturday 17th November, 2pm: Greenacre Writers are holding a creative writing workshop, Ways into Creative Writing

MON

6.00pm - 7.00pm: Monday Organisational Meeting

TUES

6.00pm - 7.00pm: Proposals Meeting

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm: Pilates - CANCELLED due to knee injury

THURS

Thursday 8th November:

11.15am - 11.45am: Story & Song time for pre-schoolers (Tanya, a pre-school teacher will be running it)
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm: Halloween Party 7pm Followed by Blues of Cain

FRI

4:00pm - 5:00pm: French
6:30pm - 7:30pm: Yoga

SAT

10.00am - 12.00noon: Chemistry Tuition

Big appeal for local volunteers to come in and stand behind the desk and run your library and community centre. Two hour shifts. Now is the time for the local team to step in, step up and reclaim their library and community centre. We have a wish list:

• WE NEED SHELVING FOR ALL THE FABULOUS BOOKS THAT HAVE BEEN DONATED
• Upholstery Cleaner, Vegetable rack, Video projector, stationary, printer ink, photocopier, computers, transport offers
• Savoury healthy (veg) meals for the occupiers and locals to share each evening around 7pm (as cooking facilities are limited)
• A working electric cooker with hob and oven
• Cleaning equipment - brooms, bin liners, etc.; plastic bins for front and back.

THE WEBSITE IS UP AND RUNNING...

LINK ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE,

TWEET - @occupiedlibrary,

FORWARD VIA EMAIL, TELL THE WORLD!!

http://fbpeopleslibrary.co.uk/

"Offshore Tax Havens: how the wealthy loot the world"

"Friends of Le Monde Diplomatique is a UK-based affiliate of the Les Amis Le Monde Diplomatique, which supports the writings and tradition which has evolved over 50 years of publication of the Le Monde Diplomatique Newspaper. Our 'Cafe Diplo' meetings at The Gallery at Farringdon, in the City of London on selected Monday evenings, are presented (in English) in the context of our global anti neo-conservative-liberal tradition, and give an opportunity for lively debate between speakers and audience."

Next Cafe Diplo - Monday 5th November - Offshore Tax Havens: how the wealthy loot the world with Richard Murphy

Dear Friend of Le Monde Diplomatique,

We cordially invite you to join us our next Cafe Diplo on Monday 5th November 2012

The talk begins at 6.45pm and ends around 8.30pm, giving plenty of time for questions and discussion. Wine and soft drinks will be on sale. We suggest you arrive 15 minutes beforehand so that you can settle in with a glass of wine or fruit juice.

The Cafe is at our usual venue at The Gallery, 70/77 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EJ. The nearest tube station is Farringdon - the station has recently been re-built and after you emerge from either of the two exits you head up the hill into Cowcross Street. Map of the venue

Entrance fee: £3 (£2 for concessions). Tickets on the door.

Further details on Friends of Le Monde Diplomatique website and see also the future programme of events

Monday 5th November - Offshore Tax Havens: how the wealthy loot the world with Richard Murphy

Tax havens are secrecy jurisdictions lying at the centre of the Global Economy. Half the world’s trade passes through them, and they afford the opportunity to avoid tax, financial regulation, criminal law and democratic scrutiny. They hide trillions of dollars on behalf of banks, multinationals, wealthy individuals and criminals, leaving the rest of society to pay for the public services on which we all depend. Richard Murphy, a chartered accountant, economist and tax expert will discuss this web of corruption and concealment. He is a founder of the Tax Justice Network, director of Tax Research LLP and co-author of 'Tax Havens': How Globalisation Really Works (2009). His most recent book The Courageous State, was published in 2011.

We look forward to seeing you,

With Best Wishes,

Committee, FLMD

Link to Le Monde Diplomatique English Edition

LetsRecycle: "Compulsory recycling ‘next logical step’"

Link to web site

"A council is set to introduce a compulsory recycling scheme next year, in a move which it said was the ‘next logical step’ in increasing recycling rates and diverting waste from landfill.

"At a meeting of Croydon council’s cabinet earlier this month (16 October) councillors approved the introduction of compulsory recycling from 1 January 2013, in a bid to save the council money by diverting waste from landfill, as well as engaging with residents who do not recycle.

"... At the meeting, the cabinet noted that the London borough of Barnet was the first council in the capital to introduce compulsory recycling, in 2005. Since its introduction, Barnet has only imposed one fine. A number of other councils have adopted a similar policy, including Brent, Islington and Lambeth."

Thu 1 Nov: Friern Barnet Library: Blues of Cain

BBC: "New Barnfield incinerator approved by county council"

Link to web site

"Plans for a waste incinerator in Hertfordshire have received county council backing, despite opposition from Tory party chairman Grant Shapps.

"He described Wednesday's approval as 'fundamentally the wrong decision', based on 'flawed mathematics'.

"Members voted 11 to four in favour of the energy-from-waste plant at New Barnfield near Hatfield."

Waste Protest: "Neighbours blockade road, in protest at Old Oak Lane incinerator plans"

Link to 'Ealing Times'

"RESIDENTS blockaded the road on Saturday morning, as they stepped up their efforts to stop the development of a waste incinerator plant.

"The Triangle Island Residents’ Association protest aimed to highlight the disruption that Clean Power’s lorries* would cause them along Old Oak Lane, Acton, near Willesden Junction. Their temporary blockade ended around midday."

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* Clean Power Properties Ltd., a tax-haven company,

also proposes a waste incinerator at Brent Cross.

Broadway Ham & High: "Alexandra Palace reveals bid for future of its theatre and BBC studios"

Link to web site

"Even the crumbling ceiling and icy October air circulating in Alexandra Palace’s theatre cannot mask its once glamorous past. Looking out into the dark, abandoned auditorium, one can almost see a legion of theatre-goers waiting expectantly for the performance, yellow light bouncing off the magnificent chandelier, mumbled voices mixing with the sounds of musicians tuning their instruments.

"... To make it safe once more will take millions of pounds - money which, until now, has not been forthcoming. But, if everything goes according to plan, it could be welcoming new crowds by the end of 2016."

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Link to web site

'Bye Bye Brian, Don't Cry

Plus NoToMob discussion

Bye bye Brian
Brian bye bye

Bye Brian, Brian bye bye

Bye bye Brian,
Brian don't cry

Bye Brian, Brian don't cry

'Famous Five' Barnet bloggers set up new Twitter public list

Click above to subscribe to all or some

Growth and Infrastructure Bill

The Pinkham Way Alliance has received a request from Chris Faulkner who is responsible for the Pinkham Way Village Green application. He received the letter (below) from the Open Spaces Society, he says It is vital that this matter is raised with local MPs by as many people as possible. Please send emails if you can to:

Lynne Featherstone
Theresa Villiers
David Burrowes

The letter that Chris received is as follows:

The Growth and Infrastructure Bill has its second reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday 30 October. Please write urgently to your MP to press him or her to speak against clause 13. This will make it more difficult, if not downright impossible, to register land in England as a town or village green once it has been identified for development.

The government wants to stop “vexatious” applications to register greens which, it claims, are being submitted solely to thwart development. In fact few applications are purely vexatious and the clause has the effect of killing genuine applications too.

The Bill says that a 'trigger event' 'which includes first publication of a planning application or identification of the land for potential development in a local or neighbourhood plan' puts an immediate stop on any new application to register the land as a green. The trigger event may not even be public.

Furthermore, as soon as this part of the Act takes effect, no application to register can be made for land already subject to a trigger event unless that application has already been submitted.

When writing to your MP do, if you can, cite an example of a green in the constituency which has been registered in the last few years, is clearly being used and enjoyed by local people, and which might not have been registered had the Growth and Infrastructure Bill been law at the time. Send us your examples too.

The Open Spaces Society is briefing MPs to speak against this, and will be drafting amendments for the committee stage of the Bill. We shall keep you posted on progress.

Do contact me if you need further information. Please act fast, the second reading is on Tuesday.

Thanks for your help.

Kate Ashbrook
General Secretary
The Open Spaces Society
25A Bell Street
Henley-on-Thames RG9 2BA
The Open Spaces Society is a registered charity (no 1144840)
and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England & Wales (no 7846516).

Bidesh Sarkar
Chair, Pinkham Way Alliance