 YOUR SAY
Let us have your opinions on how it effects you or how you would solve it.
TOPIC: BAN THE TRAIN SMOKE.
The smoke from the Sheringham trains is disgusting, it is 1000 times worse than any
cigarette smoke. It is filthy black smoke that forms a cloud to drift over the town, and
people waiting at the bus stop have to be subjected to breathing in the dirty fumes. I
suffer from Asthma and the smoke makes me feel bad when shopping. Why can't the train let
off steam further along the line to avoid polluting the town? What do other readers think?
A Sheringham Resident.
TOPIC RESPONSE: Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm Site in the Greater Wash - For or
against?
We had no response at all this topic, which I find rather sad. Does this mean
that the people of Sheringham have no interest in the subject at all? Maybe it is
because we have all been off on our holidays.
Environment will suffer under Labour plans for 'tip tax'
Whitehall plans to punish residents for throwing away rubbish responsibly. Trevor
Ivory has warned that Labour Ministers are planning a new 'tip tax', on top of the soaring
levels of council tax and a new regime of charges for the collection of household rubbish
('bin taxes'). The small print of the Government's proposals for new 'financial
incentives' on rubbish tips were recently sneaked into an obscure Whitehall document.
The plans call for town halls to charge local residents for using their local rubbish tip
to throw away household rubbish that cannot fit in their bins. Councils currently have a
legal duty to provide sites for local residents to dispose of household waste free of
charge.
· Tip tax: In a Government consultation paper, Labour Ministers call on councils to levy
new bin taxes for the doorstep collection of household rubbish. Yet the detail also
recommends new charges on local residents who dispose of household rubbish responsibly at
an official council rubbish tip but there will be no reduction in council tax.
· Fly-tipping will soar: Independent research by the Jill Dando Institute of Crime
Science has found that easy access to municipal rubbish sites is essential to prevent
fly-tipping. It warns that reducing access or increasing the costs of using such sites
will increase fly-tipping. Illegal dumping is now at a record level, with 2.5 million
incidents reported across England last year, but only 1 in 100 fly-tippers being
prosecuted.
· Smaller bins: The move comes as a Whitehall quango has recommended that councils reduce
the size of wheelie bins. Families will literally find it impossible to dispose of their
rubbish responsibly.
Mr Ivory said, "This Labour Government has an appalling record on fly-tipping, yet
their plans for a new 'tip tax', on top of bin taxes and existing council tax bills, will
punish responsible behaviour. Whitehall has already advised town halls to shrink the size
of wheelie bins. Now I fear that responsible people who want to depose of large household
items at their local rubbish tip will be hit by new stealth taxes. This anti-green tax
would reward fly-tipping - with more fridges, sofas and black bin bags littering our
landscape and open spaces across Sheringham. Rather than using every opportunity to tax
people even more, the Government should be working with councils to improve the recycling
facilities at local rubbish tips."
Readers Email
I am shortly moving to Sheringham with my Family, and will require a reliable House
Sitter, who can manage three dogs, (two large) (one smaller) when we are away from home.
These trips may be up to four weeks at a time. Contact Jon on 07733470888. |
Feet for Purpose?
Major new campaign from Age Concern North Norfolk
One in three older people who can't cut their nails hit by lack of services. Older people
across North Norfolk are being left housebound and disabled by a lack of foot care
services according to Feet for Purpose?, a major new report from Age Concern.
One in three people over 65 - over two million older people in England - cannot cut their
own toe nails. Increasingly nail cutting and other foot care services are being withdrawn
or restricted by the NHS. Although nail cutting may sound trivial, lack of even the most
basic foot care frequently leads to complications that can result in dangerous falls,
severe restrictions on mobility and social isolation.
Older people are increasingly being forced to suffer while on a long waiting list for NHS
chiropody or pay for private foot care. The alternative - which affects many of the
poorest and most vulnerable older people - is to take desperate measures or to lose
independence and suffer deterioration of their physical and mental health.
The Department of Health must take a lead in resolving this problem and include chiropody
in the NHS maximum waiting time target of 18 weeks, foot care services should be free and
universally available to those who need them, but many people are left without adequate
foot care.
Decent foot care doesn't just help keep older people active, it can have a longer and more
positive effect on general physical and mental health. It can enable older people to be
more active and independent and it can reduce the risk of falls - a major cause of older
people ending up in hospital.
Age Concern North Norfolk would like to hear from local people who have had problems
accessing foot care, or have had to endure long waiting lists for chiropody or other
podiatry services.
Contact Age Concern North Norfolk on 01263 823126 or write to The General Manager, 71
Station Road, Sheringham, Norfolk, NR26 8RG.
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