Press Releases for 2004

REBUILDING COMMUNITY LIFE IN KENT - MAJOR PUBLIC MEETING ON THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SUSTAINABILITY BILL

25th November 2004

Councillors, community organisations and the public are invited to attend a public meeting to discuss the Local Communities Sustainability Bill. The Bill proposes that Government provide the resources necessary to enhance community facilities and services, particularly those which serve environmental sustainability (like rural public transport and village shops) and community maintenance (such as good facilities in each urban and rural community for children, young people and the elderly.) Hazel Dawe, who will be chairing the meeting, comments:

"Central Government has too much of the public spending 'cake.' Local Government is expected to achieve miracles with minimal resources. The Government spends 4 times as much on quangos as it does on the whole of local government. The result is that existing community strategies and environmental policies are seriously under-funded. The Local Communities Sustainability Bill will serve to press Government to redistribute public spending to give more to local government. This meeting is one stage in building a broad coalition of organisations and individuals to push the Bill through Parliament.(1)"

The meeting, a regional meeting for the whole of East Kent, is called Local Communities ending community decline and is on Thursday, 9th December 2004, 7.30pm Canterbury Centre, St Alphege Lane, off Palace Street, Canterbury.

SPEAKERS will include:

- Charles Secrett - (Former Director of Friends of the Earth now Director of ACT Active Citizens Transform)
- Emily Shirley - Canterbury, Cittaslow Movement (Slow Cities Movement) & People Against Canterbury Expansion
- Stephen Shaw - (SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES BILL Campaigner)
- CHAIR: Hazel Dawe - Campaigns coordinator, Local Works campaign in East Kent & Campaigns Officer, Kent Green Party
followed by a Question & Answer Session - ALL WELCOME - drinks and nibbles provided.
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FURTHER INFORMATION: Dr Hazel Dawe, Campaigns Officer, Kent Green Party, on 01233 645167 or 07747 014487. Contact address as above. Note: 1. Broad coalitions have delivered new legislation in the past: the two Road Traffic Reduction Acts and the Home Energy Conservation Act are examples.

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27th March 2005