Residents Associations in the UK

FEBRUARY 2012

Malmesbury, Wiltshire- Help create a new vision for Malmesbury!  A new era where local people shape the future growth of their neighbourhoods has begun in England. Localism empowers local people to decide on a number of aspects that will determine their neighbourhood’s future.....more

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JANUARY 2012

The Affordable Housing Co
London Tenants Federation has just published a comprehensive analysis of the ‘affordable housing con’ which its members say has been a key component of a ploy by politicians and policy makers to hide how unaffordable housing is in London and how much we need more social-rented homes.  Through extensive analysis of delivery of new and additional homes in London from 2007-10, (the most recent data available), the report exposes how the affordable housing con works. The Affordable Housing Con PDF
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We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days
Checking out at the supermarket recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. I apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days“.  The clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations“.  She was right about one thing–our generation didn’t have the green thing in “Our” day. So what did we have back then? After some reflection and soul-searching on “Our” day, here’s what I remembered we did have….more
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Welform Reform
With the Welfare Reform Bill oozing its way through parliamentary process, a group of sick and disabled people came together to produce the Spartacus Report. The report was produced after every possible effort to engage with politicians was rebuffed ... more

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Over 65,000 of us have signed the petition telling the big gas and electricity companies to cut their prices
Can you quickly add your name now before we deliver the first batch of signatures to British Gas on Friday? Sign here: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/stop-the-energy-rip-off.  There are signs it's starting to work. This morning EDF Energy said they’ll cut gas prices by 5%! It’s not enough, but it's a start and proves that if enough of us get involved we can win. Please add your name now.

This morning, 38 Degrees found out that the government’s tax collectors - HMRC - don't seem to have been doing their job properly. Instead of making sure everyone is paying their fair share of tax, they’ve agreed to “sweetheart deals” letting big companies off paying billions of pounds...more

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Wheel Clamping May Not Be The Only Solution

Vehicle Control Solutions Ltd t/a FLASHPARK's website (www.flashpark.co.uk) was developed to provide private landlords and businesses with an alternative means to wheel clamping. It is a simple, ethical and non-confrontational response to illegal parking problems. FlashPark allows you to issue an on-the-spot parking charge to a vehicle that is parked in violation of your parking regulations. The parking enforcement system can be operated on any off-street parking area.  Costas Constantinou has kindly sent us the following article which I found quite interesting and hope you do too...more

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Buying a Dog?

Dogs are excellent companions but should not be an impulse buy! Walking a dog is an ideal way to keep fit and people in the street often stop to talk to someone with a dog. Dogs have been bred for 10,000 years to be a helper, a guardian and “mans' best friend”. They come in a variety of sizes and there is a dog to suit everyone’s requirements. However, dogs have many needs and their breed is an indication of how much maintenance they require...more

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The National Pensioners Convention propose that every pensioner has the right to respect whilst receiving NHS or community care (which should be shared by society as a whole), the right to a £500 allowance per household to cover the high cost of fuel and should receive a state pension of £178 a week. Local branches are requesting membership to raise matters that affect pensioners, such as a stolen travel pass which is now difficult to replace and travel expenses incurred during the loss period are not reclaimable...more

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The Recession could be the best thing to happen to us
I say this because many of us just don’t realize how much we are wasting and need to lower their household utility bills. Channel 4’s SuperScrimpers,if you haven’t seen it, aims to help households who are over spending in certain areas, by introducing them to their experts, giving them tips and setting them challenges... more

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Imran Khan speaking at the London School of Economics 
Many of our neighbours are from Pakistan and so after a friend told me about Imran Khan's new book, "Pakistan - A Personal History" and talk at the LSE, I felt it would be good to share this information with you so that you can have a better understanding about the situation in Pakistan and why many Pakistanis left their homeland in the first place.

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Life On A Low Income
One in four of the British population five in homes with less than half the average disposable income, A special report by Elaine Kempson of the Policy Studies Institute looked behind the income and wealth statistics ... more

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How Geoff's cancer turned my street into a true community
Amanda Platell wrote an article in the Daily Mail on the 24^th June 2011 and I have been allowed to reprint it on this site... more