A proposal to put an elevated walkway through the trees at Symonds Yat Rock in the Forest of Dean have been rejected by planners. The Forestry Commission has been told the scheme is too visually intrusive to be acceptable in an area of outstanding natural beauty.
Shepway District Council is in the process of carrying out a review of polling districts and polling places. It has undertaken a process of public consultation and will shortly consider the representations it has received.
The top US military commander in Iraq, General Petraeus, has come under heavy criticism in Congress as he reports on the progress of the US military surge. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos dismissed Gen Petraeus' assertion that military objectives of the surge were being met. In his testimony before two committees, Petraeus said he thought around 30,000 troops could be withdrawn by the middle of next year. A record 168,000 US troops are now in Iraq after 30,000 arrived in the surge between February and June.
The Liberal Democrats have been voted the greenest of the three main political parties in an audit by Britain's environmental groups published today. How Green Are Our Parties? The Green Standard Report concludes that none of the parties is yet committed to the policies and action on the scale required to meet the range and urgency of the environmental threats facing the world. The Liberal Democrats, regarded as the party with the most long-standing commitment to the environment, come out on top despite efforts by the two biggest parties to catch up.
Park Ward Liberal Democrat Focus Team has started to deliver their September Focus across the Ward. The main stories are: Claire Darke says "There's too much packaging", Bottled water insanity, New litter bins for the West Park.
Kent Highways have announced they are planning to improve the existing pedestrian facilities in Horn Street, Cheriton at the junction of Queens Avenue (private MOD road). The aim of the scheme is to improve the existing footways, enabling pedestrians and pupils from St Martins Primary School to cross Horn Street at a safer location.