Essex taxpayers are being asked to cough up another £200,000 to fund 'research' into the Conservative county council's Banking on Essex project, despite significant sums of money and hundreds of hours of council staff time already invested in the scheme.
New housing sites can often occur when larger gardens or other small sites are redeveloped, these "windfall" housing sites provide several hundred new houses a year, yet our Conservative District Council has failed to ensure developers of these sites pay any contribution to local infrastructure. Normally new housing developments are required to contribute towards the cost of new community infrastructure (known as s106 contributions) to help pay for improvements to roads, schools, libraries, community facilities and social housing. Yet Mid Sussex currently excludes new developments of under 15 houses of having to contribute towards new social housing, and developments of five or less houses do not have to make any contribution to local infrastructure (unlike some other local councils). This gives an incentive to developers to redevelop single back gardens such as Folders Lane in Burgess Hill with piece meal development that avoids them having to make any contribution - despite providing dwellings in this road
Oxford University has withdrawn its name from one of its oldest societies after a row over a racist joke.
A European Union wide ban on the manufacture and import of 100-watt and frosted incandescent light bulbs came into force on 1st September. They are being phased out to encourage the switch to more energy-efficient fluorescent or halogen lamps, which use up to 80% less electricity. The ban is one of a series of measures in the EU to tackle climate change. However, 60W and other less powerful clear bulbs remain but will be progressively phased out until all traditional bulbs disappear from shops across Europe in 2012.
Southeastern have reinstated direct peak time trains during peak hours from Folkestone to Charing Cross following a Lib Dem motion to Shepway Council calling for urgent lobbying to protect those direct train services to Charing Cross from Folkestone.
Conservative Association told to change its name after an alcohol-fuelled evening at Oxford University when racist jokes were told.