Newsletter 71 - 6 January 2016
Happy New Year from Chiltern Countryside Group and news
Dear supporters,
We do hope you all enjoyed happy and relaxing Christmas and New Year celebrations and didn't think about HS2 for one moment!
The Steering Group send their thanks to you all for your continued interest and support for CCG's work throughout the past year and look forward to a continued partnership in 2016 as together we seek to protect our beloved Chilterns AONB and communities from challenges which would destroy their beauty, peace and tranquility.
FUNDS TO SUPPORT THE NATIONAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST HS2
STOP HS2 has been working relentlessly against the current plans to build HS2 since the project was first announced. The CCG has always worked in close partnership with STOP HS2; we share and support the same objectives. The STOP HS2 organisation has supported groups and individuals throughout the country, particularly through the Petitioning process and together with HS2 Action Alliance, helps to keep us all better informed on news and events relevant to our cause. STOP HS2 relies solely on volunteers who freely give many hours (and for some individuals, now years!) of their time to the campaign.
At CCG's Steering Group meeting in December it was unanimously agreed to make a donation from our small reserves to STOP HS2 in recognition of the tremendous campaign work which it has, and continues to, carry out, for the benefit of us all.
IF YOU IDENTIFY AND APPRECIATE THE CAMPAIGN WORK WHICH STOP HS2 DOES FOR YOU,
THEN PLEASE CONSIDER WHETHER YOU, TOO, MIGHT LIKE TO ADD A LITTLE EXTRA TO CCG'S CONTRIBUTION TO THEIR COSTS.
If you would like to contribute, please email the address above and we will supply further details on how you can do this. Thank you so much.
ON-LINE PETITION AGAINST HS2 - SPENDING THE MONEY ON UK'S FLOOD DEFENCES WOULD BRING GREATER BENEFITS
A new on-line petition has just been launched which requests that the funds for HS2 be spent on flood defences for those areas of the UK which have been ravaged by recent weather conditions and to improve these in areas which could face similar problems in the future.
The petition is currently some way from the number of signatories required for Government to consider so do please sign up yourself and circulate the link to whomever you think would be interested. If you have personal connections with people who have suffered from the floods then, of course, they would especially interested, but this is in the NATIONAL INTERESTS, so widest distribution of signatures would be welcomed.
Here's the link: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/117184
CHILTERN CONSERVATION BOARD CAMPAIGN AGAINST RAIL STRUCTURES IN THE CHILTERNS AONB AT GORING
And on the Oxfordshire side of the AONB in the beautiful Goring Gap, the CCB are seriously concerned at the effect of ugly, large gantries which are being built as part of the upgrade of the Great Western railway line.
Details in the Telegraph article here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/12078265/Rail-electrification-ruining-English-countryside.html
To find out more about how you can support the Conservation Board in their actions against these, please visit their relevant web page here:
http://www.chilternsaonb.org/news/248/24/Fight-to-protect-the-Goring-Gap.html
The CCG is always delighted to hear from supporters so please do get in touch with comments, questions or advice!
Best wishes to you all.
Steering Group,
on behalf of the Chiltern Countryside Group