We are looking for a Heart Hero
I would like to invite your readers to nominate someone for a British Heart Foundation Heart Hero award.
The awards recognise the incredible efforts many people make to fight heart disease and we’re looking for the people who have inspired you with their drive and determination.
They might be someone who’s improving services for heart patients, a fundraiser who’s brilliant at organising events, or someone who is overcoming the daily challenge of life with a heart condition.
These awards are our way to honour the heart heroes in our community. It is really easy to nominate a friend, colleague or relative. So please help us celebrate their achievements and give them the recognition they deserve.
For more information or to make a nomination visit bhf.org.uk/heartheroes
Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive British Heart Foundation
Make public all the plans for Green Dale
I read with some alarm your report about the proposed development at Dulwich Hamlet FC, ‘Hamlet plan could get bigger – with more affordable homes’, Southwark News January 19, 2017.
The article states that “If Southwark Council gives the proposals the go-ahead, developers Greendale Property Development will rebuild the stadium and put more than 155 new homes on the nearby Green Dale Fields”.
This goes far beyond the original proposals to build the stadium on Green Dale and should be even more fiercely resisted – the fields are Metropolitan Open Land and cannot be developed for housing, or indeed for a substantial structure such as a stadium.
We need to see any alterations to the original application as soon as possible so that local people can judge for themselves. Without full disclosure – including substantive matters agreed between the developers and the council which have not yet been made public – it will be impossible to respond properly to these ill-conceived proposals.
Guy Haslam, Friends of Green Dale, www.friendsofgreendale.org.uk
Green Dale can not be built on
I would like to point out regarding your article ‘Hamlet plan could get bigger – with more affordable homes’, Southwark News January 19, 2017
At a hearing in the former Southwark Town Hall in Peckham Road some years ago, I heard a Government inspector rule that Green Dale is Metropolitan Open Land and therefore cannot be built on.
As London’s population is growing public green spaces are increasibngly important.
John D. Beasley, Peckham
Tell me what Brexit means to you
Please could I ask your readers to lend me their help and make their voices heard.
It’s seven months since Britain voted to leave the European Union. And I’m conscious that while we are hearing a great deal about what Brexit might mean to politicians, few people are asking what it means to those who really matter: the electorate.
It seems their views – indeed, their voices – are being drowned out by the growing cacophony from the Westminster village created by political commentators, analysts, forecasters and the rest.
I want to create the opportunity for everyone’s voices to be heard.
Whatever your readers’ thoughts on Brexit, or however they voted in the referendum, I want to hear their views.
I want to know what is important to them over the next few years? What information do they feel they need about the European Union institutions that they are not getting? What are their priorities regarding Britain’s future relationship with the EU? What do they think those involved in this process need to consider?
I would really appreciate it if people would take two minutes to fill in my survey to help people get the answers they need – and, importantly, to make sure we understand what they are saying.
They should go to www.syedkamall.co.uk/survey to be part of this important project. Their views really matter to me, even more so at this important time.
Syed Kamall, Member of the European Parliament for London
Join the Sea Cadets
Meet new people, learn new skills and gain qualifications with youth charity Sea Cadets, which is encouraging young people and adults to see how they can get involved this February.
We are urging 10- to 17-year-olds seeking adventure and adults interested in volunteering to contact their local unit to find out more about the amazing opportunities available.
Young people at Sea Cadets enjoy a variety of activities, from dinghy sailing to catering, and have the opportunity to experience offshore voyages or to travel abroad to meet cadets from other countries such as Bermuda, Hong Kong and Australia. Nationally-accredited courses, including the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, are also available.
But it doesn’t end there. Sea Cadets, an all-inclusive charity, is committed to ensuring young people have a bright future, and with us they develop life skills that set them in good stead for whatever they choose to do in later life. More than 90 per cent say Sea Cadets has given them higher self-esteem and offered “direction and guidance”.
This would not be possible without our amazing 9,000 volunteers – but we need more like them. You could make more of your free time by showing cadets how to sail, powerboat, kayak or windsurf, we will even teach you how, or by managing finances and budgets or fundraising for your local unit.
Volunteering is a great way to give back to your community, and on top of that you can gain qualifications, boost your own CV and help young people to realise their full potential.
If you do decide to join us – or if you are already part of the Sea Cadets’ family – please spread the message on social media this February by using the hashtag #BestKeptSecret.
You can find your nearest Sea Cadet unit at www.sea-cadets.org/find-your-nearest-unit
Captain Phil Russell RN