THIS weeks Redditch Standard letters.
Ipsley Meadow land appropriation
AN OPEN letter to Michael Burkinshaw, Bereavement Services Manager at Redditch Borough Council.
Thank you for the opportunity to object against the proposed cemetery at Ipsley Meadow.
This was designated as green open space for the recreation activities of the people of Redditch.
This is a land grab similar to the one tried with Morton Stanley Park a few years ago and the only reason for this is that it is free!
A cost of building a cemetery on Ipsley Meadow has not been published and would involve improving the access road, car park and toilet facilities and later on open the floodgates for further development, for example a new crematorium.
This would destroy the wild life in this area and enjoyment for the people of Redditch.
When looking at the cost surely the better option would be to expand the existing Abbey Cemetery down into the fields below as the infrastructure is already there.
This is just one of many objections to the proposed changes that have galvanised the people of Redditch to take action for example Ipsley Meadow, Library, Community House, Car parks for Doctors Surgeries in the Church Road area.
Enough is enough – roll on the next council elections.
Len Ierston
I COULDN’T resist a wry smile at the letter from K Wass.
The anti-cemetery lobby is so self-righteous!
I put up on IMPS a factually accurate post which broke none of the group rules but stated, in passing, that a prominent campaigner who exercises her dog there, was motivated from ‘self-centred’ reasons.
I was banned with no right of appeal or defence.
Ipsley admin didn’t even deign to respond when I asked for proper clarification.
On considering this, the reason was obvious, they are nearly all self-centred in their opposition – NIMBYs.
I now realise Redditch Borough Council are the good guys in this.
The cemetery is needed, will be green, benefit wildlife and is certainly better than another housing estate.
It just means the NIMBYs can’t exercise their dogs or ride a bike in one part is all, a very middle-class problem not comparable to the real worries over the cost-of-living crisis besetting many of us.
I respectfully suggest K Wass is more careful who he/she associates with in future.
J Logan
Organ Donation week
I AM writing to you today to let you and your readers know that this week is Organ Donation Week and there has never been a more important time to talk about organ donation.
Currently in Hereford and Worcester there are 51 people waiting in need of a kidney transplant.
There are usually around 5,000 adults and children in need of a transplant in the UK but due to the pandemic and the impact this has had on the number of transplants that have been carried out – as well as the number of people too poorly to be able to have a transplant – this number has now increased to around 10,000 (7,000 who are actively waiting, and an additional 3,000 who are in need of a transplant but are currently suspended from the transplant list).
We are the UK’s leading kidney patient support charity and see every single day the life changing impact that a kidney transplant can have one someone’s life.
You are more likely to need a transplant yourself than you are to become an organ donor because only one per cent of people who die do so in a way that allows organ donation to take place.
If you do nothing else this week, please think about what you would like to happen to your organs when you die and take a couple of minutes to register your decision and let your loved ones know.
Thank you,
Fiona Loud
Policy Director at Kidney Care UK
Extreme conditions for working animals
WORKING animals perform vital roles in the world’s most impoverished communities, but they are often overlooked and many people are unaware about the extreme conditions they face.
Across the world, more than 200million working animals make it possible for poverty-stricken families to earn a small income and survive.
By doing the jobs of trucks, tractors and taxis – and transporting goods, food, water and firewood – these horses, donkeys, camels and elephants support the livelihoods of more than half a billion people.
Sadly, many working animals endure exceptional tough conditions, pulling heavy loads in extreme temperatures across dangerous terrain.
Their welfare is often very poor and they lack access to essential veterinary care.
This situation will only be worsened by the growing impact of climate change – extreme weather patterns, natural hazards and food and water shortages will be hardest of all on working animals and the communities they so loyally serve.
SPANA’s mission is to improve the lives of working animals in low-income countries globally.
The charity is providing lifesaving veterinary treatment to sick and injured animals, as well as training owners in animal care and teaching animal welfare lessons to children to bring about long-term, lasting change.
On World Animal Day (Tuesday, October 4), please visit spana.org/worldanimalday and help ensure working animals – including those facing exceptionally harsh conditions – receive the recognition, respect and vital care they need.
Linda Edwards
Chief Executive, SPANA (the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad)
EDITOR’S COMMENT
YOU HARDLY ever heard of JD Wetherspoon putting its pubs up for sale – until this week where Redditch’s Rising Sun was among 32 placed on the market.
Last week’s ‘mini-budget’ seeming to boost the coffers of the rich while doing little to help the majority of families and the pound plummeting to its lowest against the US Dollar also makes for depressing reading.
Hard-working families and Redditch businesses – which provide jobs for those families – are struggling.
More help is needed for the masses.
