‘We don’t need another convenience store’
I AM very concerned resident of Headless Cross who lives on Birchfield Road.
I and many residents attended a planning meeting last Thursday to hear the proposed plan of a yet another convenience store on the site of the Massala Club on the Birchfield Road adjacent to Feckenham Road.
Many views were expressed but we felt we were ignored.
I don’t want to see another convenience store in the area as we already have a Co-op at the top of Evesham Road, a corner shop across the road from where the Massala Club is and if it did go ahead that would go out of business. And there is the Co-op on the other side of Evesham Road in Crabbs Cross.
Headless Cross is a lovely area. I have lived here most of my life and attended both Vaynor and Walkwood.
If this new store does go ahead, I dread to think what the traffic is going to be like at peak times.
But the representatives of Worcestershire County Council were obsessed with the volume of traffic around August time where there’s hardly any traffic because the schools are off for the summer.
I really hope they see sense and not go ahead with this.
Hannah McGahan,
Headless Cross
‘Sir Keir ready to make Britain great again’
YET again Sir Keir Starmer leads the way in continuing to fulfil the manifesto commitments that he was elected upon.
The news that there will now be 13,000 more police is most welcome in a Britain left broken by Tory austerity over 14 years.
The new proposals to get Britain working are welcome too.
When I worked on a Conservative campaign team when David Cameron was Tory leader in 2010 his central pledge was to invest in British workers. Yet after Brexit the Conservative Party handed out visa after visa to foreign nationals so as to not just undermine the central pledge but to break it completely whilst at the same time claiming to be tough on immigration, despite having the most open border policies in decades.
And then we come to the health service. I remember David Cameron saying it was safe in Tory hands. Well it was so safe that waiting lists rocketed, the Health Secretary would not even negotiate with doctors, and, when there legislation on changes in parliament recently, there was barely a Tory in sight.
Unlike the Tories who ran down Britain, Sir Keir Srarmer is making our country respected on the world stage again and on the home front, Sir Keir Starmer is making Britain great again.
Geoffrey Brooking
‘Marie Curie is there for you over Christmas’
CHRISTMAS is such a special time of year. A chance to celebrate and create lasting memories with those closest to us. It’s also a time when we miss our loved ones the most.
But spare a thought for those people facing the last Christmas with a loved one, or the first without them – the festive season can be particularly challenging and difficult to navigate. Many families need help to get them through the season, and don’t know where to access the support they need.
Marie Curie believes everyone should have expert care and support at the end of life, free from unnecessary pain, and have the dignity and respect they deserve, whatever their illness or where they live.
Our free support line and webchat is open over the festive season, including Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, offering practical and emotional support on everything from managing symptoms, navigating care to financial information, including how to get help with energy bills, and bereavement support.
Our trained Support Line Officers are there if you need support or a listening ear, as well as our Telephone Companion service that offers regular calls at a time that suits you.
Whatever your question, we’re here to help you.
If you or someone close to you needs support over Christmas and New Year, please contact Marie Curie for free on 0800 090 2309 or visit mariecurie.org.uk/support to chat online.
Matt Williams,
Marie Curie Associate Director, Information and Support
‘Help us deal with the homelessness crisis’
LAST week it was revealed that across England nearly 160,000 children will spend Christmas without a safe home.
Many won’t have known the joy of their own room, or Christmas dinner around the table with family or presents under the tree. But they will know the anxiety of watching their parents cook meals in a kettle or fight a losing battle against the cold and damp seeping through their temporary accommodation walls. No child should have to face this.
Across Britain homelessness is rising. High rents and increasing living costs are pushing more and more people to the brink. Now with the nights getting bitterly cold, people with nowhere to go will be forced to move between sofas, night buses and 24-hour cafes, in a desperate effort to stay safe and warm.
This is the brutal reality of being without a safe home and it must change.
At Crisis, we will soon be opening our Christmas services once again to support thousands of people experiencing rough sleeping or living in insecure accommodation such as hostels and B&Bs.
Once through our doors, people will have access to the specialist support we provide all year round so they can develop the skills and confidence to rebuild their lives away from homelessness.
But this vital work is only possible with the generosity of the British public. So, we are asking you to help someone leave homelessness behind for good by giving the gift of a Crisis Christmas.
Help us be there for anyone who needs us. Please visit crisis.org.uk/christmasgift to donate to Crisis.
Matt Downie,
Chief Executive at Crisis
We welcome your letters….
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EDITORS COMMENT
EVERYONE in 2024/25 in the UK deserves a decent place to live, to be able to afford their bills and other overheads and to have at least a reasonable standard of life.
So it is great news 78 Redditch Borough Council flats and surrounding areas have been revamped with £1.8million in funding and even investment in homes to follow.
There is far more benefit from these schemes than the cheaper bills for tenants.
The more retrofitting we do and greener housing we have, the better it will be for the environment and all our futures.
