Welsh Blogs.com

Residents of Hirwaun village near Aberdare are invited to attend a Council Planning Meeting to demonstrate that they want a say in the future of Hirwaun Village. The Meeting is at 5pm on Thursday 9th October 2008 at Sobells Sports Centre, Aberdare. At the Planning Meeting R.C.T. Councillors will be deciding on the Gloucesters/Ironworks site planning application which will have a huge effect on the village of Hirwaun. A company called Piper Homes want to build 130 houses on the Hirwaun Gloucesters and old Ironworks site. This area is much valued and used by the community as an area for recreation and leisure and home to an abundance of wildlife and......

The Children’s Food Campaign has written a letter to Burger King’s Head of Marketing, attacking the chain for its promotion of fast food to children using the new Indiana Jones film. The letter criticises the chain for using Indiana Jones posters, packaging and toys to promote its Kids Menu. The promotion comes just months after the high street giant signed a pledge that purported to cease all advertising to children on TV, in print or through the internet. The campaign is calling on Burger King to end its practice of using film tie-ins to promote its brand to kids. Burger King was found to be giving away one of eight Indiana Jones themed toys with every purchase from its kids menu. This is despite the fact that in December 2007, Burger King was one of eleven food companies...

Despite a clear message from the public that advertising junk food to children is not acceptable, last month the Food Products (Marketing to Children) Bill had its progress through Parliament blocked by opposing MPs. It’s rare for a Private Members Bill to succeed, and despite an overwhelming response from campaign supporters, the Bill was talked out by MPs who oppose regulations on advertising, and ran out of time on 25th April. MP Philip Davis, who worked for Asda before entering Parliament, was still speaking when the session came to an end. Nigel Griffiths, the MP who introduced the Bill, said “I’m absolutely furious a former supermarket executive from Asda, who doesn’t believe in advertising controls, has done this.” The lobbying from campaign supporters...

A new hard-hitting campaign to highlight the problems caused by dog-fouling across Rhondda Cynon Taf has been launched this week. The high-profile crackdown on dog fouling throughout the county borough includes a poster campaign of someone treading in dog mess with the bilingual slogan “Pick it Up! Codwch E!”. Dog owners are warned on the posters to clean up after their pets or face a £75 fine. Since April 2007 Council Officers have issued 10 fixed penalty notices of £75. One resident was found guilty by a magistrates’ court and further prosecutions are also likely to reach the courtroom if dog owners do not pay the fines they are issued......

A News Update from the Children’s Food Campaign including a plea to LOBBY your MP to protect children from junk food advertising. Support grows among MPs for the Food Products (Marketing to Children) Bill Writing to your MP about the Bill is the one most effective thing you can do to help protect children from junk food advertising, and will take no longer than five minutes. Pressure is growing on MPs to attend the Second Reading of the Food Products (Marketing to Children) Bill. The Bill will protect children from all forms of junk food marketing, whether via TV, the internet or packaging. Thanks to all the support we have received from our members and from national organisations in the fields of health, consumer rights and children’s welfare, Early Day Motion 445 which...

Yet another Rhondda Cynon Taff Allotment site is threatened with closure, this time it’s in the village of Trallwng, near Pontypridd. Adrian Sheperd (in the photo left), Field Secretary of Mordecai’s Allotment on Merthyr Road, Trallwng, explained : “Rhondda Cynon Taf are proposing the sale of the allotment land as surplus to requirements”. Occupancy at Mordecai’s Field Allotment site is 100% with a long waiting list. Two plots on the allotment are taken in a partnership with a local school offering precious experiences to children on how food can be grown locally. Allotment gardening in Rhondda Cynon Taff is very popular with full occupancy and waiting lists throughout the County Borough. There is, however, intense pressure on the Labour-controlled County...

THEY’RE the long-forgotten native fruit trees that once kept medieval Wales fed long before the days of the supermarket Golden Delicious. Nestling in the shadow of Conwy’s town walls, an unloved patch of scrubland contains the last remnants of a centuries-old orchard containing rare varieties of apples, pears and the unusual Denbigh plum. But a campaign has now begun to restore the untended site, crammed with the finest Welsh fruits of yesteryear, to its former glory. Mark Watson-Jones, organiser of the Conwy Community Orchard Group, said the trees still bear fruit every summer and autumn although many decades have passed since the trees received any tender loving care. Most of the fruit now goes to waste because the site is so overgrown. Fulls story on the Icwales website here...

The next Pontypridd Friends of the Earth meeting will be… On Monday 10th March 7.30pm At Clwb Y Bont, Pontypridd Visit the Group’s official website for more......

Next week MPs will be voting on whether to massively increase the use of biofuels in the UK. Without stronger sustainability reporting requirements, any increase is likely to: Fuel rainforest destruction. * Increase food prices. * Encourage destructive monocultures. * The ability of most biofuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in any meaningful way is also in question. The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) will make it compulsory to blend all road fuels with biofuels. It doesn’t distinguish between different biofuels, and if it’s implemented there will be no going back. Ask your MP to think twice before voting in favour of the......