28 October 2006

Anger as cardboard at recycling centre is sent to landfill

A Waverley resident expressed her concern after being told that two and a half tons of cardboard left at a recyling centre in Godalming would be sent to landfill.

Source: The Haslemere Herald, 20th October

Thousands pack street to back protest

The protest rally against possible cuts at Guildford’s Royal Surrey County Hospital has been hailed a huge success by its organisers. Politicians from all parties, union figures and supporters from the independent campaign to save the hospital were all pleased with the turnout, estimated at 6,000 people

>>>> See the full story in the Surrey Advertiser, on 27 October

11 October 2006

Where your council tax goes

74% Surrey County Council
11% Waverley Borough Council
3% Witley Parish Council
12% Surrey Police Authority

Source: Waverley Borough Council website

Editor's Question: So what happens if Surrey Police merge with Sussex?
How do they remain accountable to the electorate?

330 litre Compost Converter for £6.00

Waverley Borough Council are offering all residents the chance to purchase a 330 litre compost bin for £6.00. (Until 31st December 2006)

>>> Click here for details on the WBC website
or directly here: http://www.getcomposting.com/waverley/

Public say no to alternate week collections

From Materials Recycling Week, 11 Sept 2006

While the majority of people in the UK are prepared to separate their waste materials for recycling they want their bins emptied more than once a fortnight.

The findings, from an independent survey commissioned by MRW on behalf of the RWM Exhibition, show that public resistance to alternate week collection systems is still high. Two thirds of those surveyed wanted weekly collections for waste and recycling and only 17% were in favour of alternate week collection schemes. Public sentiment toward alternate week collections was shown last month in the high-profile protests in Scunthorpe, after the area’s recent introduction of the collection method.

>>> See the full article here.

Campaign for Weekly Waste Collection

Residents all round the UK are expressing concerns to their local authorities and in some cases are presenting petitions with thousands of names listed. More than often these petitions are ignored. Many of you will be aware that a petition with around 1,000 signatures was presented to Waverley Borough Council recently. What's happened? Nothing.

Weekly Waste is campaigning to introduce legislation dealing specifically with frequency of perishable waste collections. They believe that by joining forces nationally, we may be able to put pressure on OUR government departments to introduce legislation dealing specifically with frequency of perishable waste collections.

Witley Matters believes that those who have experienced problems or anticipate problems should make their feelings known.

You can do two things -

1. Sign up on Weekly Waste to put pressure on OUR government departments http://www.weeklywaste.com/join.htm

2. Why not email the Waverley Environmental portfolio holder and tell him yourself how often you think your rubbish should be collected. Send your email to Mr Victor Scrivens at vscrivens@waverley.gov.uk

03 October 2006

Witley Phone Mast

Did you know that T-Mobile are considering erecting a phone mast in Witley?

You might have seen a leaflet drop through your letterbox around the end of August.

Why do they need to erect a mast?

If you use T-Mobile, like I do, you probably think you already have a reasonable coverage in Witley. This map shows the current coverage of T Mobile 2G in the area (pink means a reasonable level of coverage)
















It is all to do with third-generation (3G) telephony. Put simply , we use 2G now, which is for voice, texts and pictures. 3G is for video and high speed internet access. And that needs different technology. The cell sizes for 3G networks are smaller than for 2G and so more base stations are required to cover the same area.

The first 3G mobile phone network opened in the UK in March this year.

The current 3G coverage in our area is almost non-existent:
















An action group has been formed to fight the proposed location of the mast.

For more infomation, and to be added to their email list, contact

Lizzy and Ron Greenman
Gharial, Wheeler Lane, Witley, GU8 5QT
Tel: 01428 683 687
email: milfordmast@uk2.net

Lizzy and Ron will keep you up to date on what is happening and how you can get involved

Some of my web links for those who want to dig into phone masts a bit deeper:

Perception of Health Risk – Mobile Phone Masts

3G masts 'cause health problems' - BBC website, 2 Oct 2006

Phone Masts Factsheet - Powerwatch

3G Factsheet - Mobile Operators Association

www.planningsanity.co.uk

www.mastsanity.org

www.mastaction.co.uk.

Copyright acknowledgements - maps from Street Data, Tele Atlas NV