Hedon Blog launches Petition against the Saltend Smells

THE HEDON BLOG has taken the unusual step of launching a petition to help galvanise local action against the foul odours, from Yorkshire Water's Waste Water Treatment Works. The persistent stink has been making local residents life almost unbearable during the whole of July 2011.

The Blog usually tries to take a neutral position on most matters, but on this occasion has felt compelled to act as a local mouthpiece. Ray Duffill the website Editor explains:

"The smells from the Saltend site have become unbearable during the last 5 weeks. Comments on the Blog, on Fix My Street and on Facebook have shown the disgust and revulsion of local residents. Anecdotal evidence from local people reveals that people have been physically sick from the stench, and local asthma sufferers have experienced breathing difficulties. While the area has basked in glorious sunshine and heat, residents have been forced to close windows and abandon their gardens because of the stink." 

Ray continued: "At the presentation about the waste water site I attended in May, Neil Dewis, Yorkshire Water's Manager of Central Control and Optimisation, apologised for his company's 'no-smell' claims made prior to the site being built in 2000. It was "obviously wrong of the company to have made those claims" stated Mr Dewis who then want on to explain that the new £3.5m odour control unit - which he hoped would be operational by November, rather than December as originally scheduled - would see a "significant reduction" in odours but he could "not give a guarantee" that odours would be completely eliminated."

"Whilst people living and working in the proximity of the site continue to experience the impacts and effects of the Treatment Works, they need some recourse to force Yorkshire Water to act to reduce incidents. The petition calls upon local councils to treat the odours as a 'statutory nuisance'. If a statutory nuisance exists in your area then legal action can be taken to force the 'polluter' to act. Failure to act can be a criminal offence."

"The Treatment Works do carry out an essential service. Local councillors, officials and community leaders are willing to work with Yorkshire Water to improve things - and have been doing so for 11 years. But at the moment local people and communities are powerless to act. However, if the smells from the site are deemed a statutory nuisance then we can start to fight back and force improvements!"

Residents are asked to sign and share the online petition on the Hedon Blog and reproduced below. *Note: Please do not sign if you have already signed a paper copy.

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Co-operatives Fortnight Petition

SIGN THE CO-OPERATIVE PETITION to narrow the gap between rich and poor.

The gap between rich and poor is at its highest since records began. One half of the UK population now owns just one percent of the wealth. A generation ago, they had twelve per cent.

We can change this. Co-operatives Fortnight, is taking place until 9th July 2011, and is the co-operative sector’s national campaign. It aims to show how co-operatives help narrow the gap by giving everyday employees, customers and residents an equal say in decisions and share in the profits.

The central element of the campaign is an ambitious aim of getting 100,000 signatures in support of its petition to trigger national debate on co-operative action to help narrow the gap between rich and poor.

Click to here to sign and share the petition.

As well as signing and sharing the petition there are plenty of ways to get involved, online and offline. Visit www.uk.coop/yourstoshare/getinvolved to get involved. Join on Facebook and Follow on Twitter.

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Petition Power! Now local councils have to respond!

PETITIONS ARE A TRIED AND TESTED WAY for people to raise their concerns and make their opinions known. Yet it is perceived by some people that petitions are a waste of time because they are not taken seriously by those in power. That perception might now change due to guidance issued to local councils by the Government yesterday.

The Government has put in place the legal steps to bring into force on June 15 a statutory duty on councils so they have to respond to petitions. Everyone, no matter where they live, should easily be able to find information about how to petition their local authority and they will know what to expect from their local authority in response.

The new statutory guidance sets out exactly how councils will be expected to respond to all petitions, especially those expressing concerns in four key areas: Underperforming schools,on alcohol related crime and disorder, on underperforming hospitals and on anti-social behaviour. Those petitions that get enough signatures will trigger a full council debate and each council will have to ensure that their response is adequate. The Government's model rules suggest that 1,500 signatures could trigger a debate in this way. Although a debate alone may not be considered a sufficient response to a petition with this level of support.

The East Riding Council currently accepts petitions if signed by 10 local Government electors and submitted in writing. Under the new rules the Council will now have to establish a facility for accepting online petitions and have this in place by December 2010. The Prime Minister's Downing Street website has a successful e-petitioning facility which allows you to host your petition on the website and attract a wider audience to your cause, and then submits the completed document and signatories directly to Number 10. It is expected that local authorities including the East Riding scheme will draw heavily on this as a model.

So will these measures change the perception that "petitions are a waste of time"? It will be interesting to see how the East Riding adopts and adapts the new rules - and crucially whether local people feel empowered and feel that local petitions can make a difference.

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East Yorkshire Eye callenges council over senior officers pay

A CAMPAIGNING GROUP has petitioned East Riding Council to hold a special "scutiny hearing" into the salaries currently paid to top council officers.

EAST YORKSHIRE EYE  was set up almost 10 years ago to "Keep an eye on your local council" and help bring about open and transparent government in the East Riding. Its latest move is to petition the council to review recent pay awards to senior council officers.

At a time when council workers are being asked to tighten their belts and many East Riding families are struggling during the recession, then East Yorkshire Eye is concerned about the pay awards given in recent years to the council's top officers. In November 2008 the council's chief executive, Nigel Pearson, was awarded a £9,000-a-year pay rise, taking his annual salary to £162,000. At the same time, four other directors had their salaries increased by nearly £12,000 to almost £123,000 a year.

The petition calls for senior management pay at the East Riding Council to be cut and changes made to pension arrangements for senior staff.

Under the council constitution petitions have to be signed by at least 10 electors. They should be considered by the next appropriate committee.

Other websites of interest:

East Riding Council Website on Petitions
ERYCWatch - Pocklington based website
What Do They Know - Freedom of Information Requests to ERYC

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