Petition Target Reached - D Day Looms..

Post date: Feb 4, 2015 12:33:08 AM

Thank You!

Petition Target Reached! - We Did It!

paper petition bundle

Amazing! In just 2 weeks, we have smashed our 5,000 petition signatures target. Today, we delivered a mighty 7,241 signatures to Shire Hall! This includes the circa 3,500 online signatures recorded at the time we delivered the paper petitions today.We were totally blown away by the fantastic response to our call to action. We want to thank everyone deeply for their part in this incredible collective effort. The way so many of you did your bit to help was inspirational, whether it was collecting signatures on forms, sharing our links online or in other ways. All those individual actions added up to that great total above.

Believe it or Not....

We've managed to agree an extension to Mon 9th Feb for petition signatures because GCC's petition website was unavailable last weekend. Now help us get to 10,000! More details are below.

Target Met - What Happens Now?

All eyes are now on Wednesday 18th February when a decision will be made on whether to scrap the contract. This is, without doubt, the most important date for the campaign now, and the best (possibly last) chance to stop the incinerator.

18th Feb is when the County Council next meets. An "Extraordinary Meeting" will firstly be held on this day, as called for by Labour, where the motion to scrap the contract will be debated. The main council meeting will then follow, at which we will now be able to present the petition, having obtained more than 5,000 signatures. We get to introduce it, and it is then debated by the councillors.

Everything we do now is about maximising the chances of getting a decision to Scrap the Contract on 18th February. And we need your help to do this. Below is what we need you to do please.

COME to the DEMO

18th FEB

We need huge numbers of people at the demo we will hold outside Shire Hall on Wed 18th Feb. We need the rejection of the incinerator to be seen and heard by the councillors in no uncertain terms, as it is they who will decide whether to scrap the contract!

The DEMO will start at 9:20 a.m. The Extraordinary Meeting then starts at 10:00, when we can all go inside and attend. A big presence at the time the decision is made will put more pressure on councillors to decide in our favour.

Bring your banners, placards, loud voices, and kids, and help make a big impact.

Petition Breaking News..

New Deadline, New Target!

We managed to agree an extension to the deadline yesterday for paper and online petition signatures with GCC. This was agreed as the online petition was taken offline unexpectedly for maintenance by GCC for a large part of last weekend, preventing a large number of signatures. The new deadline is Mon 9th Feb, 9am.

Although we've reached the target, we'd now like to get to the magic 10,000. The higher the number at the time of the 18th Feb meeting the bigger the impact.

So if you thought you were too late to return your sheets or to go out gathering signatures - you're not - you have another chance! Equally, please keep sharing online: the link to the ePetition and our Virtual Javelin Park Tour video - now viewed almost 20,000 times.

You can download paper petition sheets from the website and then scan and email back to pr@glosvain.info.

Email Your County Councillor

It's really important that everyone writes to their county councillor to insist that they vote to scrap the contract. What you write needn't be long, but we need large volumes to put maximum pressure on.

You can find your councillors email address here and you can refer to some key points about scrapping the contract here.

It's particularly important that councillors understand that:

  • We can save circa. £250m by scrapping the contract and going with alternatives. This is in Gloucestershire's best financial interest. This is even after paying penalty clauses to break the contract with UBB.
  • The £60m - £100m cost to break the contract cited by the County Conservatives is not substantiated. No evidence has been given and hence it can't be relied upon.

Help Publicise the DEMO

We need your help to publicise the DEMO and ensure a massive turn out. Please spread the word and recruit friends and family.

You can help by:

  • Distributing the DEMO leaflet. Email us at pr@glosvain.info or call 01452 810979 to obtain leaflets.
  • Making the campaign more visible by putting up posters and signs in windows and around where you live.