Page 23 - Phonebox Magazine April 2008

website of the Astronomical Society of South Australia at: http://www.assa.org.au/edm.html#calculator
Website proving popular
My councillor website seems to be proving to be a ‘hit’ since going live towards the end of last year. On the website you can find news items relating to Olney and district, along with links to local organisations and media. The site has received over 1600 hits since late November 2007, with over 500 during the first half of March. You can visit the site at: http://www.stephenclark.mycouncillor.org.uk
Amnesty
Milton Keynes Council is teaming up with the local energy efficiency advice centre to stage the first ever light bulb amnesty in Milton Keynes. This will give residents the opportunity to trade in their energy thirsty old filament light bulbs for longer-lasting, energy-saving bulbs. Over two days in April, residents are being invited to hand over old fashioned light bulbs so they can be replaced with two free energy- saving equivalents. The light bulb amnesty visits Central Milton Keynes Library on Tuesday, 1 April and Bletchley Library on Tuesday, 15 April. Advisers from the MK Energy Efficiency Advice Centre will be on hand to offer lots of advice including tips on a whole range of energy-saving measures in the home. The bulb offer is limited to a maximum of two free energy-saving light bulbs per household. If every household in Britain switched just one old fashioned light bulb to an energy-saving one, the electricity saved would be equivalent to the output of two power stations. Energy-saving light bulbs use one fifth of the electricity of the old fashioned equivalent, allowing users to save up to £7 a year per bulb. They can also last for up to 12 years.
There has been recent media coverage of how low energy light bulbs can be safely disposed of when they do finally fail. This is because they contain a small amount of mercury. Gill King, the Council’s Waste Strategy Manager, advises that fluorescent tubes of any kind, including low energy lamps, can be taken to any of the three
community recycling centres. Each of the centres has a special container for recycling and safe disposal of the lamps. If in doubt, ask an operative at the site when you visit.
Planning Changes
The law regarding planning applications is changing with effect from 6 April 2008. From this date all planning applications, apart from those relating to mineral workings, will have to be made using new standard application forms. The aim of the new forms is to standardise and streamline the procedure for submitting a planning application. Prior to implementation of the new forms each Local Planning Authority had its own individual planning forms, often differing considerably in style, content and information required. The new forms will carry the full range of application types, with the exception of the mineral applications, and replace all existing planning application forms. Whilst the new forms will be available in paper format, the aim is to encourage applicants to complete an on-line version of the form. It is hoped that this will make the submission of applications easier and quicker. Any application submitted using the old style forms after 6 April will be deemed to be invalid. There will also be new requirements for the validation of applications. In addition to a national list of core requirements needed for validation, the government is encouraging Local Planning Authorities to adopt a local list of further information required. These local lists are selected from a generic list provided by the government. For anybody who is still awake at this point, more information on the new forms – known as ‘1-APP’ forms – is available from the planning section on the Council’s website: http://www.milton- keynes.gov.uk/development-control/ K
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Phonebox Magazine 23
CONTACT INFORMATION
Cllr Stephen Clark, 32 Dagnall Road, Olney, Bucks MK46 5BJ Telephone, SMS text or fax: 01234 711743
Email: steve@mklibdems.co.uk
Website: www.stephenclark.mycouncillor.org.uk