the banksyboy brief: April 2016

Tuesday, 26 April 2016

Green Party standing up for Mersea & Pyefleet

Candidates and Mersea residents Lisa and Peter

Mersea Island and villages in the Ward face unique challenges in addition to those of Colchester Borough. The ridiculous decision of the Chancellor to build a new nuclear power station at Bradwell to be designed and operated by the Chinese has energised the population to protest. Furthermore, despite the Tory government’s undermining of renewable energy, sustainable electricity generation in the UK has now reached 24.7% and increasing. Why should we rely on nuclear power for future energy supplies?

Colchester Green Party actively supports campaigns against the dissolution of Fuel Element Debris (FED) at Bradwell and subsequent discharges of radioactive residue into the shallow Blackwater estuary. The authorities have a duty to leave a clean, safe environment for our children, grandchildren and beyond. Local fishermen and conservationists share these concerns.

The local elections this May 5th are unusual due to the ward changes and you will each have 3 votes to choose 3 councillors. The Green Party has 3 candidates standing in our ward:

Lisa Britton (Mersea)
Peter Banks (Mersea)
Bartosz Mizgier (Colchester)

Vote Green to demonstrate your desire for change; for a clean, green environment and a caring community.

Locally we need:

Renewable energy sources and subsidies
Revival of the Cycle Highway to Colchester outlined in the Mersea Appraisal
Fair-Fare & eco-friendly bus services
Appropriate infrastructure suitable to support new and affordable housing
Sustainable and ethically managed industries

What we don’t want:

A new nuclear power station
Lack of transparency re dismantling processes of Bradwell Power Station
More nuclear industry waste storage at Bradwell
Any radioactive discharges into the Blackwater and atmosphere arising from FED dissolution

Promoted by Robbie Spence on behalf of Lisa Britton, Peter Banks and Bartosz Mizgier
Colchester & District Green Party, all at 124 Morant Road, Colchester CO1 2JD

Friday, 22 April 2016

Only the Greens think this is ****** crazy

Welcome to the world of safe, environmentally secure Shale Gas Extraction... and remember taxpayers will pick up the bill when things go pear shaped.

Vote Green!

Monday, 18 April 2016

Seeing Green...

So I was asked to stand as a candidate for the Green Party in the Colchester Borough Council election coming up on 5th May 2016... I said 'Yes'... here's a summary of 'Why Me?' thoughts:

Yes, I was born and bred an Islander, albeit on the Isle of Wight, and first visited Mersea in the 60s before moving here permanently in 2002. I feel a deep sense of belonging to the Borough, this island and am passionate about the need for greener, renewable energy, sustainable businesses and lifestyles.

In the ward of Mersea and Pyefleet we live directly in the lee of Bradwell Power Station. Currently the station is being decommissioned and dismantled with completion dates repeatedly shifting from 2015 through to 2019 and possibly even further. The issues in the process have meant that the highly radioactive reactor cores have had to be encased in-situ which means that they, along with the Intermediate-Level Waste (ILW) store, it will be on our doorstep for the next century or so. Another part of this process is dissolution of fuel element debris (FED) which results in a discharge of radioactive residue, after treatment with nitric acid, directly into the Blackwater and Tritium into the atmosphere. As the river and estuary are relatively shallow it means this radioactive effluent will travel back and forth in the Blackwater for many tides before dispersion, promoting continued local community objections. Additionally the trapping of eddies of effluent in the mud creeks and saltings strengthens and concentrates this waste for longer still.

It is now being proposed that ILW from other sites should be transferred to Bradwell, which will make the site a regional waste store OR would not only increase the amount of waste on the site but, more importantly, the amount of radioactivity.

Entrust the role of councillor to me and I will work with local agencies and protest groups to prevent this. Groups such as:

FAB - Fight Against Bradwell (closed Facebook Group - apply to view)
MIEA - Mersea Island Environmental Alliance
BANNG - Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group
Save Mersea Harbour
Blackwater Guardians

Since entering parliament in 2010 Green Party MP Caroline Lucas has been extraordinarily diligent in her efforts to ensure public views are represented. I would do the same for Mersea. You will already know me through my involvement in HM Coastguard (to 2015), the Parish Church and other voluntary groups and activities. As one who contributes towards the creative arts I am well qualified to encourage culture and aspiration for all to enjoy the fruits of our labours.

Let’s join together and make the world a better and more joyful place for us and the generations to come can enjoy.

P