http://www.davidchappell.org.uk/articlearchive.php Recent Press Articles from David Chappell en-GB David Chappell http://www.davidchappell.org.uk/ Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/ (c) 2008 David Chappell 2008-08-20T18:02+01:00 United Kingdom http://www.davidchappell.org.uk/articles/000012/labours_1066.html Labour's 1066! 2008-06-29T15:00+01:00 http://www.davidchappell.org.uk/articles/000011/reform_europe.html Subsequent to the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by 862,000 of the 500 million people living in the European Union should the whole process come to a halt? 2008-06-15T12:00+01:00 http://www.davidchappell.org.uk/articles/000010/housing_need.html I read with some concern the views of Bury Society and the Suffolk Preservation Society. To care for the character and environment in which we live is a worthwhile cause. We cannot however ignore the needs of our community. It is the needs of people we should look after first. In Bury St Edmunds the average wage is below the national wage, while the cost of housing is above the national housing. Curbing house building will only widen this gap. 2008-06-06T17:00+01:00 http://www.davidchappell.org.uk/articles/000004/homelessness_and_poverty_in_bury_st_edmunds.html I was pleased to see so many people attending the meeting on Poverty and Homelessness in Bury St Edmunds on Friday. It was organised by the Christian Network for Justice and Peace and was very well attended. Representatives from Shelter, Gatehouse, the Borough Council and the Citizens Advice Bureau addressed the meeting. It is clear that while many volunteer organisations have stepped forward to help, after the Borough Closed the Night Shelter so many years go, there is a clear and consistent demand for emergency accommodation. A need that is not being met. According to the Borough Council, while there are over 5,000 people on the housing waiting list there are 146 homeless people in the Borough. Though waiting list is something of a misnomer as the waiting won't do you any good. 2008-04-06T18:00+01:00 http://www.davidchappell.org.uk/articles/000001/sell_the_royal_mail_and_save_the_post_offices.html The announcement of the closure of so many post offices in our villages is a nail in the coffin for many of the villagers. The Local Development Framework currently being developed for the Borough specifically seeks to exclude villages without services, and these closures will have therefore a double impact. 2008-03-30T16:00+01:00 http://www.davidchappell.org.uk/articles/000002/scrapping_the_county_council.html This restructuring is going ahead with St Edmundsbury and other local 2008-03-30T16:00+01:00 http://www.davidchappell.org.uk/articles/000005/middle_school_costs_out_of_control.html Middle School Costs Spiral Out of Control 2008-03-15T18:00+00:00 http://www.davidchappell.org.uk/articles/000006/support_our_troops.html There was a time when British soldiers were the best trained and best led soldiers in the world. Of course, the same could be said of the Zulu's they fought at Rork'e Drift. The Zulu's died while our soldiers lived. They had short stabbing spears, and we had Lee Enfields! 2008-02-16T18:00+00:00 http://www.davidchappell.org.uk/articles/000008/taxes_or_green_action.html It seems the need for taxing us for energy use has won the argument and the government has embarked on a programme of new nuclear power stations. These will not come into use for 15 years and by then it will be too late. 2008-01-12T02:00+00:00 http://www.davidchappell.org.uk/articles/000003/has_our_pct_gone_mad.html First they decide to put out to tender the 'personal medical service' contracts of our GP's; then they decide there are enough NHS dentists in Bury St Edmunds and refuse to fund more! 2007-10-26T12:00+01:00 http://www.davidchappell.org.uk/articles/000009/parking_charges.html I noted with interest the comments of Sandra Pell (BFP 4th May) regarding parking charges. While she is right to say that there is no such thing as free parking she has missed a fundamental point in the current car parks were constructed and paid for with taxpayers money. Many of the taxpayers who paid for that construction are now retired and on limited incomes. To dramatically increase charges in St Edmundsbury for car parking is very much a case of the Council reaping revenue in a double whammy from taxpayers. I am sure the council will point out the need for maintenance, but our car parks are automated. It is not the case that increased revenue is needed to cover increased costs. Charges are rising far too fast for that to be a viable answer and the excess revenue from car parking is published for all to see who care to look. 2007-05-07T02:00+01:00