Nancy Matthews

Former independent Flint Town Councillor Michele Jones has joined the Welsh Liberal Democrats, believed to be the first Lib Dem to sit on the ancient historic council.

Michele, who represents Castle ward in Flint, has joined the party after being inspired by Kirsty Williams AM, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, whom she recently shadowed as part of a ‘Women Into Public Life’ initiative, the second stage of the Women Making a Difference project.

The project encourages Women from all backgrounds to become more actively involved in their local communities and in the decision making process both locally and nationally.

Michele, who remains committed to working hard for the residents of Castle ward who elected her to the Town Council last year, highlights the Lib Dems’ reputation as strong grassroots campaigners as one of the key reasons for her decision.

Michele says: “”I hadn’t realised how much control those in power had over every aspect of our lives and this encouraged me to stand in the local elections in an attempt to make changes for the better.

“I remain firmly wedded to that belief and I have seen first hand by shadowing Kirsty the similarities in our approach and that the Lib Dems are also committed to putting people first.

“I will continue to be a strong independent voice for the people of Flint Castle ward, free to put local residents’ concerns first, but with the support of a party that encourages individual freedom.

“I am delighted to be joining a progressive party with the ideas and beliefs that mirror my own and I look forward to playing my part in the party’s future success,” added Michele.

Speaking in Flint this morning (Thursday 19th February 2009) Kirsty Williams AM was one of the first to congratulate Michele for joining the Welsh Lib Dems and said: “It was a pleasure to be shadowed by such a talented and enthusiastic individual as Michele and I was therefore delighted that Michele has decided to join our party and I am confident she will have a very bright future in politics.”

PLANS by the Liberal Democrats to massively increase the energy efficiency of all homes will lead to big savings in energy bills, say Liberal Democrats in Flintshire.

 In a message to local residents, campaigner Cllr Nancy Matthews has backed the plans to raise the standard of home energy efficiency.  “The energy efficiency standards of 99 out of every 100 homes fall well below what they should be,” said Cllr Nancy Matthews. “Nearly every one of us is spending money on bills to heat the great outdoors as so much energy escapes from our homes.  “We want to bring home energy efficiency up to the highest level possible. In the past year, fuel bills have gone through the roof. But too often, our heat is escaping through the roof as well. Our plans will put an end to that.  ”By cutting energy waste, we are also cutting the damage we do to the environment. It’s a win-win situation: lower fuel bills and fewer emissions that are leading to climate change that has given us extreme weather.” The Liberal Democrats’ plans include requiring energy companies to use some of the £9 billion profit they have made from emissions trading to insulate the homes of the poorest residents. 

They will also set up a National Green Loans scheme which will pay for a complete overhaul of the energy efficiency of people’s homes. Repayments will be added to energy bills with the loan paid off from the savings in energy use. Loan repayments will not be allowed to be more than the savings. 

“This is a great idea for helping people to cut their energy bills and help us save the planet,” said Nancy.

Black sack collections: Mon Dec 22, Tues Dec 23 & Wed Dec 24 all as normal Dec 25/26 will be collected on 2/3 January; Mon Dec 29 Tues Dec 30 Wed Dec 31 all as normal Jan 1/2 will be collected 2/3 Jan Monday 5 Jan all back to normal.

Fortnightly blue box and bag Week 1 no collections from Dec 25, Normal collections resume Jan 5

Week2 no collections on Jan 1, collections will be one day later than on calendars

Fortnightly brown bin no collections in Christmas period, collections resume 19 Jan - week 1 26 Jan - week 2;

Recycling Parks closed Christmas Day; Christmas trees can be taken to any recycling park.

Work is nearing completion on new footpaths in the area courtesy of the Welsh Assembly. 

In Nercwys the paths are part of the safer routes in the community scheme and while the lights have not yet been finished the new paths provide access across the village green to the school. 

Meanwhile on the A494 much needed work is close to completion by the Welsh Assembly’s trunk road agency making footpaths on this busy main road much safer for local residents and pedestrians alike.

Is it that time already? 6.30am (7.30 is a lie-in). Peel myself out of bed to put together bacon sandwiches for the traveller (my husband who works in the

Midlands)

Goodbye, and off he goes. Collect dogs from outside, I am very popular with them but I suspect that is to do with the prospect of food!

I didn’t mean to go into politics but when the sitting councillor retired, my Lib Dem colleagues pressed me to stand for election – in effect saying, ‘You’ve always been critical of the County Council so put yourself in the firing line’

Another coffee (if I can master the machine) and a glance at the diary. Most things are already programmed into my head but I have a horror of missing a meeting.

What have we got today?

9am  meet Leader of the Council and executive colleagues for an informal discussion, have to leave early for a meeting

10am  with officers who work within my portfolio area - Waste Management and Strategy.  Not an area I’d really considered before - Yes, of course, we recycle at home, but once the stuff was collected I never gave it another thought.  Now I am looking at everything we don’t want or use – is it a resource; would someone else be able to use it; what weight is the waste remaining in the black bag.  My aim is 150kg per house per year.The big discovery is that if cardboard is collected separately (there is currently a pilot scheme in part of Flintshire) and food waste separately the black bag isn’t very heavy at all!

12noon   Meeting with a new Director who has to hit the ground running, just like the politicians, and has to know everything about Flintshire the minute he walks through the door at County Hall.

2pm  the afternoon can be free, so its time to read up on the papers for tomorrow; phone/email son in Australia, son in Nottingham; sister in

USA –why does it always seem to be the wrong time where they are? Can I call in to drink tea with dad?

5pm  tuna and rice again for the dogs’ dinner hope they don’t realise that this treat is because I have forgotten to buy a sack of food. Off for a walk.

7pm Community Council. No papers here, they all come electronically to my laptop (yes it is mine and no the County Council did not provide it for me).  The only question is, ‘Can I press the right buttons?’

9pm back home to walk the dogs, sneak a glass of wine and half an hour’s TV then off to bed.

 

Its a great life but gosh, an extra couple of hours in the day would be really useful.

Flintshire Lib Dem County Councillor Nancy Matthews helped the campaign to elect Barack Obama as the next US President during a holiday with her sister Naomi in America last week.  Nancy helped by campaigning on the doorsteps of North Carolina for Barack Obama.  Her sister, Naomi, has lived in the US state for 10 years and invited Nancy to join her on the streets to drum up support for the Democratic candidate in a black neighbourhood. 

Nancy said: “I arrived at Naomi’s house on October 30 and by the following afternoon she had me in the local office working for the Obama campaign. 

“We counted leaflets into bundles and my sister was doing telephone canvassing. 

“But by Saturday we were out knocking on doors in a black neighbourhood – two white British women neither of whom were able to vote as we were not American citizens! 

“But at least we weren’t on the shift that went out at midnight last night to hang voting reminders on people’s door handles!”

HOUSEHOLDERS in Flintshire will be able to recycle cardboard for the first time, thanks to a new pilot scheme.

Flintshire Council has launched a trial scheme, targeting one area in the county, which will give residents the chance to recycle their cardboard waste, alongside newspapers and magazines, in larger blue recycling bags.

The council has, until recently, only had access to facilities to recycle paper, cans, plastic bottles, glass and green waste.

Cllr Nancy Matthews, executive member for waste strategy and management, said: “We have excellent recycling collection services in Flintshire, but people also want to recycle cardboard packaging, and now we are introducing a trial scheme so they can do this.”

Residents in the pilot area will be issued with new blue bags and a leaflet explaining how they can use the new service, collections for which began on Monday.

Cllr Matthews added: “We appreciate residents in all areas of the county will be keen to have this service too, but we ask people to be patient, as we trial this only in certain areas initially.”

For more information on recycling, call 01352 703350.

Flintshire Lib Dems are calling for the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance to be extended to include the blind. 

In a motion tabled by Cllr

Robin Baker to be discussed at the next full Council meeting on October 28^th, the Lib Dems highlight the injustice of the current system despite the obvious difficulties blind people endure. 

Cllr Baker, Leader of Flintshire Lib Dems, said: “No one can doubt the difficulties experienced by blind people and the barriers to independent mobility their disability creates. 

“This motion calls on the Government to recognise those difficulties and barriers and provide blind people with a level playing field. 

“Many blind residents find it difficult to access facilities that many of us take for granted – including Council services – without facing additional costs. This campaign aims to redress that injustice and unfairness and help with those costs, particularly at a time when everyone is facing difficult financial times. 

“I hope all members support this campaign,” he added.

 

Members of Flintshire County Council are to visit UPM Shotton this week (Friday 3^rd October 2008) to assess the impact of the renewable energy plant that reduces its carbon dioxide emissions by 30,000 tonnes annually. 

The cross party visit, coinciding with Flintshire Business Week, has been arranged to help elected members gain a greater understanding of the technology that has increased UPM Shotton’s self-sufficiency in heat by up to 95% and in power by up to 25%, whilst also reducing carbon dioxide emissions. 

Organised by Cllr Nancy Matthews, Executive Member for Waste Strategy and Management, 18 elected members will meet with senior UPM executives to discuss the success of the investment. 

Cllr Nancy Matthews said: “This visit will give elected members the opportunity to see for themselves the benefits of renewable energy and how it can provide heat and power while also reducing emissions. 

“Embracing new and emerging technologies are going to be vital in developing a sustainable strategy to tackle waste and waste management in the coming years, so it is critical that elected members have an insight into what is available to us. 

“We are working on a new waste strategy to be considered before the end of the current calendar year and this visit will help with its development and with members understanding of the issues we face.”

Well with a title like that and with my responsibility for Waste Strategy and Management at County Hall how could I refuse to head of to the NEC in Birmingham and find out what was happening in the world of RWM! 

The exhibition proved to be extremely productive and informative, leaving me full of ideas and inspiration! From new technologies for dealing with waste and recycling to seminars on new legislation and its impact and live demonstrations of new equipment, all designed to encourage and improve recycling and waste control.  And I also learnt some very interesting facts about the subject while I was there! Here are a few I thought I should share with you along with some links to other sites to help you find out how you could do more to tackle this problem. 

Waste & Recycling factsEach year the

UK generates about 100 million tonnes of waste from households, commerce and industry combined but the majority of this still ends up in landfill. (Source: Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs)It has been estimated that up to 80% of the contents of our dustbins could be recycled or composted. (Source: www.recyclezone.org.uk)

On average, each person in the UK throws away seven times their own body weight (about 500kg) in rubbish every year. (Source: www.wasteonline.org.uk)

Every year each person produces four times as much packaging waste as their luggage allowance on a jumbo jet. (Source: www.wasteonline.org.uk)

Around a third of all the food we buy gets thrown away. If we stopped wasting food it would have the same impact as taking one in five cars off UK roads. (Source: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com)

Around 600 million UK household batteries – weighing the equivalent of 110 Jumbo Jets – are sent to landfill unnecessarily every year. (Source: Waste & Resources Action Programme)

Waste typically costs up to 4% of a company’s turnover. (Source: Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs)

About 98 per cent of FTSE-listed companies now mention the word environment in their annual reports and accounts. (Source: Environment Agency)Computers account for 39% of electronic waste. (Source: Environmental Services Association)