Catherine withers
@Catherinewith11
Farmer at Bristol's last Farm, #biodiversity and #nature lover, sad about #greenwashing, greenfield housing, roads, passionate food producer. 🍃💚🍃🌳
Can't wait for Slocombe to press release this as huge win for Moody and the Avon cops. "This is why you pay me the big bucks Clare" Kev #KeepingBristolStreetsSafeForMaskedScallies
Monday morning this week in Bristol and this happened. Police told the man filming that because these lads covered their faces, they won't investigate it. Read the full story here: bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-n…
The appalling & virtually unprecedented decision by the judge in the Stoke Lodge TVG case to apportion costs 10% to the council 90% to 2nd defendant and TVG applicant as requested by Cotham Sch left a pensioner with an £85k bill because she was excluded from cost-capping talks.
Costs capping: what really happened – We need to talk about Stoke Lodge The council’s behaviour has been as appalling as Cotham’s. welovestokelodge.blog/2025/07/24/cos…
Oh dearie me. SoS claims "pollution levels are worse in Scotland", and then presents no evidence to justify that claim, instead he tries to double down. Time for a new bunch of advisors I think.
OFFICIAL: The SNP are managing water pollution in Scotland even worse than the Tories did in England👇🏼
Go to City Hall with a large megaphone — they seem to take action much faster. In my case, the problem was solved within 48 hours.
Clare Moody appoints ex-Mayor Marvin Rees's ex-assistant as deputy. Rees left office with a contract from Ameresco (£1bn contract with BCC), landlord to two houses & a new house in South Gloucestershire (~£700k). Rees earned less than his assistant. gazetteseries.co.uk/news/25336789.…
Must read by the very sharp @horton_official giving yet more evidence of this being most hostile government to nature in my 50+ years experience.
Interviewed @CHinchliffMP about how he was treated by Starmer’s team after he campaigned for nature, what he’s doing next; and if he is a “knobhead” 🕷 🦇 🦎 theguardian.com/environment/20…
Ummm, so you can replace irreplaceable habitats - how? Isn't that a contradiction in terms!
🚩Government's proposed concessions to the Planning Bill don't protect irreplaceable habitats. The Bill *assumes* that replacement habitats are successfully delivered. Here, Barry Gardiner MP interrogates Matthew Pennycook on this:
So, what should be scientific (quality + quantity) evidence for destroying irreplaceable habitat to enable a development, will instead depend on a politician's whim. Ideology wins over democracy. @AlexaCulver @RosieP4 @FriendsMoss @NickyGeeson @DanicaPriest @Catherinewith11
🚩Government's proposed concessions to the Planning Bill don't protect irreplaceable habitats. The Bill *assumes* that replacement habitats are successfully delivered. Here, Barry Gardiner MP interrogates Matthew Pennycook on this:
Hey @TonyDDyer and @bristolgreen and @carla_denyer is this the sort of service and treatment of a council tax payer that you think is remotely acceptable? Clue. It's not. You promised a new broom in May and candidly you are proving just as bad as the old broom!
So, any advice on what to do if a council is just refusing to respond to email related to the inspection of accounts period? @bristol_citizen @AlexMcKinstry1 @GSwinburn @PeoplesAudit @AudreySuzanne
Monday morning this week in Bristol and this happened. Police told the man filming that because these lads covered their faces, they won't investigate it. Read the full story here: bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-n…
Nine months on since the budget and still on the front pages every week. The disastrous human and economic impact of this IHT policy will keep it there until it is sorted, but @HMRCgovuk still see it worthy of giving someone a prize for it. Extraordinary. @NFUtweets
So what’s the real story behind why an unfunded, volunteer group trying to fight for shared access to their green space was left with two weeks to pay £85k? welovestokelodge.blog/2025/07/24/cos…
This is pub talk. How did our politics sink so low? independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…
"There have been 3 items at the Environment & Sustainability Policy Committee relating to nature, biodiversity and ecological issues in the first year of the committee system, with 6 meetings between Jul 24 and Apr 25" democracy.bristol.gov.uk/documents/b376… p9 and none in the Jul 2025 meeting..
We are losing land at a rapid rate… and productivity has stalled on what remains… and population is growing And our food system is fragile and ‘just in time’ based increasingly on imports, in a wider world that’s now unstable and where demand is growing so exports vulnerable
Officials advise - Ministers decide but I am not sure I would be celebrating failing to convey the uncertainty around the tax revenue, the negative impact on the rural economy and farmers’ futures. In every fiscal event I was exposed to this option was laid on the table - we said…
Posted without comment, not least because this has left me speechless.
If it’s not Brownfield first it’s greenfield only. This is the anti-nature mentality that cost the Conservatives the election. Simon Clarke lost his seat remember?
See here from @TomJackSpencer on why the Brownfield First policy is so bad 👇 x.com/TomJackSpencer…
The remarkable thing is that 9 months of protests, lobbying, expert evidence, select committee reports & media coverage hasn’t even made it so far as to raise an element of self-awareness at Treasury. Deeply troubling that any dept can be so utterly insulated from reality.
This does seem extraordinary. An analysis that has been widely criticised by economists can win you “expert of the year”. Resulting in a policy that has already caused some business owners to take their own lives and countless months of worry for others. Well done James.
Trying to book a driving test for my son only to find that the UK practical driving test system has collapsed in a total failure of bureaucracy. The Minister for Transport @Heidi_Labour should be ashamed.