Highlands and Islands Greens

In the process of organising an entertainments licence for an event recently, I discovered that an Easter Fun Day would require a licence.

The Highland Community at large are well-known for volunteering time and effort in organising local events.  Previously, events which were free required no licence; however, in the process of delving into the conditions for 2012, I discovered that we needed to have a licence for free events as well as those where people pay.  The cost was over £150 and, for outdoor events, that figure rose to £370.

This was a quite ridiculous situation, where the outcome could only be negative, with volunteers unwilling to commit to giving their time and effort and even facing the possibility of having to dig in their own pockets to pay for these applications.

The paperwork ran to some 5 pages of application, 22 pages of guidance notes, 5 pages of conditions and a page each of Certificate of Compliance and Notice of Application.  What happened to ‘plain English’ and simplifying paperwork!

This piece of legislation made a mockery of encouraging people to volunteer, and of the much-touted phrase ‘The Big Society’.

When I pointed out the ludicrous nature of these new legal stipulations, it caused a furore at Highland Council and instigated a bit of a media frenzy, with local and national papers giving it accurate coverage between the 2nd and 9th of March, and then the Daily Mail on the 10th.  It was the catalyst for a series of meetings and ultimately, the Highland Council bowed to pressure and good sense and overturned its decision to charge for community events.

So, a good result was ultimately achieved.

However, it showed that we have to remain vigilant at all times.

The Highlands and Islands Green Party (HIGP) has today published its Vision for a Sustainable Society for the Highlands and Islands.  “We believe that adopting the green, sustainability agenda is the key to a better quality of life for present and future generations here in the Highlands and Islands” said Myra Carus, Vice Convenor of HIGP and Green candidate for the Black Isle.

“We have a clear vision of a sustainable society for the Highlands and Islands, which is based on the four interconnected principles: ecology; equality; participative democracy; and peace and non-violence.

We are confident that a green, sustainable future is possible in which all can participate and benefit.  Green policies can help create a happier, healthier society which strengthens rather than damages the ecosystems it depends on.  The Highlands and Islands Green Party will campaign vigorously to achieve this vision and its benefits.

“The Highlands and Islands are among the most beautiful and attractive places to live and work in the world, but housing, jobs and good local organic food can be hard to find, and it can be difficult for local voices to make themselves heard.  Local services in this large, rural area are expensive to deliver and often under threat.  New technologies can be slow to arrive where there is little commercial incentive to roll them out.

“In fact, economic, social and environmental issues are inseparable.  For change to be sustainable, we need to address the growing inequalities in society.  Social divisions and ill health will only worsen as long as people endure poverty, a degraded environment, substandard housing, unhealthy food and pollution.  Measures to boost our economy will fail if they cause expensive environmental damage now, or in the future.

Notes

Key measures included in the Vision are:

• Helping create a future where the land and sea of the Highlands and Islands are flourishing and managed by people who are rewarded for being environmentally sensitive, particularly so that our natural resources can be passed onto future generations in a better state than we inherited them.
• Replace the centralised Highland Council with a new framework of local government that reflects the people and communities across the Highlands.
• Ensuring that sufficient funds are made available to schools to provide everyone with academic, practical and aesthetic skills, working in close co-operation with local enterprise and traditional industries.  This will help provide access to universal, life-long education, which is essential to a just, democratic, sustainable society, whose members are able to enjoy a satisfying quality of life.

The full Vision can be downloaded at: http://higreens.org/public/higp-vision-2012/view

We have seven candidates standing in Argyll & Bute, Highland and Moray Wards on May 3rd.  See this page for details.

We need your help.

The Green Party is small.

A small Party with a big Agenda.

Our core values of justice, equality and care for people and the environment permeate all our policies.  We have candidates for the local Councils’ elections of 3 May in Highland, Moray and Argyll & Bute.

We have one major disadvantage. We have no rich donors like the other parties and rely on a very small number of staunch and loyal supporters to keep us afloat.  That’s why we are appealing to people outwith, as well as within, the Party to help contribute to our election fund.  Without funds, it is very difficult for us to manage an effective campaign.

Can you help to support democracy by donating to the campaign, to allow us to operate to a level which gives greater visibility to our campaign?  We hope you will support us by giving a little to help democracy flourish in Scotland.

Please send donations, made out to Highlands and Islands Green Party, to our treasurer:

Lizbeth Collie, Bankhead, Corry of Ardnagrask, Muir of Ord, IV6 7TN

– or to one of the Highlands and Islands Green Party Vice-Convenors:

Myra Carus, 12A Marine Terrace, Rosemarkie, Ross-shire  IV10 8UL

Eleanor Scott, 8 Culcairn Road, Evanton, IV16 9YT

– or to me, Highlands and Islands Green Party Convenor:

Fabio Villani, Clover, Alves, Forres, IV36 2RA

Thank you and best wishes

Fabio Villani

PS we would also be delighted to hear from you if you would like to offer practical help during the campaign: delivering leaflets, canvassing, displaying posters, driving canvassers around or people to the polls on polling day etc.

This is the new version of the HIGP website; our second website ever, and first major revision since 2005.  As at the time of writing it’s not quite completed but completion is expected within 48 hours.  Our original website is still viewable at higreens.org.  Many older documents from before 2010 are still on the site there, and will be available for the next few weeks at old.higreens.org.

Please note: Some links to the old site will not function in future, but you may be able to find what you were looking for using the search facility on this site.  We hope you find this update interesting and useful.

(Thanks are due to the many Unix, Python and Plone developers, and the Open-Systems movement generally, whose contributions have enabled this.)

The Scottish Green Party has announced its candidate for the Black Isle ward in the forthcoming Highland Council elections.  She is Myra Carus, a long-time resident of Rosemarkie and an activist within the community.

Myra was recently instrumental in highlighting the Council’s absurd new rules requiring free community events to pay for a licence, and the council was forced into a u-turn.  She is also an active member of Transition Black Isle and the Rosemarkie Amenities Association.

Myra said: “I am honoured to be chosen by the Greens to contest the Black Isle ward.  In past elections the Black Isle has always delivered a substantial Green vote so I am optimistic that we can do well this time.

“I look forward to bringing some common sense into the Council’s decision-making!"