I present this petition on Islamic burial spaces organised by Mr. Tahir Begg, the Muslim Association of Croydon, and Croydon mosques. Having campaigned on this issue since 2000, I am pleased to read the petition, which states:

The Petition of the people of Croydon and South London,

Declares that there is a severe shortage of burial space for the Islamic community.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to take steps to secure such burial space.

And the Petitioners remain, etc.

[P000738]

I would like to present to the House of Commons this petition of the Friends of Elvaston, residents of Derbyshire and others against the proposed planning application to lease Elvaston Castle country park in Derby to private developers, in support of a similar petition recently presented to me with 5,200 signatures.

The petition states:

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to take steps to prevent the approval of the planning application to lease Elvaston Castle Country Park to private developers, in order to preserve the natural environment of the park and its rights of way for public use; and to protect the biodiversity and the important geological and archaeological assets within the Park.

Following is the full text of the petition:

[The Petition of Friends of Elvaston, residents of Derbyshire and others,

Declares that the Petitioners object to the proposed planning application to lease Elvaston Castle Country Park to private developers;

Declares that the change of use to a privately run facility will deprive some sections of the community of the opportunity to use the Castle, which previously hosted activities for all the community; that building a hotel complex and golf course on the land will reduce public open space and lessen the designated green belt; that the beautiful Major Oak Tree in the Paddock, which is around 260 years old, will be felled to make way for the complex; that the golf course may deposit pollutants into the River Derwent and surrounding water courses, and may create risks to the Country Park, Elvaston, Thulston, Ambaston and surrounding areas;

Further declares that changes to the footprint of the 17th century coach road will affect members of the public who use the footpath and that traffic on the planned new road would be in conflict with other Park users and would create air and noise pollution, as well as requiring thinning and felling of trees, some of which are protected species;

Further declares that to access the proposed golf club house, a new road would be needed on or parallel to Bedford Drive, a designated Public Right of Way, and that if the new road is parallel to Bedford Drive then this would require felling of trees, loss of habitat and the creation of air and noise pollution, as well as loss of land for drainage, signage and lighting; that the new road development would fall within the Country Park, green belt and English Heritage Grade 2 Listed Gardens; that increased traffic could cause dangerous road hazards, and that other new roads are also planned that could damage the Country Park;

Further declares that the proposed development could seriously harm the biodiversity of the designated Local Nature Reserve and the Nature Conservation Area within the Park; that the planned golf courses could destroy the Regionally Important Geomorphological and Geological Site containing remains of flora and fauna from the Ipswichian period of the Earth’s Development; that archaeological remains dating from every period of history back to the Middle Stone Age could be damaged or destroyed by the planned golf courses; and that the planned actions will contravene many Local and Regional Plans and Planning Policies.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to take steps to prevent the approval of the planning application to lease Elvaston Castle Country Park to private developers, in order to preserve the natural environment of the park and its rights of way for public use; and to protect the biodiversity and the important geological and archaeological assets within the Park.

And the Petitioners remain, etc.]

[P000739]