LETTERS:
When are the people who grant shop licences in Solihull going to wake up and see what is happening to our High Street? Every time a shop shuts down we get a food shop. Do we need so many food shops?
Shirley High Street is becoming boring with the wrong sort of shops. Mark my word that we are witnessing the demise of a great stretch of road between Poppy Island and Bills Lane. Please stop the transformation of a busy High Street into a fast food chicken run.
Steve ‘Shirley Otter’
Shirley
The news that only two out of 53 European countries are more overweight than Britain is a wake up call screaming at us to find more achievable ways to move more.
It can be difficult to keep active, especially for those with office jobs, but inactivity is making people unhealthy and unhappy.
Even a short, brisk walk can have fantastic mental and physical health benefits, helping to prevent long-term chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and depression. Direct NHS savings from an increase in urban walking and cycling have been estimated at £17bn over 20 years. What’s more, it is incredibly easy to fit into a day – on the commute, the school run, or a trip to the shops.
This isn’t just about improving our current situation; it’s about safeguarding the future of our children. One in five boys and one in six girls of primary school-age are classed as physically inactive, and one in three children leaves primary school either overweight or obese.
Swapping the school run for a school walk helps build more exercise into a child’s day and ensures they develop healthy habits for life.
Earlier this year, Public Health England had to add a ‘severely obese’ category to its measurements of children aged four and five, and children aged 10 and 11. This should be enough to tell us that inaction can’t continue.
Tanya Braun,
Living Streets
Many of your readers may already be aware that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which helps brings to light the tremendous impact of cancer, not just on children themselves but on entire families.
At Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity, a third of the 2,300 families we support in England are caring for a child with cancer. Year on year cancer remains the most common reason for referral to our service and despite the improvements in treatment and prognosis, the impact on all family members remains devastating.
Every day our eight care teams of Family Support Workers help these families in whatever way they can. They provide expert practical and emotional support in their home, beside them in hospital or out in the community. The only thing stopping us reaching more families is lack of funding.
To find out more about Rainbow Trust I urge your readers to visit rainbowtrust.org.uk.
Thank you for your support.
Anne Harris
Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity
