Shropshire Star

Plan for a People's Assembly gains traction at Ludlow meeting

Campaign groups in the Ludlow and South Shropshire area are set to join forces to get their voices heard.

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They are planning to launch People's Assembly at a date yet to be arranged after an exploratory meeting was held at the Blue Boar in Ludlow and attracted 25 people.

Darren Childs, a Ludlow town councillor who launched a county wide campaign over ambulance delays in January last year after local hubs closed to be centre on Shrewsbury, said: "This will not be another tier of government.

"It will be an umbrella organisation through which different campaign groups can draw attention to what is needed.

"We currently have a threat to Bishop's Castle and Ludlow Hospitals going on, problems with local transport, ambulances, food banks and the cost-of-living crisis.

"I launched the ambulance campaign in January last year after my daughter suffered a seizure and it took time for an ambulance to arrive.

"I would like to get the ambulance hubs returned to South Shropshire.

"The ones in Ludlow, Bridgnorth disappeared and in 2018 the one at Craven Arms was closed.

"I am helping to establish the People's Assembly through social media and through other means.

"The meeting on February 3 at the Blue Boar has shown there is an interest in doing this.

"Within hours we had 145 members on a Facebook group.

"The People's Assembly will enable different groups to get their voice across through a collaborative group.

"The launch date has not yet been decided but will be announced in the future."