Updated local Covid-19 contact details
Below are updated details on two of the three community hubs in Folkestone and Hythe, as well as thre district-wide details.
26 Mar 2020
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Convid-19 - Putting a spin on the Science
Protect our NHS and Social Care staff and back the self employed Now.. Since the end of December 2019 we have seen the Coronavirus spread from the far east to Europe and the US with devastating speed. World news and social media has tracked the virus, country by country as this disease defies borders, barriers and lock-downs and leaves families bereaved and in fear. This virus, for which we have no immediate solution barring isolation and medical care has brought large sections of the world to a standstill within the short space of 10-12 weeks. For the most part, nations have correctly turned to their scientists, researchers and clinicians to not only expedite a vaccine but to model effective responses to protect the lives of their citizens from what is a now the greatest health challenge we have faced for a century.
26 Mar 2020
The Times They Are A Changin'
The Times They Are A Changin' [Part 1...] The Bob Dylan song from the early 1960s sprang to mind earlier when I was thinking about coronavirus and its consequences, many of which are unprecedented.
KM
25 Mar 2020
Coronavirus - helpful links
These online resources are produced by volunteers and public bodies. Please use them and share them with your friends and...
25 Mar 2020
Your help needed - Stratton Road Right of Way
Will you help Cllr Tom Fidler by completing an Evidence Form? Councillor Tom Fidler's Right of Way application has finally gone live on the Surrey County Council website for people to submit evidence forms that the footpath running through the field at Stratton Road to Laytons Lane. This legal procedure means that the footpath is added as a legitimate right of way that should be legally recognised and protected on the definitive map. This would mean that this route has to be protected.
25 Mar 2020
‘We’ve suffered heartbreak in the past and have come through the other side stronger and more united’ – MP issues rallying cry to Cumbria to stay at home to beat Coronavirus
Commenting on last night's decision from the Government to put the UK in lockdown to try and prevent the spread of Coronavirus, South Lakes MP Tim Farron said:
25 Mar 2020
Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath and spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero, called on the government to provide incentives for energy providers to develop solar power in the UK.
Mrs Hobhouse slammed the government for falling behind on meeting the UK’s renewable targets for solar energy capacity. The government plans to deploy 70 GW of solar power across the country by 2035. However, as of 2022, the UK had only installed 14.3 GW of solar pv.
Following a visit to a rooftop solar system installed by Bath & West Community Energy (BWCE) at Beechen Cliff School last year, Wera Hobhouse is keen to encourage the development of similar solar projects across Bath. The solar system is predicted to significantly cut the school’s fuel costs and reduce their carbon emissions by 52 tonnes a year.
In the House of Commons on the 27th February, the Bath MP noted that the UK is lagging behind the rest of the world in renewable energy investment, she urged the government to offer incentives to energy providers to improve solar capacity.
However, Andrew Bowie, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Energy Security and Net Zero, ignored Hobhouse’s proposals, failing to describe the ways in which the government could incentivise solar energy. Instead, Bowie said that the government’s Solar Taskforce would publish recommendations for solar power and reiterated the government’s target to deploy 70 GW by 2035.
Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath and spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero, commented:
“The Conservatives are falling dangerously behind on meeting our targets for renewable energy production. It is no good the government setting an ambitious 70 GW solar target if they are nowhere near reaching it.
“It is clear that they have no plan to get us back on track to reach Net Zero. Evidently, they are more than happy to dismiss perfectly good proposals like incentivising solar power. That is why I am so proud that Bath is home to many community energy projects like the solar system at Beechen Cliff School, so that we can lead the way in renewables.”
“It is not just our climate targets harmed by the Conservatives’ delay. Families in Bath and across the country are struggling to pay soaring energy bills which investment in renewables could curb. That is why we Liberal Democrats would build significantly more renewable energy, aiming to generate 80% of our electricity from renewables by 2030.”
Peter Capener, Managing Director of Bath & West Community Energy said:
“Our work with schools is really demonstrating the value of community energy in both addressing the climate crisis and reducing fuel bills. Rooftop solar installed last year has already saved local schools a combined total of £134,209 and has reduced carbon emissions by 224.3 tonnes, which is equivalent to 12,173 journeys from Bath to Edinburgh by train!”
