London Has the Solution to Our Bus Problems
With yet more bus cuts set to hit Sheffield this year, we look at why our buses have been failing for years and what you can do to help fix them.
CAS
25 Jul 2022
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
River Festival – and Stagecoach buses
Mayor Dave Hodgson in his regular email has praised all those involved in making this year's River Festival a success and also provided comment on Stagecoach's Park and Ride servcie. The email is below:
25 Jul 2022
Job Sharing for Councillors?
Local Democracy should be for everyone Democracy should be one of the greatest acts of equality and yet many are excluded from the very processes it entails. It relies on people being able to engage, but unfortunately the very nature of the work throws obstacles in the way of this willingness. Time to participate and a means to participate are often the greatest challenges. Those with work, disability, childcare responsibilities and family commitments, are often unable to engage in a meaningful way and we wonder why we aren't able to attract a greater diversity of people into the political arena.
JD
25 Jul 2022
Let’s Restore Trust and Fix this Mess
Local people are hugely disappointed that Government planning inspectors have overturned the decision by Elmbridge Counc...
25 Jul 2022
Bacon in the Basement
Aylestone Ward Councillor Nigel Porter has questioned why the Francis Bacon painting "Lying Figure No 1" owned by Leicester City Council is not on display for the public to view at Leicester Museums and Galleries.
LLD
24 Jul 2022
Plans? What plans?
Those travelling along Derby Road in Ashbourne might be surprised to see the road layout shown in the photo below at the entrance to a new estate being constructed by Cameron Homes (part of Tara Homes) on land adjacent to Hilltop to the SE of Ashbourne.
PD
24 Jul 2022
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!”
