Watford Borough Council has learned that they have been unsuccessful for the second time in securing £16m in additional funding from the government’s Levelling Up Fund.
Invitation to a "Meet a Lib Dem councillor" event. Come and find out what our councillors do.
This a living nightmare as hospitals run out of beds, patients are treated in corridors and ambulances are left queuing for hours.
On February 2nd we are reminded by the mental health charity MIND and others that taking time out of our busy, distracted lives to contact friends, colleagues and family, is sometimes a life saver. It sounds such an obvious idea - "phone a friend", but so many times other things get in the way and we can regret not doing it. 'Talking' is also more importantly about listening, not filling gaps in chat with your words, but waiting. Sometimes only a pause can help to put a voice to concerns and needs. Listening but with no answers is not failure, it is an avenue to an answer, which you may not provide but they find. Every day should be a 'Time To Talk, but February 2nd is there to nudge us into action at least then.
Waitrose have released details of their plans to build rental flats above the store and car park at Bromley South. Lots to welcome - if only they weren't proposing to build the tallest building in Bromley
There are open Traffic Regulation Orders that impact the wider Leith Walk community that residents may wish to comment on via the Council's website before councillors make a decision.
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!”
