Detectives investigating the fatal explosion at the Redwood Grove flats in Bedford now believe the person who died in the blaze deliberately started the fire.
For years councils have been forced to sell off council houses and flats. It has been brilliant for the families that bought them, but the Conservative Government would not allow councils to replace the houses and flats sold off. Portsmouth sold off over 16,000, making it much more challenging to home homeless families. But action by the Lib Dem-led City Council is seeing a rebirth in the building and acquiring of council houses.
Heritage Open Days are back in Portsmouth for 2022 with a brand-new theme: 'Astounding Inventions'. So get ready for a host of exclusive cultural events around Portsmouth, discovering some of the most breathtaking inventions that have their home right here.
Portsmouth has been named the third most accessible city for electric vehicle charge points in the UK, with 59 per cent of residents now living within a five-minute walk of a charge point.
FURIOUS ABOUT NEW BUILD WITH NO ECO-MEASURES ?
Liberal Democrat councillors are urging the new Prime Minister to immediately introduce a scheme of direct grants of up to £50,000 to shops, pubs, restaurants and all small businesses to help them cope with sky-rocketing energy bills.
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!”
