Bill Banks joins the Lib Dem team
have lived in Leybourne with my family for 28 years. My first job after leaving school was to join the Merchant Navy as a Boy Rating.
13 Feb 2019
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
West Malling - Leybourne - Kings Hill GP Surgery Update
Dr Reichelm has left the practice and will be succeeded by Dr Andrew Swindlehurst. Dr Louisa Gibson has returned to the practice. The Business and Finance Manager has left, and the practice is seeking to employ new GPs, a practice nurse and specialist diabetic nurse. The surgery has been sold and is being leased back for an undisclosed period of time.
13 Feb 2019
Lib Dem Bulletin reveals Diary record of 1942 Bomber Crash near West Malling Station.
Research into the Planning Application for a new 204 space car park opposite More Park RC Primary School, Lucks Hill, revealed a little known WWII plane crash. On 11th Sept in 1942, a Sterling Bomber on his return from a bombing raid on Dusseldorf was attempting to land at West Malling Airfield. He failed to make it, smashing into a part of the Lucks Hill wall which now surrounds the school, and ditching in the orchard
13 Feb 2019
£60 hike in Young Persons Travel Pass as KENT County Council slashes budgets once more.
The government has given KCC £28 million to prepare for Brexit. But for all other services , the Conservative Government has cut Conservative KCC grant for services in 2019/20 from £37m to £9m and service cuts are being made as a result.
13 Feb 2019
Estate would ruin our rural rail station
Bellway have applied for planning consent for up to 90 homes with vehicle access off Swan St. on land opposite West Malling Station between the Station Approach road and Lavenders Road. West Malling Parish Council is working with local residents to oppose this application strongly.
13 Feb 2019
Local plan for housing - update
The Borough Council deposited its Draft Local Plan with Government on 23rd January. This was one day before the deadline, after which TMBC would have been penalised with a further increase of 23% on their housing targets from now until 2031.
13 Feb 2019
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!”
