Pothole problems
Some of the older streets in our ward are particularly bad for cracks and potholes. But many of the defects are too shallow to qualify for emergency filling.
AR
2 Oct 2021
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Tackling litter
Your Focus team has called for extra council litter picks in litter hotshots around our neighbourhoods. Litter can be found...
AR
2 Oct 2021
Successful trial of Green Travel Plan for schools
During Bike to School Week and ahead of next week's Climate Change Committee, Liberal Democrat Councillor Jake Sampson welcomed the success of the Green Travel Plan by the council's Sustainable Transport Team and said that "It's brilliant to see the Sustainable Transport Team being so active in getting schools to take responsibility for getting their students to school in an environmentally friendly way. I'm glad to see that the team has recognised the environmental damage which is being caused by idling cars. We have had an issue at a school in Newham Ward, where residents living nearby have complained about the noise and air pollution caused by parents waiting outside the school to pick up their children. Idling cars are a danger to children's health as they add toxic fumes into the air we breathe."
2 Oct 2021
The Fuel Pump Crisis is part of the Supply Chain Crisis
Solving the Supply Chain Crisis It's time for Boris Johnson and co. to grow up and face the consequences of their actions. By Sarah Olney, Sep 20, 2021
2 Oct 2021
Remembering R101
Next week, we mark the 91st anniversary of the last flight of the airship R101, which was based out of the Cardington Sheds.
2 Oct 2021
Leicestershire County Council gives unanimous backing to cancer campaign
Leicestershire County Council has given it's unanimous backing to a campaign by Cancer Research UK to increase funding for public health prevention services.
1 Oct 2021
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!”
