It has been reported today on the Leicestershire Live (Leicester Mercury website) the building of a new 900 place Waterside Primary School on a former allotment site on Fosse Road North is delayed and costs increased by £5 million due to failing to notice serious contamination on the site.
The Liberal Democrat Councillor for Aylestone Ward, Cllr Nigel Porter has questioned if a restoration grant for £200,000 was money well spent in a Victorian building in the the City Centre which helped set up award winning Delilah Fine Foods in St Martins for use of the building and closed its doors last month after just 2 years in Leicester citing lack of customers.
South Lakes MP Tim Farron has welcomed today's news that the Environment Agency has revised its flood defence plans for Kendal.
The Liberal Democrats Team have made enquiries to Leicester City Council concerning the pathway divider between the Pedestrian lights on Saffron Lane and the junction of Marriott Road and Southfields Drive. Currently there is a dividing line but no clarification which is for cyclists and those on foot. If there was one, it has now faded.
The Liberal Democrats Team reported to the Leicester City Council the pothole which is forming on Deep Dale in Evington Ward at the junction with Green Lane Road in the Leicester East Constituency.
The Liberal Democrats Team have reported to Leicester City Council to ask the owners to close the green public utility box on Ambassador Road, opposite Ambassador Walk which has been left open to the elements.
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!”
