Lib Dem Success for Affordable Housing in Milton Keynes
A successful Lib Dem motion that passed unanimously at last night's Council means the Cabinet will investigate excessive premiums on shared ownership properties.
RG
26 Nov 2020
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Bedford Borough in Tier Two - High Alert
With national restrictions coming to an end next week, the Government has announced that Bedford Borough will be in Tier Two- High Alert from Wednesday 2 December.
26 Nov 2020
Derbyshire Dales in Tier 3 - Very High Alert
From December 2nd Derbyshire Dales, together with the rest of Derbyshire, will be in Tier 3.
PD
26 Nov 2020
Newcastle will be in Tier 3 next week - onerous, but there's opportunity too say Liberal Democrats
"The Government decision that Newcastle and much of the North East will enter Tier 3 restrictions after lockdown ends on December 2nd is onerous but is not unexpected, " said Newcastle's Liberal Democrats Leader of the Opposition Cllr Nick Cott, "and it may have been unwise not to have done this before lockdown. Even though lockdown has slowed the spread of the virus, Newcastle has still seen 800 new cases over the last week. Regrettably, allowing large scale socialising and mingling in the pre-Christmas period will almost certainly see a further resurgence. "It is understandable people will want to see family at Christmas but we need to be rational and realistic about the risks to public health this may bring, and we should not be getting people's hopes up that the threat has gone away before the vaccine can be rolled out. People need to continue to be vigilant and responsible in ensuring they do all they can to limit the spread. "Clearly, Tier 3 poses renewed challenges to the city's hospitality sector
26 Nov 2020
Local Plan consultation imminent
Consultation consultation consultation! If you've been checking Facebook regularly, or have been following Dacorum Borough Council happenings you may be aware that last week Dacorum Borough Council voted by 29 to 18 (with some abstentions) to put the 'Emerging Local Plan' out for consultation immediately. The consultation officially begins on Friday 27 November at 5pm but the draft version is available here for review now. https://www.dacorum.gov.uk/.../plan.../new-single-local-plan What is a Local Plan? Put simply, the local plan for Dacorum is a document prepared by the council which outlines the plan for growth in Hemel, Berko and Tring (plus villages) over the next 18 years. ThIs includes housing, employment and retail. For many people, housing will be the most interesting part, where it will go, how tall it can be, and so on. Why should I care? You may be aware of some large housing developments starting to appear around Dacorum, such as the Bovis development at the top of the hill in Apsl
26 Nov 2020
Local Plan consultation imminent
Consultation consultation consultation! If you've been checking Facebook regularly, or have been following Dacorum Borough Council happenings you may be aware that last week Dacorum Borough Council voted by 29 to 18 (with some abstentions) to put the 'Emerging Local Plan' out for consultation immediately. The consultation officially begins on Friday 27 November at 5pm but the draft version is available here for review now. https://www.dacorum.gov.uk/.../plan.../new-single-local-plan What is a Local Plan? Put simply, the local plan for Dacorum is a document prepared by the council which outlines the plan for growth in Hemel, Berko and Tring (plus villages) over the next 18 years. ThIs includes housing, employment and retail. For many people, housing will be the most interesting part, where it will go, how tall it can be, and so on. Why should I care? You may be aware of some large housing developments starting to appear around Dacorum, such as the Bovis development at the top of the hill in Apsl
26 Nov 2020
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!”
