Keep Britain Tidy have announced the annual Great British 'Spring' Clean have announced that their UK-wide clean-up initiative will still go ahead in 2020, from 11 - 27 September, this has been delayed due to Coronavirus.
If you oppose the idea that Brentwood Borough Council is subsumed into a new merged South Essex authority please sign our petition. The entire structure of Local Government is under review. Recently the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced the publication of a white paper on devolution of power across the country. Linked to this review is a proposal that South Essex Councils (including Brentwood) breakaway and form a combined authority. Do Brentwood residents want to be run by Basildon or Thurrock? We think not. We would become the junior partner in an organisations that dominates us and rides roughshod over our planning laws and could destroy our green belt. We Liberal Democrats councillors will oppose this and fight against any proposals to merge our Borough. We need residents to contact their Conservative councillors to ensure they understand and support your views. Also please sign our petition to make your views known and make others aware that the Brentwood L
Responding to a report by the Institute for Government which warns coronavirus has left UK firms unprepared for a no-deal Brexit, Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said:
It is estimated that there could be 100,000 extra house sales in the next nine months. Liberal Democrats peer , Lord Shipley, speaking in the House of Lords, said "I accept the importance of that in reviving the housing market. When people move homes, they generate sales of fittings and materials for those new homes, which is an additional benefit. But I hope the scheme to cut stamp duty will not be extended in its current form after 31 March next year and that the opportunity is taken to learn from the experience of the next few months. There are two reasons for saying this.
Plans for a Chelmsford North East Bypass and new station are now on show, in a specially created 'virtual village hall' event, following the award of £218m of Government funding for the schemes.
Longlevens library has partially re-opened after closing due to the Covic-19 pandemic. Since July 13, the library in Church Road has been offering a collection service which allows local residents to request books, DVDs and other materials they would like to borrow. There is an off the shelf service where you can select online the type of books or other items you would like and staff then select on your behalf from the stock held at the library. You will then receive an email asking you to choose a time slot for collection. Alternativel, you can reserve an item online and collect it later. For people without access to the internet you can ring up Longlevens library and make a reservation. To browse the online catalogue and make your selections visit: https://gloucestershire.spydus.co.uk
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!”
