Heathers Village Report for November/December
B4499, Leigh Road to travel to Minsterley. This road will continue to be closed from 9.30am to 4pm most days untill 14th December
3 Dec 2018
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Road Closure: Drury Lane
Dear All
3 Dec 2018
Road Closure Crows Nest
Dear All
3 Dec 2018
Corbyn, prove you're not May's lapdog!
CORBYN, PROVE YOU'RE NOT MAY'S LAPDOG! Brighton & Hove Liberal Democrats have written to Jeremy Corbyn urging the opposition leader to do his job and hold the government to account on the EU Withdrawal Bill. During our final EU stall of 2018, we had three brave volunteers handing out window posters on a cold wet evening whilst the rest of the group set up camp indoors to write to the Labour party leader. Beatrice Bass wrote: "Now is the time to show true leadership by trusting the people of the UK. Don't be May's lapdog. Give power to the people with a People's Vote." Parliament is expected to hold its "meaningful vote" on Tuesday 11th December. Brighton & Hove Lib Dems believe that with the Prime Minister struggling to convince the few within her own government, now is the time to stand for the many asking to have the final say.
3 Dec 2018
Staines South Focus
The latest edition of the Staines South Focus is hitting the streets now and includes articles on:
3 Dec 2018
Metro fares to rise while controlling Labour calls for freeze elsewhere
One event no-one particularly looks forward to at this time of the year is the announcement of rail fare rises. The annual announcement,which is perhaps more punctual than rail services, is never popular but reflects annual inflationary pressures in terms of rail staff pay rises and other operating costs. Every year opportunist politicians call for a fares freeze. The Labour Shadow Cabinet spokesman for transport, Andy McDonald - a North East MP - has called for the Government to intervene to freeze fares on national rail services instead of implementing the national 3.1% fare increase, citing the chaos on the railways and the failure of privatised companies to deliver a reliable service. Ironically, his call came on the same day that the Labour controlled North East Combined Authority's Tyne and Wear transport subcommittee met to rubber stamp fare increases for 2019 for the Tyne and Wear Metro. Many fares will rise by more than 3.1%, with a single zone ticket rising 5.5% and a child day ticket rising by 7.
3 Dec 2018
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!”
