Highlights include the Council approving the Lib Dem budget, the Canny Man’s Hotel plans, Destination Hillend and Road treatments for Braid Road & Fox Spring Crescent
Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has today pressed ministers for a renewed debate on the operation of the Alternative Fuel Payment, citing the “utterly random” delivery of funds to people in the isles. Mr Carmichael noted responses from constituents to his online survey, which found close to a 50-50 split between people using electric heating (which in theory is not eligible for the AFP) who had or had not received the payment. Mr Carmichael previously secured a commitment from ministers not to “claw back” wrongly delivered payments for those on electric heating.
Local Football Club Everett Rovers received £20,000 from Watford Borough Council towards their artificial grass pitch, and associated works such as fences, gates, LED floodlights etc. Everett Rovers has around 30 teams including men's, women's and youth. If you'd like to get involved with Everett Rovers FC then please visit their website - www.everettroversfc.co.uk
Organised by Watford Borough Council many trees have recently been planted around Watford, and around Stanborough.
The Leavesden Green Residents Association will hold their Annual General Meeting in the Main Hall at Leavesden Green Community Hub @ 6.30pm on Thursday 23rd March. The chair will brief on the activities the LGRA has undertaken since they formed last year, and expected activities for the coming year. The meeting will then be open to the floor for you to raise any local issues you wish for the committee to address. After the meeting you are invited to join us for an informal chat over a glass of wine & nibbles. If you live in the Leavesden Green area, please come along.
Cllr Tim Williams made enquiries to Herts County Council to increase biodiversity/sustainability on our verges on the A405 where safe to do so of course, however surprisingly Herts County Council said "no".
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!”
