Local Plan 2040 consultation begins
The next phase of the Local Plan 2040 consultation has started and Bedford Borough Council wants to hear from you.
29 Jun 2021
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Cllr Martin Wrigley: £90million Pupil Premium cut is "shameful penny pinching"
Responding to the news that the Government has planned to cut Pupil Premium funding by some £90million, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Newton Abbot and County Councillor for Dawlish commented:
29 Jun 2021
Eastern Hertforshire
East Herts Lib Dems celebrate their part in historic Chesham & Amersham win
The Liberal Democrats gained a 25% swing in Chesham and Amersham turning a 16 thousand Conservative majority into an 8 thousand Liberal Democrat one. However, the result didn’t happen without some help from neighbouring friends.
28 Jun 2021
Not so Good Vibrations
Many locals will be all too familiar with the problem of the noise made by HGVs in Church Street, Ashbourne. Any conversation has to stop until they have travelled past over the uneven roads.
PD
28 Jun 2021
Shared Chief Executive arrangements for Brentwood
Following the announcement by the Conservative administration that our Chief Executive is to take up a joint role as Chief Executive of both Brentwood and Rochford Councils, the Tories say this will present a saving to Brentwood as Rochford will be paying half his salary. We say Brentwood has been in a similar position before. It didn't work then, and it will not work now.
BA
28 Jun 2021
Southwark needs to do more for Women’s Safety
Writing in response to Southwark Council’s consultation on Women’s Safety, the Southwark Liberal Democrats this week challenged the council for not taking enough action faster on women’s safety and domestic violence in the borough.
28 Jun 2021
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!”
