Following public consultation, Bedford Borough Council has approved a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to tackle street drinking and related anti-social behaviour in the area of Bedford town centre.
After many years of campaigning by Bishop's Castle Councillors, there is finally good news on the future of Bishop's Castle Business Park.
Yesterday the Town Clerk hosted a very useful conf call to review WIltshire Council's initial Draft of their "Local Plan" with respect to Trowbridge. This plan looks at the housing and other plans for Wiltshire from 2026 to 2036 and is a very important planning guidance document. Good points raised on the planned locations for new housing and the infrastructure requirement (schools etc) as well as the requirement for employment land and the need to encourage businesses to come to Trowbridge. This meeting was well attended by current Lib Dem and Independent Councillors. #makingtrowbridgebetter
'The impact of Brexit is the most major risk affecting our local and regional economy, " said Liberal Democrats Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Nick Cott, after the City cabinet meeting discusses the issue . "The Northeast has potentially the most to lose out of all regions, particularly from a no deal Brexit, which would hit our manufacturing sector and its supply chains hard. The position of our retail and services sectors, given the impact of the Coronavirus, means they are not currently in a position to step in to provide new jobs in the short-term, and we're therefore facing a potential crisis of unemployment.
"The Essex Energy Switch is about local communities coming together, supporting renewable energy and saving money on their gas and electricity bills - the more people that register, the bigger the potential saving per household."
Local MP Tim Farron has urged ministers to bring in a new round of £10,000 business grants to protect livelihoods this winter.
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!”
