Wiltshire Council receives more than 2,500 responses to Tory house-building plans
The consultation on the Wiltshire Local Plan review has now ended.
WC
10 Mar 2021
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Delivering Safer, Greener and more Connected Travel for Weston and North Somerset
Transport shouldn't just be about the car. We want to make our roads safer spaces where active travel is encouraged, and empower residents to feel they have some control over how they can travel around their local community.
PK
10 Mar 2021
Protect our Twins : Supporting LGBT+ Rights in Poland
Layla Moran and the Liberal Democrats have launched a major new campaign asking local councils twinned with towns in Poland to a...
RH
10 Mar 2021
Wendy Chamberlain MP becomes LDER President.
NEWSLETTER SPECIAL Wendy Chamberlain MP becomes LDER President We are excited to announce that Liberal Democrats for Electoral...
AH
10 Mar 2021
Protect Our Twins
Human rights are under threat in our twinned towns in Poland: across the UK it's time to help We're asking local councils twinned with towns in Poland to start active diplomatic engagement to champion equality and human rights in the face of the "LGBT ideology free" zones Poland has created. Local communities in our twinned towns are now under threat, people are discriminated against, and human rights have been attacked.
10 Mar 2021
Councillors to debate future of Debenhams building
Councillors are set to discuss the future of the Debenhams store in Gloucester city centre later this month. Liberal Democrat councillors have tabled a motion to be debated at a meeting of the city council on March 18. The motion calls on city council leaders to work with whoever buys Debenhams to retain, restore and repurpose the building. It also calls on the council to block any attempt to demolish the Art Deco building for redevelopment. The department store in Kings Square is facing closure after Debenhams went into administration and the brand was bought by online fashion retailer Boohoo Group. All 124 stores across the country will close with the loss of 12,000 jobs as Boohoo relaunches Debenhams as an online-only retailer later this year. The building, which has been trading as Debenhams since 1973, is adjacent to the £110 million King's Quarter regeneration scheme and could be a key part of that project. It is the largest store in the city and is owned by Aviva, with recent reports suggesting it is u
10 Mar 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!”
