Teacher training opportunity at special needs Fairfield Farm College
The special needs Fairfield Farm College in Dilton Marsh is providing a new teacher training opportunity, starting in September, 2021.
11 Feb 2021
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Work starts on Melksham 'Campus'
Construction is set to start on 1 March.
11 Feb 2021
Scrap the new Cumbrian coal mine
Ed Davey welcomes the decision to review the planning permission of a new coal mine in Cumbria The Liberal Democrats have long called for a rethink on plans on for a new coal mine in Cumbria and I am delighted that's exactly what has happened.
EDLLD
11 Feb 2021
Dental targets putting patient safety at risk – MP
South Lakes MP Tim Farron has written to the Minister for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care, Jo Churchill, to urge the Government to abandon dental targets which are putting patient safety at risk.
11 Feb 2021
Councillors flag concerns with Developers over Green Belt near Hazelwood
Angle Property respond to concerns raised by Councillors and Residents Having received concerned emails from residents, Ward Cllrs Sandra Dunn, Tom Fidler and Lawrence Nichols have raised the concerns of the residents with landowners over the land next to the 1st Sunbury Scout Hut between Hazelwood Drive and School Walk. The Land is owned by Angle Property who the team has been in touch with and we wanted to share an update. Land Status - This land is designated Green Belt land. It has been put forward by Angle for consideration as part of the Local Plan process. Angle has stated that they have no intentions of bringing forward any application at this stage. We are opposed to Development on the Green Belt and have supported a brownfield approach to the Local Plan Process and are pushing for more details and updates on the timeline for this to be considered. We are concerned that the Government has tried to raise our housing figure again to 606 per annum, beyond any sustainable number we consider appropriate
11 Feb 2021
Environment
Build Back Greener in our High Streets - Liberal Democrats
At last night's South Gloucestershire Council meeting, the Liberal Democrat Group proposed giving the Climate Emergency a greater priority as South Gloucestershire recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.
SB
11 Feb 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!”
