The hugely popular, and well used, NHS walk-in medical centre in Islington Street is to close at the end of March. Councillor Stan Pajak said "When the rumours regarding the centre closing first started they were dismissed as simply unbelievable but now despite protests against the proposal from myself, residents, and the Wiltshire Police Commissioner and homeless charities among others it is going to happen.
The redevelopment of the Locarno, which was an iconic Swindon building in Old Town, has been dealt a body blow as the Council have pulled support for the redevelopment. The former Corn Exchange, which was originally built in 1852-1854, has laid decaying since 1984 when it was last occupied. In was purchased in 1999 by Gael Mackenzie . After this it suffered two major and damaging fires in 2003 and 2004. Then plans by developer Steve Rosier which utilised the Council's car park to create apartments and restaurants.
Councillor Stan Pajak who led the battle to keep the Regent Circus Morrisons open and has lived all his life in the Town Centre reports he has never seen the shopping centre look in such a poor state. Empty shops have become the norm not the exception.
Local Lib Dems call for action now!
Your local Lib Dem Focus team can report that when the Council listed the roads that will have their lining renewed, most roads in the Eastcott ward that need this work have been ignored.
A Liberal Democrat city councillor is delighted that the literacy project he has been shepherding has got off the ground in the last couple of weeks.
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!”
