You may also have heard very recently that the Home Office contacted the District Council last Thursday afternoon (10th September) to explain they had plans, previously never mentioned or discussed, to house a migrant processing centre at Napier Barracks.
The latest weekly coronavirus statistics for Bedford Borough have been published. Presented once again in easy-to-read infographic form, the figures show that in the seven days up to September 13th:
At an online extraordinary meeting of Folkestone and Hythe Council on 16th September, the Council considered the adoption of the Local Plan.
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Lib Dem Councillors have criticised Surrey County Council's planned closure of a section of Lockfield Drive for 13 weeks. The County Council recently announced that Lockfield Drive, between Bampton Way and Robin Hood Roundabout, will be closed from 21st September for approximately 13 weeks to repair a pedestrian bridge. Following the news of the road closure, Lib Dem Councillors have written to the Cabinet Member for Transport at County Hall asking why the road needs to closed for 13 weeks and why the announcement was made less than a week before the closure is to start. They also expressed serious concerns about the official diversion route, which is north of Goldsworth Park and Horsell, via Chobham Road, Kettlewell Hill and Littlewick Road. This is a huge diversion which will add a significant amount of time to motorists' journeys. There are fears that the road closure of Lockfield Drive will result in the quiet roads of Goldsworth Park and St John's being used as unofficial diversion routes. Lib Dem Borou
Latest Cumbria Tourism research reveals that business confidence levels are plummeting as the industry heads towards winter - prompting renewed calls for a winter package to support the county's tourism industry and save jobs.
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!”
