Review of neighbourhood boundaries in Chelmsford
A single, new, strong voice for Chelmsford Garden Community
22 Nov 2021
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Five weeks on Still no re-opening plans for Bishop's Castle Community Hospital
5 weeks on from hearing that the Community Hospital in Bishop's Castle would close on a temporary basis effective 1st November, there are still no clear plans for re-opening the hospital beds. At the Shropshire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee ( HOSC) local Councillors, Parish Councils and members of the Public had the opportunity to hear further from Shropshire Community NHS Trust. Councillor Ruth Houghton for Bishop's Castle says " unfortunately we didn't hear anything new although it was stated that in hindsight the hospital should perhaps have closed earlier due to the significant staff shortages. As a community, we could have shared job adverts and worked with the Trust to address the issue before the decision to close, albeit on a temporary basis, was made" "It is apparent that the dedicated staff team went above and beyond what is required of them to keep the beds open for as long as they did" "What is needed now is clarity on the feasibility options, timescales for the completion of these and a
22 Nov 2021
MP secures meeting with Home Secretary to fix Lake District staffing crisis
On the floor of the House of Commons this afternoon, Home Secretary Priti Patel agreed to meet with local MP Tim Farron and Lake District hospitality leaders to address the urgent staffing crisis in the industry.
22 Nov 2021
GRANT TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY ASSETS
A new grant is available from Shropshire Council of up to £15k to help protect community assets in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. They could be community hubs, community-owned pubs, shops or other social venues. Village halls and community sports facilities may also be supported, particularly if they can't access other grant schemes or haven't previously been supported with Shropshire Council's Covid grant support
22 Nov 2021
Bedfordshire Flood Preparedness Week
This week is Bedfordshire Flood Preparedness Week, where local partners including Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council, Bedfordshire Police and Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue will be giving out advice to help people get ready for, and stay safe during a flood.
22 Nov 2021
Liberal Democrats are asking Medway Council to consider a 'Rainbow Crossing' to promote Diversity
*picture by alan wells
AWPOMLD
22 Nov 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!”
