The green party of government

It’s been a great month for Liberal Democrats who are setting the pace on the nations green agenda.

  • Two weeks ago, Chris Huhne, as Energy and Climate Change Secretary, led for the government when his Department’s Energy Bill received its second reading in the House of Commons. This creates the framework for the Green Deal, a comprehensive programme of energy efficiency improvements for housing and office buildings, cutting both energy bills and emissions. Householders and business will be able to see up to £10,000 invested in insulation, at no up-front cost, paying back the investment through the lower energy bills they will enjoy as a result. I hope to use this to insulate my homes solid walls saving around 35% form our heating bills.
  • Last week, Chris Huhne announced the government’s ‘carbon budget’ for the mid-2020s, setting a legal requirement for a 50 per cent reduction (from 1990) by 2025. This creates the certainty businesses need to put in place long-term investments in the expanding low-carbon industries – renewable electricity, electric cars, home insulation. This is the most ambitious legally binding carbon budget set by any government anywhere; and by putting the UK at the forefront of the international debate, we will be able to push the EU and the international community towards further emissions cuts world-wide.
  • And this week, Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, and Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, revealed details of the Green Investment Bank, the world’s first green development bank. Up and running from April 2012, this will use an initial £3 billion of public money to lever an additional £15 billion in private investment towards the low-carbon opportunities that are opening up – particularly in offshore wind and energy efficiency.

I’ve been really interested in environmental issues for quarter of a century. I’m proud to see what so many of us campaigned for all those years being made a reality now we’re in government. This is a key part of what the Liberal Democrats bring to the coalition, and none of this would have happened without us.

Carbon based parking charges

Southwark Council has been consulting via the community council on charging for parking permits based on the vehicles carbon emissions.

Overall it will see more than 25% increase in charges.

Option 1 – straight increase in charges from £99.30 to £125 – ouch.

Option 2 – increase the charge from £99.30 to one of 6 bands between £30->£225 but overall an average charge of slightly over £125.

At the Dulwich Community Council the councillors and audience opted for Option 2  of the two options. The surplus on running the parking revenue account is used for things like lolly pop ladies, teaching kids how to cross roads. Useful stuff.

But it now transpires that the council are slashing it spending on lolly pop men and women. The average lolly pop person has seen a drop in salary of £200pcm. With many at cancelled being cancelled.

It seem perverse to have a huge steep increase in charges while at the same time slashing services. it must be that Labour don’t belief in lolly pop men and women and the value they bring.

Avoidable injuries amongst Southwark children will occur and frankly it is a disgraceful decision. Apart from the cruelty of this in pure costs to our local society the total costs of these injuries will out-way the savings. And the savings aren’t necessary because of the huge rise in parking permit fees.

New Lordship Lane crossing – step nearer

Earlier this week Cllr Jonathan Mitchell and I met with council traffic officers and a representative of the South Southwark Business Association about two proposed new crossings of Lordship Lane. Please see attached draft plans of what they might look like.

http://jamesbarber.mycouncillor.org.uk/files/2011/04/LL1.pdf

The first is across lordship Lane adjacent to its junction with East Dulwich Grove. This should have the benefit of giving people the chance to turn right across  Lane into EDG as well as cross LL. It will take out approximately 1 non morning peak car parking space. I asked whether a full ‘entry treatment’ could also be installed as part of this making walking along Lordship Lane clearer to everyone so people walking don’t have to dodge vehicles.

The second is a crossing where the Coop is. On the eastern side the kerb would be built out. This reduces the distance to cross so reduces the time vehicles are stopped and minimises parking to be lost – a win win. Due to TfL Buses we can’t do this on the left hand side. This would overall take out around 6-9 car parking spaces – 3 on the eastern side permanently and 6 on the western side outside of the bus lane times of working.

Talking to officers its believed these lost car parking spaces can be made up for by having a very close look at existing yellow lines on LL and the roads leading of off it and replacing with 30 minutes parking with no return in 2 hours ie. the same restrictions as those lost.

Overall these changes would very nearly complete all the changes residents highlighted in a walking audit undertaken in conujunction with Living Streets 4 years ago.

Please do take a look and let me know what you think.

Vanadium flow batteries – fillip

Batteries are expensive and use toxic chemicals to make them.

A really encouraging technology to replace them called Vanadium flow batteries hasn’t fulfilled its early promise. I’ve been following this technology for about a decade. Some tiny changes to the acid used – adding 7 parts HCL to 2.5 parts sulphuric acid – seems to revolutionise the performance. Both in terms of adding 70% more power density and increasing the operating temperature range from previous 10 to 40 C to -5 to 50 degrees C.

This should make this battery type hugely more cost effective as they’ll no longer need a built in cooling system slashing the price to build them. This should mean smoothing out electricity production from renewables sources such as wind and PV cells becomes much more economic.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-03/dnnl-utv031711.php

Snowfighting

To fight snow falls salt is an integral weapon in Southwark councils arsenal. To ensure salt can be spread it needs to be kept dry else is goes lumpy and cakes. Uncovered salt also leaches away causing environmental problems.

The 40thSnowfighters handbook states “Salt piles must be covered on an impermeable pad. Salt users usually prefer permanent structures on asphalt pads with proper drainage. Temporary waterproof coverings can be effective if tended carefully. Covering salt also helps avoid loss of material through leaching and caking. Also, salt without cakes and lumps spreads with no difficulty.”

When asked, Southwark officers have always assured me that Southwarks salt supply is kept under covers. So I paid a visit to Southwarks salt. Its located at the junction of Latona Road  with Haymerle Road.

Any attempt to us this salt will be at best problematic. In fact much will need to be thrown away and replaced. I also found this salt store uncovered 3 months ago when nearly empty when I last checked. I had assumed wrongly that as operational they’d just forgotten to replace the cover. Sadly I was wrong and its an ongoing problem of salt mismanagement by Southwark.

Ideally salt would be kept in a salt barn. I’ve previously asked and the administration whether they would consider installing a salt barn (£200,000 capital) and they have stated that  they wont build a salt barn as they claimed no need as they kept the salt covered with tarpaulins and tyres.

IF the Lib Dems were running the council we would build a proper salt store to avoid council officers failing to keep salt covered, ensure we had quality salt available to keep Southwark streets clear and avoid the recent winter salt rationing that left so many of our streets in a parlous state.

The Budget

I’ve spent a few days digesting the Budget. Reading comments and the actual Budget document – see:

http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_complete.pdf

It makes fairer taxation a priority so that in April, 23 million basic rate payers will get a £200 tax cut. The Budget goes further announcing that 25 million will benefit by another £126 tax cut next April.  That by 2012-13 we will have lifted over 1.1 million people on low incomes out of paying tax completely. This is straight from the front page of our Lib Dem manifesto and into the pockets of millions of taxpayers.

It eases pressure on the cost of living.  Labour’s plans for a 5p hike in the price of fuel per litre have been stopped. Instead fuel prices will be cut by 1p.  Petrol prices have gone up by around 18p a litre since the autumn Spending Review and we know that this is hurting people. Taxation on oil companies who are benefiting from soaring world oil prices will rise, to help those who are struggling as a result. The Lib Dems are a party who have supporters from urban and rural areas. These measures will particularly help those in rural areas from Cornwall to the Shetlands.

The Budget encourages growth and rebalancing our economy. The Budget takes action on youth unemployment, by funding an additional 50,000 new apprenticeships and an additional 80,000 work experience places.  It will encourage business investment in deprived areas with 21 Enterprise Zones, and it will support small businesses by exempting them from the burden of new regulation for 3 years. I’ve looked at setting up a small business and while in a full time job couldn’t work out how I’d find the time to start gradually.

The Budget also fulfils our commitment to being the greenest government ever.  The Green Investment Bank will begin operation in 2012-13, a year earlier than expected, with £3bn of capitalisation, delivering an additional £18bn of investment in green infrastructure by 2014-15. The Budget also commits to introducing a carbon price floor and increasing the proportion of tax accounted for by environmental taxes.

Liberal Democrats have been involvement at every stage. This Budget sets out how the Coalition Government will build the foundations for sustainable growth – delivering on our spending plans without the need for extra cuts or tax increases.

Bulk rubbish confusion

In some parts of Southwark yellow triangles have been painted on walls. Mostly on council estates and they indicate you can leave your bulk rubbish to be collected without making a specific arrangement.

Obviously they create real eyesores and uncontrolled dumping including items that bulk collection people can’t remove. This ‘yellow triangle’ service appears to be being removed but below photo shows how confusing this can get. Yellow triangle to say dump rubbish and then a sign that could have been placed over the triangle saying you can’t dump rubbish. Confused. The residents I spoke to certainly were.

Heart or breathing problems?

All councils in London subscribe to an air pollution warning system.

Anyone can ask to subscribe to receive texts or emails warning them about imminent bad air pollution events that if they or a family member have a pre existing medical condition can change their plans to minimise any risk – such as avoid strenuous exercise.

To register either text AIRTEXT to 78070 or visit the www.airtext.info website.

It is a sad reflection on our society that this is necessary but insufficient political will by the Mayor of London means this service can be a life saver for some.

North Cross Road market extension

After several months of public consultation the final recommendations of the Dulwich Community Council, based on lots of input from market traders, shop keepers and residents, were heard at last nights Licensing Committee about changes to North Cross Road market.

Stunningly the Licensing Committee, a semi judicial committee which is not legally allowed to be whipped along party lines, made its decisions exactly along party lines. Pure fluk?

 The committees Labour members apparently threw out all the proposals including any expansion. The Labour members then APPEAR to have realised they’d thrown everything out. They then APPEAR to have met as a Labour group with officers privately. They then returned to the committee and then decided to re vote approving the scheme but failed to immediately approve Sunday opening – which everyone is locally against – so decided that Sunday opening will be reviewed in 6 months time. Travesty of a decision against local democracy.

I’d like to publicly thank those members of the Licensing Committee who were prepared to listen to the Dulwich Community Councils recommendations based no traders, shop keepers and residents views. Those members who didn’t give the appearance of voting in a whipped way.

So we need to be prepared to yet again fight for the locally sensibly agreed recommendations against the Labour administration. What a waste of residents, shop owner, street trader, officer and councillor time.

What a potentially tragic waste of council resources.

Night Flight agreements end October 2012

Some years ago a basic attempt to reduce the damage night flights cause. This agreement ends October 2012 so the government will start consulting on this agreements replacement later this year.

I’m a paid up member of the Heathrow Action Campaign Against Noise as noisy flights pervade south London these days to such a degree I find it distracting, means I sometimes kind speak to people in the street, parks and gardens of south London.

So I fully support HACAN’s proposals for no night flights between 11pm and 6am and a phased reduction of flights between 6am and 7am. People at least need a decent nights sleep.

Do night flights affect your good nights sleep?