In a letter to Mr Chris Huhne, Cllr Ricky Duveen, Lib Dem Environment Spokesperson, speaking on behalf of the Lib Dem Group on Reading Borough Council writes:

“We are writing to protest in the strongest possible terms at the changes proposed by the government to Feed In Tariffs.

In doing so we are writing in support of colleagues in Friends of the Earth, the LGA Liberal Democrat Group, and Green Liberal Democrats in raising serious objections to the proposals led by your department.
This is double whammy for sustainable energy and for green jobs here in Reading and elsewhere. In turn it risks undermining David Cameron’s pledge that this will be the ‘Greenest Government ever.’

Cllr Duveen continues:-

“Last year, Liberal Democrat councillors on Reading Borough Council (part of a Coalition administration) instructed officers to work up a programme based on the Feed in Tariff scheme and budgeted for a major investment in solar energy by the Council, both as something that would benefit council tax payers and as an exercise in leading by example.

“A delay to our scheme, caused by the incoming Labour administration, has meant that it has fallen victim to the reductions you announced and the premature ending of the tariff on which our scheme was based. As a result of these it is now not possible to proceed with this important Liberal Democrat initiative because of the guillotine imposed on commissioning.

Cllr Duveen concludes:

“The plans unveiled by the new administration in August to install large numbers of environmentally-friendly solar panels on a number of council owned buildings which attracted cross-party support would have produced green energy and cut energy bills, passing on significant savings to the public purse and the Reading taxpayer.

Whilst we understand that the scheme may have been too successful in the government’s view and the effects of the falling costs of installation, it could have been reduced much more gradually and preserved an industry and many schemes, like ours, which were at an advanced stage of planning. We therefore urge you to review the end date and allow schemes that are already well advanced to still qualify for the tariff.

As Liberal Democrats and local councillors we urge you to reconsider these drastic changes to FITs and allow Reading Borough Council to complete the ambitious programme initiated by us which will deliver real benefits for residents in Reading.”

Cllr Daisy Benson, Group Leader of the Lib Dems on Reading Borough Council said:

“It is good to see the ambitious plans developed by the previous Lib Dem – Conservative administration including the UK’s second largest bike hire scheme outside London and other  green transport initiatives have been endorsed by the Coalition Government.

“Investing in sustainable transport has long been Liberal Democrat policy and it is good we will feel the benefit of it here in Reading.

“The new Labour administration of the Council must learn from its past transport mistakes including the failed one-way IDR scheme and use this cash to deliver increased cycling and walking opportunities for residents and visitors.”

“The reinstatement of extra collections is great news for residents.”

“Thank you to all the residents who signed our petition calling for action against this unnecessary cut.”

“We have campaigned hard over the past four years for the University area to receive extra attention from the Council in view of the waste management problems that can occur and we are delighted that Labour councillors have  responded to public pressure for action”

Welcoming the new fund, Lib Dem Transport Spokesperson in Reading, Cllr Ricky Duveen, said, I am very hopeful that Reading can tap into this fund to help develop our own ideas for reducing the carbon footprint of local transport.’

‘I am also pleased that the new fund will support the Bikeability scheme which provides cycle training to young children. This scheme has already helped hundreds of children in Reading and its future has been secured for the next 5 years.’

Image by jon smith ‘una nos lucror’ licensed under Creative Commons.

‘Geo.Power is a European funded programme which enables partners to work together on the introduction of ‘ground source’ heat pumps.

This innovative low carbon method of heating buildings uses the constant heat which exists below the ground by capturing it, compressing it and distributing it to warm buildings. In Summer the process can be reversed, taking heat from the building and putting it in the ground. Considerable carbon, energy and financial savings can be made as a result.

Reading Borough Council has been selected as the only partner in the UK to benefit and is one of 12 partners spanning eight different countries – England, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Sweden, Estonia and Belgium.

The funding is worth just over £100,000, and will help further develop Reading’s pro-active approach in playing its own part in tackling Climate Change.

The council already has ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions while providing value for money for the local council tax payer. Now, over the next two years, it will be playing a leading role in the pioneering project which will eventually help cut carbon emissions across Britain and the Continent.

The innovative low carbon method of heating buildings has already been installed at the state of the art Avenue Centre, some council buildings and one of the buildings at Prospect School.

Reading Borough Council will now be working closely with the other partners on the two-year European funded programme to share technology and experiences of installing and using ground source heat pumps. At the end of the two years all the work will be pulled together to set out a way forward as to how more ground source heat pumps could be installed to help reduce carbon emissions across Europe and benefit from the new Renewable Heat Incentive from the Government to be announced next year.

Warren Swaine, Reading’s Lead Councillor for Environment and Sustainability, said: ‘Winning this bid shows that our Council is prepared to take a lead in developing a sustainable future - not just for Reading but for the rest of the country. Congratulations to the sustainability team for their hard work putting together this successful bid.’

Ben Burfoot, Sustainability Manager at Reading Borough Council, added: ‘This project gives us the opportunity to pave the way for using this technology in new and existing buildings in Reading, as well as enabling us to maximise the use of ground source heat pumps nationally to provide the low carbon heating systems of the future.”

• Through the Green Deal everyone will have a chance to save energy, cut their bills and tackle climate change
• Support will be targeted on the most vulnerable and low-income households, so that those who need it most can say goodbye to leaky lofts and chilly drafts.
• Initially, over the next two years, the Coalition Government will almost double insulation rates, ensuring that an extra 3.5 million homes benefit from new installations.
• Then from 2012 the Green Deal will enable all householders to improve their homes with no up-front cost, with the work being paid back from savings on energy bills. Householders will be protected by an independent energy survey and accredited installers to ensure that standards are high

Cllr Warren Swaine, Lead Member for Environment and Sustainability said:

“It’s really welcome to see the Green Deal, a key manifesto commitment being delivered by Liberal Democrats in Government at national level.

“We are pleased to see the Coalition Government doing it’s bit to help residents cut their energy bills in Reading.

“Locally we are committed to helping Reading Borough Council be the greenest it has ever been and this initiative will.”

Cllr Daisy Benson, Lead Member for Housing added:

“Many families and individuals in Reading including a large number in the private rented sector, are living in poorly-insulated homes, struggling with rising energy bills – something that the previous Labour government failed to tackle.

“ I hope and expect that landlords in Reading will respond positively to the Green Deal. “Landlords will face no upfront cost and will benefit from improved properties. By 2015 every tenant should be able to be warm in their home.

“However, If this doesn’t happen the Coalition Government has pledged to give councils the power to insist that landlords improve the worst performing homes so everyone has the opportunity to benefit from reduced energy bills.”

Gareth joined Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg MP, shadow Secretary of State Simon Hughes MP and Reading MEP Catherine Bearder on the march. Before Gareth caught the train for London he helped plant dozens of trees on Longbarn Lane Rec in his Katesgrove ward. This formed part of the BBC ‘Breathing Spaces’ initiative – an attempt to break the world record for the number of trees planted in one hour. Dozens of residents and local schoolchildren took part on the Rec which is being upgraded after pressure from Cllr Epps and local residents.

Gareth says:

‘The Copenhagen talks are probably the most significant political event this decade. The science is clear beyond reasonable doubt that climate change is man-made, and that radical action is needed to stop it. No mainstream voices believe the spin of the climate change deniers.

‘It’s absolutely right that politicians should take the strongest possible lead in this. That’s why I was out with Nick Clegg and other leading Liberal Democrats as part of “The Wave”.

‘And that’s why I played my part locally in helping to make Katesgrove green. There were dozens of people in Longbarn Lane Rec on Saturday morning planting trees, young and old. It was a really great piece of community action to see and I was proud to be part of it.’

Liberal Democrat councillors in Reading have signed up to Greenpeace’s Airplot campaign, becoming owners of a plot of land earmarked to be concreted over for the third runway. The campaign is an attempt to frustrate the compulsory purchase process and demonstrate the strength of opposition to the third runway.

Welcoming the news that Reading Borough Council has formally joined the 2M Group of 24 local authorities campaigning against Heathrow airport expansion, Cllr Gareth Epps, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner, said:

“This is positive news for the people of Reading who already suffer aircraft noise from Heathrow, and for the thousands of local residents who oppose a Government scheme that makes a mockery of Labour’s commitment to tackle climate change.

It is a pity it took the Labour Party in Reading so long to face up to their responsibilities on this matter. I would urge Reading residents, including councillors like my Liberal Democrat colleagues, to sign up to a campaign backed by the overwhelming majority of local people.”

Editor’s Note: Cllr Gareth Epps has campaigned for the Council to formally oppose Heathrow expansion since 2007 when he asked a formal question to then Labour transport spokesperson Cllr Tom Crisp. At that time the position of the Labour council administration was that the Council should not oppose expansion; however, it supported the cross-party motion passed earlier in 2009 which formally signed the Council up to 2M.

Local residents, 229 of whom signed a petition against the mast application, are delighted with the news. Petition organiser and local councillor, Ricky Duveen said, ‘this is a good decision for Tilehurst where we have clearly demonstrated the depth of feeling about plans to erect this monstrosity in our residential neighbourhood.’

‘I would like to thank all the residents who signed our petition and I would also like to say a special thank you to Nerys and Andrew Wilkinson who helped with the petition and also provided a lot of excellent publicity for our cause.’

The council’s rejection is based on planning grounds in that the mast and its base cabinets would be obtrusive structures that do not fit with the surrounding environment.

However, Vodafone can appeal against this decision and they have three months in which to do so. Given the amount of time and money they have already spent on this case, an appeal is very likely. Any appeal will be heard by an independent Planning Inspector and both sides will be able to put their case.

Ricky added, ‘Despite this threat that will hang over Tilehurst for a few months yet, this is a splendid win for Tilehurst in Round 1.’

Local residents were appalled when they heard about Vodafone’s mast application, especially since they sent off a barrage of protest letters to Vodafone last July when the company first tried to consult local residents.