Central Beds and Council tax

What was the aim of merging Beds County Council, Mid Beds and South Beds? To save costs, improve services and lower Council tax I hear you cry. Well the latter fell at the first hurdle with Central Beds Shadow Council setting a budget leading to a 2.5% increase for the residents of Central Bedfordshire from April.

I was quite amazed to see the proposal from the Conservatives supported wholeheartedly by the Libdem and Labour groups. It was left to the Greens (yes there are two of us now!) and Independents to speak up for the Pensioners (who had presented a petition and were waving placards outside)and others hoping for a decrease not an increase. We were allowed a brief statement each pointing out that the tax would exceed inflation and that the other Unitary - Bedford Borough was introducing only a 0.9% increase. But then the debate was cut short and a vote hastily called with Conservatives, Libdem and Labour voting together in perfect harmony.

More time was given earlier in the proceedings as to whether Councillors mileage allowance should be higher for larger cars. The Conservatives tabled a late amendment to the proposal on the agenda to change a flat rate of mileage allowance to a rate which increased dramatically from around 42 p/mile for small cars to over 58 p/mile for cars over 1200 cc. I pointed out that this would prove a disincentive for the use of smaller more efficient cars and was hardly setting a good example to others in terms of reducing Carbon emissions. There was even dissent in the Tory ranks but the vast majority were keen to point out the huge costs of running their gas guzzlers.

One of the Libdems quipped that you don't need to be a Green to champion green measures. I agree with this, but I didnt see anyone else standing up for the Green principles of living within your means - either financially or environmentally.

Big Green Challenge for Flitton and Greenfield

The presentation given at the recent meeting is displayed here

Ideas for reducing Carbon emissions

Here's a list of the ideas which were generated at the Big Green Challenge meeting.

Local wind turbine – possibly near Industrial estate
Switch off pubic lighting after 11pm
Ban Christmas lights
Ban patio heaters
Improve building insulation – homes and local community buildings
Wind power and solar power for church hall
Encourage walking and cycling
Discourage car use – school run; provide alternatives
Local green waste recycling
Local natural waste water treatment – use grey water for agriculture (and household0
Buy local or British produce whenever possible; sell produce from local allotments
Walking bus for school
Improve paths and pavements
Encourage householders to have solar powered external lighting
Encourage switching off of lights and turning heating down and closing curtains, wear woolly jumpers
Reduce traffic
Encourage car sharing – via local web site and school
Better public transport – more info and timetables
Return of village store and post office – community scheme in church hall?
More use of allotments
Unplug transformers and other standby equipment
Restore Flitwick Mill to generate electricity
Recycle batteries
Solar panel buying club
Collect cooking oil
Low energy light bulb scheme
Encourage council to convert refuse lorries from diesel to veg oil
Food waste collection
Enforce 30 mph speed limitEncourage home working and or provide local base for homeworkers e.g. Church Hall
Local timezone - Change time of getting up
Plant trees – e.g. along A507 to also reduce noise; encrouage more in gardens; seek sponsorship
Publicity re carbon footprints
Geothermal project for village
More information on energy efficient appliances
Wood burning stoves and fires – using local wood
Set up local network of energy volunteers or wardens or advisers on neighbourhood basis
Bulk purchase of energy saving appliances
Free order/collection of regular items – papers/milk
Promote public transport
Biodiesel project/ storage facility
Education
Mirrors to reflect sun into space – increase albedo

Any comments or additional ideas welcome......

Big Green Challenge Meeting

The meeting to develop a proposal to reduce carbon emissions in Flitton and Greenfield Parish was a huge success. More than 50 ideas for saving Carbon were generated. The task now is to take some of the more innovative ideas and blend them with more standard approaches to demonstrate how we can achieve 60% savings or more.

It is not too late to become involved. If you are keen to take part then just let me know. Regardless of what happens with the Big Green Challenge there was enough enthusiasm at this evening’s meeting to suggest that we are on the way to a carbon reduction project for the Parish.

Big Green Challenge

I am organising a meeting for the 13th February at 7.30 pm in Flitton Church Hall. This is to see what interest there is in a community project to reduce our Carbon emissions. The Big Green Challenge is a £1 million fund offered by NESTA to encourage innovative ideas for communities to reduce Carbon emissions by 60%.

I believe it could provide all sorts of benefits to our local villages at the same time as reducing emissions. For example we could look for funding for better footpaths, new cycleways, traffic calming measures, better bus services which would reduce our dependence on the car and encourage more walking and cycling. We could also seek funding for improvements to heating and power for our community facilities such as the Church Hall, Church, Village Hall and School. We could group together to obtain discounts on low energy light bulbs, more efficient heating systems, insulation, solar panels and so on.

The idea of the Challenge to come up with new ideas or to apply existing ideas in new ways. I am hoping that the meeting will generate sufficient ideas and interest for us to make an application to the Challenge in time for the deadline at the end of February.

If you are not able to make it to the meeting please contact me with your ideas and support. I need people to help deliver leaflets and also help with the application process. For more info please contact me on 01525 862329 or 0780 9873124 or email me on garethe@fish.co.uk

Recent activies

I still havent got the hang of blogging. I think the idea is little and often but I am finding the time to keep up to date difficult. Reason being I have been very busy. Recent activities include:

Dealing with planning issues in Pulloxhill and Greenfield.
Getting involved in a sub committee on Flitton and Greenfield Parish Council on traffic issues in the villages - we are hoping to come up with some funding options for traffic calming.
Looking into options to increase the Bus service for Pulloxhill, Flitton and Greenfield which has been recently cut.
Attending the District Council Overview Committee and making arguments, which I believe where appreciated, that the Council should not sign up to long term contracts to feed the proposed Incinerator (Energy from Waste Plant by another name) but keep open the option to reduce and recycle waste.
For the same Committee coming up with suggestions for how the food waste collection could be funded through sponsorship and thereby extended to the whole District.
Attending meetings on the proposed Traveller site in Flitton and lobbying to have it removed from the list as the site proposed is unsustainable.
Assisting with the plans for Greenfield and Pulloxhill Schools becoming formerly federated.
Leafleting residents of Flitwick about the proposed Town Centre development - more on this later....

Long time no blog

I suppose my main excuse for not blogging is that I have been too busy. Also over the summer there seems to have been little to comment on. My main activity as a new Councillor has been to learn the ropes. I am active on the Development Control Committee and a number of planning applications in Pulloxhill and Flitton have kept me busy. I have also been trying to support and push some of the good work the Council is now doing on Climate Change. The Council has signed the Nottingham Declaration and carried out a baseline survey of the it's Carbon emissions (by Cranfield University). An Action plan has now been agreed by the Executive to reduce emissions in the near future. I am now pushing to see further action taken to encourage a reduction in Carbon emissions across the District.