This newsletter has become an elections and government special, but contains much else besides.
There is advance notice of our meeting on 6 June with a film and local speakers on fracking in Somerset.
There are reports on our last film show, another successful give or take event and an update on our plans for tree-planting.
There is a report on our meeting with Rebecca Pow MP and very good responses to questions from candidates for our area in Thursday's county council elections. There is also notice of hustings we are planning in Wivey before the snap general election on 8 June.
We had interesting responses to questions we asked all the candidates for Upper Tone in the Somerset County Council elections on 4 May 2017. This division includes Bathealton, Milverton and Wiveliscombe, and the candidates are:
Caroline Freedman – Green Party
James Hunt – The Conservative Party Candidate
Janet Lloyd – Liberal Democrat
Steve Ross – Independent
Click on this link to view their full responses, which are well worth reading.
Fracking film and speakers in Wivey
We are showing a film about fracking and potential impacts in Somerset on Tuesday 6th June 2017 at Wiveliscombe Primary School Hall, starting at 7.30pm with refreshments from 7pm. ‘The Truth Behind the Dash for Gas’ covers licensing for oil and gas extraction in Somerset and the social, health and environmental consequences. It will be followed by a panel discussion with Julie Richardson, a local geologist and specialist in considering fracking issues, and Kevin Ogilvie-White from Frack Free EQS (Exmoor Quantocks Sedgemoor).
Rebecca Pow MP
We met our MP, Rebecca Pow, on 21st April, a few days after the snap general election had been called. Overall, our discussion was positive and constructive, but a bit rushed. Rebecca was interested and keen to appear responsive and concerned. We started by sharing our concerns on climate change and stopping carbons emissions as quickly as possible. There were two main issues we then raised:
1) Zero carbon or passive house standards for new homes Rebecca agreed worthwhile but thought expensive, which we countered. We also discussed electric car charging points and the value of batteries for storage, including those used in cars. Rebecca suggested we respond to consultation on a Housing White Paper and offered to raise setting high zero carbon standards for the new housing in Taunton garden communities and hosting a forums on this. 2) Support for renewable energy Solar and wind costs have fallen, but we were concerned that Government support (which all energy sources receive) had fallen too far too quickly for solar, so putting British industry and jobs at risk. We pointed out both solar and on-shore wind farms had been excluded from support for new low carbon energy supply auctions, despite having the lowest costs. We supplied details, which Rebecca offered to follow-up with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. We briefly discussed tidal power and the problem with the recent business rate revaluation increasing rates on premises which had installed solar panels. We left her with notes on all the issues we wished to raise, including what arrangements will be made to provide a replacement for the Green Deal to retrofit and make existing housing energy efficient and the need for fossil fuel divestment by pension funds.
Before the Flood film show report
Our showing of Leonardo Di Caprio's film about the climate crisis on 6 April was well attended. It showed Di Caprio meeting world leaders and travelling to five continents and the Arctic to show the reality of climate change. Afterwards, actions to address climate change were discussed. The difficulty in raising the subject were raised, as well as the lack of leadership from politicians. The importance of our lifestyles was raised and local projects were agreed to be important, but it was also questioned whether these would be enough given the scale of the problems and solutions needed. See our website for a full report.
Second give or take success
Our second Give or Take for Free event on 22 April was another success with plenty of givers and takers. Unwanted household goods were cleared out and given a further recycled life. Items passed on included books, toys, DVDs, suitcases, tools, kitchen ware, small items of furniture, envelopes, pictures, pea sticks, games, paving stones and much else besides. It was another lovely morning with plenty of pleasant chat. Don’t miss the next one!
Committee meeting - 15 May
Our next committee meeting is on Monday, 15 May, 7:30pm at Wiveliscombe House. We will be planning future meetings and events, including final arrangements for our general election hustings.
Tree planting project
We had another good meeting on this project in April and are continuing to develop our plans. One of next steps will be to present our ideas to Wiveliscombe Town Council. Our next planning meeting will be on Tuesday, 13 June, 7:30pm at Wiveliscombe House. Anyone interested is welcome.
Future meetings
We are making arrangements to hold hustings for the main general election candidates, which is likely to be in Wiveliscombe towards the end of May.
On 26th June, we are arranging a joint talk, with neighbouring groups, by Chris Goodall, who is the author of The Switch, which describes how cheap solar electricity with new battery technologies and bio gas and fuels can meet almost all of the world's energy needs.
For the autumn, we are already planning another film show and have speakers lined up to talk on local impacts of climate change.