Duncan Hames on creating a sustainable economy

Duncan Hames called for action to achieve a truly sustainable economy at the recent national Liberal Democrat conference.

Duncan, the prospective Lib Dem MP for Chippenham, explained that sustainable energy generation and home energy efficiency were pivotal to these proposals, citing local examples as evidence of progress in this field.

He recently took the Liberal Democrats’ Climate Change spokesman, Simon Hughes MP to see a demonstration by Chippenham and Villages Environmentalists (CAVE) and Westlea Housing, of the use of a heat-imaging camera to provide free home energy efficiency surveys to help local residents save energy and money.

Duncan said: “We need a ‘Warm Homes’ programme that meets the scale of this challenge, and meets the demand from so many people for help to reduce our personal heat energy needs”.

He also promoted the award-winning innovation of local business, Checkmate Sea Energy of Melksham, who have developed the Anaconda, a wave energy converter.

“I have every confidence in the ingenuity and determination of the British people to rise to the challenge of tackling Climate Change, given sufficient investment. We have such a great renewable energy resource around our island, that to fail to take advantage of it would be an absolute scandal.” said Duncan.

Duncan contrasted the Liberal Democrats vision with the record and stance of the other parties: “The Conservatives just don’t get a Sustainable Economy. My Conservative opponent recently told a public meeting in Bradford-on-Avon that he rejected further taxes to curb aviation because the airlines can’t afford it… Our world cannot afford not to curb aviation emissions!”

Full details of Duncan’s speech can be viewed at the Wiltshire Lib Dem website: http://www.wiltshirelibdems.org.uk/

Prospective local Lib Dem MP Duncan Hames stands shoulder to shoulder with Chippenham residents against Conservative plans to build 3,000 new houses on the outskirts of the town.

The Conservative-led Wiltshire Council’s “preferred option” is to build to the North and East of Chippenham. This includes Bird’s Marsh, near the woods, and close to flood plains near Hardens Mead. This is in spite of a petition signed by over 2,000 residents opposing the plan.

Duncan Hames said: “I’m disappointed that Wiltshire Conservatives are proposing these building plans while they continue to declare in their leaflets that they are in favour of protecting Bird’s Marsh. This is the kind of double-talk we need to get away from in politics”.

Lib Dem Wiltshire Councillors recently introduced a council motion calling for the Conservatives to drop the plan as their preferred option. Unfortunately, Conservative Councillors from outside of Chippenham blocked the motion.

Local Liberal Democrats are concerned by the strain that any new development will place on existing local services. The Lib Dems want to build on derelict sites and do-up empty housing rather than use green field sites.

Duncan Hames added: “I have written to the Housing Minister to say plainly that we can’t take this many new houses in Chippenham”.