Brentwood Council's Planning Committee heard Bellway Homes' application for 205 homes at the Highwood site on 7th September with Cllr Ross Carter, ward member for Brentwood North, taking the lead in putting forward residents' concerns about traffic impact, proximity to existing houses, effect on the Conservation Area, tree preservation, environmental issues and parking.
I am delighted that, following the Sustainability Committee's decision this week to award it over £8,000 of funding from the Mayor's Climate Change Fund, Pavenham Village Hall and Playing Field Charity's excellent project to install loft insulation and solar panels will be going ahead. The scheme will see 16 photovoltaic panels generating 2,722 kWh of electricity from a fossil-free source and will save 1.55 tonnes of CO2 and £1,448 per year. It is a genuine community project, and exactly the sort of scheme I had in mind when we set up the Climate Change Fund. It will provide ongoing savings for the Charity, help protect the environment and provide an excellent example to other organisations who may consider pursuing similar projects. I wish the Charity the very best of luck with the project and look forward to seeing the panels in place when it is completed.
West Midland Liberal Democrat Euro MP Liz Lynne and a cross party group of MEPs has launched a call for an ambitious EU wide strategy to fight homelessness, with action to end street homelessness in all member states by 2015.
It is good to see our young people showing a commitment to remembering those in uniform who risked their lives to create a better world for us all. The 20 young people from the Air Training Core processed with pride and carried the flags, leading in the men and women in uniform who were at Holy Trinity as part of the remembrance service marking 70 years since the skies over Kent were full of the aeroplanes fighting in the Battle of Britain.
A drug for type two diabetes is still being prescribed in the UK despite being recommended for withdrawal two months ago, BBC Panorama has found. Avandia has been linked to a raised risk of heart attacks and heart failure and is under a Europe-wide review.
A new study suggests high doses of B vitamins may halve the rate of brain shrinkage in older people experiencing some of the warning signs of Alzheimer's disease. Brain shrinkage is one of the symptoms of mild cognitive impairment, which often leads to dementia. Researchers say this could be the first step towards finding a way to delay the onset of Alzheimer's. Experts said the findings were important but more research was needed.