No Taxation without Insulation
Written by Pete Goodwin Saturday, 14 February 2009
Charlie Bolton, Bristol Green Party councillor has submitted a budget amendment asking the council to increase its expenditure on private sector insulation measures.
The council already has a scheme which involves insulating lofts and wall cavities. It is estimated that for each household where measures are put in place, fuel bills are cut by £150 per year (depending on the efficiency of the boiler, controls, etc).
Cllr Bolton's amendment asks for the amount invested to be increased by 50% - from £400,000 pa to £600,000 pa. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, it is estimated spending £100,000 will save 600-800 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
He said:
'This amendment is win-win-win. It cuts emissions of greenhouse gases, just when we're hearing that the threat of rapid climate change is even bigger than we thought. It gives some of the poorest people warmer homes. It frees up some of their money to spend in the local economy. And, on top of that, for every pound the council puts in, it can get more from government and the energy companies. I urge my fellow councillors to support it.'
Cath Slade, Green Party general election candidate for Bristol South, welcomed Charlie's initiative. She added:
"Until Westminster shows more leadership, nothing happens until councils like Bristol take these vital steps. In this case, cutting £200,000 from the council's promotional budget would immediately produce £400,000 to conserve energy and warmth, targetted on some of the poorest privately owned homes in Bristol. And it helps us do our share to combat climate change. Greens on other councils[Note 1] have already shown what can be done. Now lets see Bristol show it's a 'green' city, instead of just publishing press releases about it."
Notes:
- For instance, Kirklees Warm Zone programme
- Charlie blogs about this and his other proposed budget amendment at http://charlie-boltons-southville-blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/budget-amendments.html
Contact Cllr Charlie Bolton, 0117 966 1639 or 0782 531 5671