Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Met Office: South West England: severe weather warnings

Met Office: South West England: severe weather warnings: "Widespread Icy Roads 1705 Tue 30 1000 Wed 1
With roads wet from recent melted snowfall there is the likelihood of icy stretches on untreated roads and pavements as temperatures fall below freezing this early evening, and continuing below freezing overnight. A few snow flurries will continue in places as well.

The public are advised to take extra care and refer to the Highways Agency for further advice on traffic disruption on motorways and trunk roads.

Issued at: 1538 Tue 30 Nov"

Monday, November 29, 2010

Met Office: South West England: severe weather warnings

Met Office: South West England: severe weather warnings: "Snow showers this morning over southern and western parts of the Cornish mainland will give accumulations of 2 to 5 cm in places.

The public are advised to take extra care and refer to the Highways Agency for further advice on traffic disruption on motorways and trunk roads.

Issued at: 0546 Mon 29 Nov"

New broadband satellite offers hope to rural areas - Telegraph

New broadband satellite offers hope to rural areas - Telegraph

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that a universal 2mbps service will be available across the UK by 2015. Although fixed-line broadband is the preferred option, for the most rural 10 per cent of the country it is thought that only mobile or satellite broadband services will be economically viable in the near future.
Satellite broadband is already popular in remote areas of Scotland, where Avanti has 200,000 customers. While the service cannot match the speeds of fixed-services because of the distances involved, in many locations it represents the only available option. Increasingly, however, rural communities have found ways to persuade companies to extend broadband, either through grants or raising their own contributions. A £132 million European Union grant for Cornwall and the south-west is currently being spent on providing broadband at speeds of up to 100 mbps

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

BBC News - Living costs in UK 'up to 20% higher for remote areas'

BBC News - Living costs in UK 'up to 20% higher for remote areas': "People in rural areas need to take home up to 20% more than those in urban areas in order to reach an acceptable living standard, according to a report.

The Commission for Rural Communities said someone in a remote village needed £18,600 a year to get by, compared with £14,400 for an urban dweller.

It means a villager must earn about 50% above the minimum wage of £5.93 an hour to reach a minimum living standard.

The report cited transport and fuel as the main extra cost burdens"

Farming Futures faces closure as government funding is cut | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Farming Futures faces closure as government funding is cut | Environment | guardian.co.uk:

An organisation that helps farmers fight the effects of climate change faces closure because the government is to cut its funding, it has emerged.

Farming Futures has played an important role in persuading farmers and other landowners to invest in green technology such as wind turbines and solar panels.

CLA president William Worsley said it had worked hard with Farming Futures to get the message about the benefits of green technologies across.

He said: "There is a thirst for information about new technologies and new business opportunities and Farming Futures caters for this, so it is disappointing that the project's funding is set to be stopped."

"The 'greenest government ever' needs to ensure that land-based businesses are at the forefront of new technology and jobs and do everything possible to assist the land management sector to produce its own plan to reduce greenhouse gases."

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Commission’s official paper on CAP reform ‘stays on track’ says CLA » Country Land & Business Association

Latest Releases » Commission’s official paper on CAP reform ‘stays on track’ says CLA » Country Land & Business Association: "The CLA said today (Thursday, 18 November 2010) that the European Commission's official paper on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) remains on broadly the right track.

The Association, which has been arguing for the protection of a fully funded CAP to provide Food and Environmental Security, said the Commission's paper has found the middle-ground between the extremes of "no change" and the drastic withdrawal of all Pillar 1 support.

CLA President William Worsley said that the "entire European Commission has now endorsed the ideas to reform the CAP", as outlined in the paper leaked last month.

Mr Worsley said: "The thrust of the paper is to rebalance support more in the direction of paying for environmental services, for which there are no markets, and securing the future of farming in the more marginal extensive grazing areas.

"Critically, the paper suggests doing this by adapting Pillar 1. The CLA believes this is the correct direction because there was no support for the alternative of shifting more funds into the co-financed Pillar 2."

The CLA President added that there are important aspects of the paper with which the CLA disagreed.

These include: payment capping, restriction of supports to a narrowly defined concept of "active farmers", reluctance to consider multi-annual payments in Pillar 1, and suggestions to allow more scope for some member states to use voluntary top-ups which could distort markets. There is also a lack of clarity about achieving more objectively defined shares of the Pillar 2 resources.

Mr Worsley added: "This paper will unleash intensive discussions about whether, and how, these ideas can be implemented practicably. The CLA aims to remain in the forefront of this debate."

Thursday, November 11, 2010

New PV Seminar

Due to the overwhelming response to our two ‘Shining a Light on Photovoltaics (PV)’ events we have decided to hold an additional seminar on Thursday 16th December 2010 at Roadford Lake Conference Centre, Roadford Lake Country Park, between Okehampton & Launceston. The programme, speakers and timings will remain the same as the event on 15th November starting with registration and refreshments at 9.00 am and the first presentation at 10.00 am. The PV providers will also attend with their exhibition stands. The event will finish with lunch at 1.45 pm and there will be plenty of opportunities for questions and to talk to the speakers and providers.



If you would like to book please either telephone the CLA South West office on 01249 700200 or email sarah.fern@cla.org.uk the fee is £15 for CLA members and £25.00 for non-members

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Glastonbury installs UK's biggest private solar-power plant | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Glastonbury installs UK's biggest private solar-power plant | Environment | guardian.co.uk: "Farmers across the country, but especially in the south-west of England, are becoming more interested in the idea of supplementing their income through solar power."

The CLA are holding seminars and have the knowledge to help you decide if PV power generation is for you - contact us to learn more.

Monday, November 8, 2010

EU-cash and green energy behind Cornwall LEP success : South West : Insider News : Insider Media Ltd

EU-cash and green energy behind Cornwall LEP success : South West : Insider News : Insider Media Ltd: "A focus on green energy coupled with the hope it might snare more EU investment is behind the surprise success of Cornwall-Isles of Scilly’s LEP submission.
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly’s Empowering Enterprise bid was among 24 proposals for local enterprise partnerships approved by the government yesterday along with the West of England bid which covers Bristol City Council, South Gloucestershire Council, North Somerset Council, and Bath and North East Somerset.
However, another 38 bids were rejected including five other submissions from the South West.
Bids from Devon, Plymouth and Torbay; Swindon council’s proposal with Gloucestershire and Wiltshire; South Somerset council’s tie-up with East Devon district council; and Bournemouth council’s bid with Dorset county council and related districts, will now have to go back to the drawing board."

Farming 'not recognised' by new Government enterprise groups | News | Farmers Guardian

Farming 'not recognised' by new Government enterprise groups | News | Farmers Guardian: "News that the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly bid to form an LEP was successful prompted the Country Land and Business Association, to renew its call for proper representation for the countryside on the board which will eventually run the LEP.

CLA South west Director, John Mortimer, said: “CLA members play a critical role in ensuring economic diversity and vitality across the whole of our county – and they should be properly represented in the new partnership.”"