Making New Housing Sustainable and Energy Efficient.

A short talk to the Calder Valley Community Land Trust on the 22nd August 2018

"I have a little to add to the presentations by Duncan Roberts[1] and Marianne Heaslip[2].

I started work as a building services engineer, the job of making sure the heating, ventilation, lighting and plumbing work. These are essential elements for creating sustainable buildings and have been involved in low energy projects, modelling and measuring for some years.

I would like to introduce 3 ideas that I think helps keep sustainability on the project agenda.

Avoiding sustainability slip,

The value of measurement,

And on being a good citizen.

Recent allegations against Oxfam

Dear Oxfam
Thank you for your email and the concern over your employees actions.

Mill Road Depot redevelopment

The Cambridge Council Depot on Mill Road is being relocated and the site redevelopped for housing. This has been on the cards since 2014, when the Local Plan idenified the site as suitable for housing. After a consultation exercise, the council approved a Planning and Development Brief, but also set up the Cambridge Investment Partnership, a jount venture with Hills to undertake the development. After further consultation, the CIP have developped a proposal, which I feel is significantly flawed.

In general, the proposals offered by the CIP are not in keeping with the Mill Road Depot Supplementary Planning Document adopted by the City Council in March 2017, and have not taken into account the views of local residents expressed at previous meetings about the site.

In particular, I have concerns about issues relating to:
Density
Urban Grain
Open Space and Gardens
Community facilities and additionality
“Affordable” housing and alternative tenures.

Rejected by the Labour Party

Subject: Re: Supporter Application
To: Supporter Applications
Cc: daniel@cambridgelabour.org.uk
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2015

Dear Labour Party
Thank you for your email.
I do not understand why you have rejected my application. Your email is
particularly unhelpful since it does not explain the process of pursuing "an
application to join Labour as a full member" and the phone number given does not
work.

Cambridge Carbon Footprint is 10 years old!

When Rosemary and I delivered a workshop in Bristol for the Climate Psychology Alliance , on the 10th July, talking about our new book, we realised it was 10 years to the day since we started talking about Carbon Footprints.