A message from Cllr Kevin Guy, Leader of Bath & North East Somerset CouncilSince our climate emergency declaration in Bath and North East Somerset the council has worked in partnership with many organisations to meet net zero targets. The ambitious work happening across our area, from planning policy, supporting residents to retrofit their homes, to tree-planting, greening our own fleet or making council buildings more energy efficient, was shared at a Key Cities event this week. We are a member of Key Cities – a network and voice for 27 cities, of all shapes and sizes, around the country. Key Cities brings together an alliance of shared issues so I was delighted that we were able to highlight so much of the work we are doing in B&NES and the way we are partnering for growth. As I mentioned the council has invested in electric vehicles in parts of its fleet and is now trialling an electric recycling truck powered by electricity generated from solar panels at Keynsham Recycling Hub. Investment is set aside to potentially replace several diesel-fuelled refuse collection vehicles with electric powered ones in 2026 – making the service cleaner and greener. It is great to see the truck on the road collecting recycling, contributing to cleaner air and using energy generated at Keynsham Recycling Centre. Looking ahead to the weekend I am thrilled to be attending a very special celebration being held to mark the 100th birthday of a remarkable Bath resident. The council’s Chair, Councillor Karen Walker and I have the honour of meeting D Day veteran Stan Ford who is celebrating his landmark birthday with his family and friends on Saturday. Stan was badly injured during the landings after his ship HMS Fratton was torpedoed and was sunk off the Normandy coast on 18 August 1944. Thirty-eight of the ship’s crew were picked up, however 31 lost their lives. And as part of next week’s national 80th anniversary of the D Day landings Stan has been involved in the Standing with Giants project – he has had a life-size banner created using his photo which we hope will soon be on show in the Guildhall as a reminder of one of Bath’s heroes. Happy Birthday Stan! Have a great Bank Holiday weekend |