Latest news with #SteveTaylor
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Post-war homes set for a facelift as south Essex councillors agree on plans
THURROCK council's planning committee has voted unanimously to update prefabricated homes built following the Second World War. The council will insulate and provide new windows for 20 Airey houses in Ridgewell Avenue, Orsett. Mears Group Ltd, ECD Architects, Michael Dyson & Associates and Keegans Group have been appointed to 'retrofit the council owned properties made with non-traditional construction methods'. Airey houses were designed for swift construction following the Second World War. A total of 26,000 Airey houses were built between 1945 and 1955 by Sir Edwin Airey who was a Leeds based builder. The precast homes were covered with shiplap concrete panels but many are now blighted by deterioration of the concrete and erosion of embedded steel supports. The work will include adding external wall insulation, loft insulation and replacing external windows or doors. The works aims to 'improve the energy efficient performance of the homes and as a result reduce the energy bills'. At a planning meeting last week, Steve Taylor, a co-opted member of the committee from the Campaign to Protect Rural England. Said: 'Many of those houses were refurbished, repaired, restored in exactly the same way about 20 to 25 years ago and many of them were semi-detached. 'Half because it was privately owned was done and the local authority part wasn't so if anything it will actually bring some regularity back to the area.' Residents will not have to move out for the work, which is part of an almost £4 million grant funded project to upgrade 206 council owned properties. A report to planning officers by architects said: 'The whole house, fabric first retrofit of the Airey council owned properties is progressive step towards the decarbonisation of the council owned housing stock contributing towards the governments overall net zero target. 'These measures not only contribute to a wider goal of decarbonisation but at an individual level also make a large positive impact by significantly reducing the predicted heat demand and thus lowering bills for residents within these homes.'
RNZ News
15-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Councillor ‘risking health' by ignoring boil water notice
Southland district councillor Derek Chamberlain says there is nothing wrong with the water coming out of his tap. Photo: LDR/supplied The country's water regulator says a Southland councillor who refuses to boil his tap water could be risking his health. However, councillor Derek Chamberlain is standing by his decision to ignore a local boil water notice despite criticism from Taumata Arowai. Chamberlain made headlines this week for saying he would sooner drink from his compromised Eastern Bush/Otahu Flat network than have Auckland water. The district councillor lives on one of 54 properties in rural Southland which has been under a boil notice since July 2024. Taumata Arowai head of operations Steve Taylor said Chamberlain's decision to ignore the notice was not safe, even though he was using a filter. There were a range of factors affecting a filter's ability to remove microorganisms including type, pore size, and whether it was used in conjunction with other treatments like boiling or UV, Taylor said. "Your councillor may feel that their water is fine to drink, but they may be risking their health." A boil notice has been in place for Eastern Bush/Otahu Flat, north of Tūātapere, since July 2024. Photo: Laura Smith / LDR One of the main issues affecting the Eastern Bush/Otahu Flat supply was turbidity - or cloudiness - which became worse when rain dirtied the Wairaki River. Taylor said high turbidity impacted treatment and indicated a higher risk of protozoa, which the supply did not have a barrier to protect against. Even if the water was visibly clear, it could still contain pathogens which could lead to serious illness, he warned. In response, Chamberlain issued the regulator a challenge "If they're that concerned about it, why don't they come down and do something about it?" he said. "My argument's at Wellington. I mean it's alright for them sitting up there bloody making all the rules, someone's got to pay for it." The boil notice was issued in July 2024 and could be in place until as late as 2027 when the treatment plant is upgraded. On Monday, the council issued a reminder to residents that boiling was still necessary. The notice is the only active one across the entire region. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
Associated Press
30-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
A Georgia town that solidly backed Trump could fall victim to his tax bill's green energy cuts
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. (AP) — When two South Korean companies announced a multibillion-dollar investment to build solar panel and electric battery factories in northwest Georgia, federal subsidies helped close a deal to diversify the local economy. The factories promised thousands of new jobs, transforming the manufacturing base in Cartersville, once a cotton mill town before an Anheuser-Busch brewery arrived in the 1990s and a tire plant in 2006. But now Republicans in Congress want to gut the subsidies for projects across the country in a tax cut bill likely days from final passage. President Donald Trump's signature legislation could harm Cartersville despite it being in overwhelmingly Republican Bartow County, which backed Trump with 75% of the vote all three times he appeared on the ballot. Both companies say they're continuing their buildout plans. But Steve Taylor, a Republican who is Bartow County's lone elected commissioner, says ending the tax credits would be 'a little concerning.' 'Those companies came and it gave us a completely different type of industry and manufacturing for our community,' Taylor said. By some measures, no state may have more to lose than Georgia from such cuts in Trump's ' Big Beautiful Bill .' Top Georgia Republicans have been mostly silent, while Georgia's two Democratic U.S. senators are staunchly opposed. 'A vote for this bill is a vote against Georgia's economy and a vote that will put so much of what we've worked so hard to achieve at risk' U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff told The Associated Press. And few towns have more to lose than Cartersville, the Bartow County seat about 35 miles (55 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta. As the county transforms from rural to suburban, leaders foresee an economic boost from the $5 billion battery factory that Hyundai Motor Group and SK On are building, as well as the $2.3 billion solar panel plant belonging to Qcells, a unit of Hanwha Solutions. Both plants pledge to pay workers an average of $53,000 a year. Clean energy projects are taking off in Georgia Georgia's huge inrush of clean energy projects had already begun before 2022, when then-President Joe Biden signed his signature climate law , the Inflation Reduction Act. But if anything, that rush accelerated . The 33 additional projects announced by the end of 2024 were the most nationwide, according to E2 , an environmental business group. Exact figures differ, but projects in Georgia top $20 billion, pledging more than 25,000 jobs. Buyers of Qcells solar panels get a 40% federal tax credit, including a 10% bonus for domestic content, which would go away under the bill. Qcells itself would still get production tax credits for panels it started producing last year in Cartersville. The bill would also tax companies that buy panels or components from some foreign countries including China. That could help Qcells, but wouldn't aid domestic producers as much as the domestic content bonus. When the 1,900-job plant is complete, it will take refined polysilicon, cast it into ingots and then thinly slice ingots into the wafers that become solar cells. Qcells says controlling its own supply chain will let it work more efficiently. Those additional steps would earn the company additional tax credits. Scott Moskowitz, vice president of market strategy and industry affairs for Qcells, said the company built its first American factory up the road in Dalton during the first Trump administration in response to Trump's protectionist trade policy. Moskowitz argues that a quick curtailment of federal subsidies undercuts Trump's goal of bolstering domestic manufacturing, pushing buyers back to Chinese-controlled producers. Some local Republicans are expressing alarm, with 16 GOP state legislators imploring Congress in a June 17 letter to preserve tax breaks for solar panels. 'We urge you not to weaken the tax credits, as doing so would only harm the manufacturing renaissance in Georgia while creating opportunities for Chinese companies to take over the solar industry,' wrote the Georgia lawmakers, led by Republican state Rep. Matthew Gambill of Cartersville. Some argue it's unfair for Congress to pull the rug out after companies relied on the promise of federal support to invest huge sums. 'I would like to think that from a business perspective that when you have agreements in place that you carry those out to fulfillment,' Cartersville Mayor Matt Santini said. High-ranking Georgia Republicans have been publicly silent Clean energy projects have overwhelmingly located in Republican-held congressional districts, with a report by Atlas Public Policy finding GOP districts host 77% of planned spending. But Republican U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, who lives in Bartow County, praised the cuts when they passed the House in May, saying the bill would 'unleash American energy stifled by the Democrats' Green New scam' and lauding expansion of oil, gas and coal production on federal lands. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp says he's staying out of the debate. 'Our position is that Congress needs to be the one to decide the future of the IRA,' said Kemp spokesperson Garrison Douglas. Kemp loves green energy investments and jobs, and even declared that his goal is to make Georgia the 'electric mobility capital of America.' But Kemp and Ossoff clash over who should get credit for Georgia's green energy boom. Kemp sharply disputes that the Biden-era incentives spurred the flood of investment, saying many industries were already on their way before the Inflation Reduction Act was passed. Unlike his current silence, Kemp vociferously opposed some domestic content requirements that made it hard for Hyundai to access the same tax credits as unionized U.S.-based automakers. 'Just generally speaking, the Inflation Reduction Act picked winners and losers, and we saw that negatively impact our partners,' Douglas said. All nine of Georgia's Republican House members voted to support the bill, including U.S. Rep Buddy Carter, who earlier signed a letter supporting green energy subsidies. Carter, who is seeking the GOP nomination to oppose Ossoff for Senate in 2026, represents a coastal district that includes a $7.6 billion Hyundai plant in Ellabell that started production last year. Hyundai wants to make batteries at what would be a 3,500-employee plant near Cartersville so that Hyundai and Kia buyers can fully take advantage of the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles. Those credits would end six months after the bill is enacted under the current version. The company is publicly sidestepping the current legislative fight. But with American demand for electric vehicles slow to take off , Hyundai now says it will also build gas-electric hybrid vehicles in Ellabell, once projected to make only electric vehicles. 'We remain focused on electrification because we believe it represents a significant long-term opportunity,' Hyundai spokesperson Michael Stewart said in a statement. 'At the same time, our business is driven by consumer demand, which is why we continue to offer a full range of powertrains.' Bartow County leaders say it's in everyone's interest to keep the projects on solid footing and that jobs should outweigh politics. 'I don't know that people are lining up along party lines over this topic,' Santini said. But Ossoff says partisanship is motivating many Georgia Republicans to turn their backs on the state's economic interests. 'For national Republicans right now, loyalty to Trump is more important than anything else, and this is what Trump says he wants,' Ossoff said.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hospital parking charges rise 'necessary'
Parking charges at some hospitals are to rise from Monday, in what health chiefs say is a necessary move. The increase will be between 30p and 60p for up to four hours, although the first 20 minutes, for pick-up and drop-offs, will remain free. The move affects Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital, the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton, the University Hospital of Hartlepool, Peterlee Community Hospital and Northallerton's Friarage. Steve Taylor, of University Hospitals Tees (UHT), has previously said it was understood the move would not be welcome, but the cost of maintaining the car parks could not be covered by its current operating budget. Anything left over from running costs would be diverted to patient care, he pledged. Parking will still be free for the first 20 minutes, for blue badge holders, frequent outpatient attendees, and the parents of sick children admitted to hospital overnight. Mr Taylor told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Charging for parking ensures only those who need to visit our hospitals use a parking space and ensures a swift turnover of spaces. "We would like to reassure all our patients and visitors that the income is used to maintain our car parks, including the costs of repairs and maintenance, lighting, gritting and security. "Any surplus money is diverted into patient care to support the delivery of front-line services." Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Hospital parking charges to increase Hospital staff protest over planned parking change North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
BBC News
01-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Teesside hospital parking charges rise take effect
Parking charges at some hospitals are to rise from Monday, in what health chiefs say is a necessary increase will be between 30p and 60p for up to four hours, although the first 20 minutes, for pick-up and drop-offs, will remain move affects Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital, the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton, the University Hospital of Hartlepool, Peterlee Community Hospital and Northallerton's Taylor, of University Hospitals Tees (UHT), has previously said it was understood the move would not be welcome, but the cost of maintaining the car parks could not be covered by its current operating budget. Anything left over from running costs would be diverted to patient care, he will still be free for the first 20 minutes, for blue badge holders, frequent outpatient attendees, and the parents of sick children admitted to hospital overnight. Mr Taylor told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Charging for parking ensures only those who need to visit our hospitals use a parking space and ensures a swift turnover of spaces."We would like to reassure all our patients and visitors that the income is used to maintain our car parks, including the costs of repairs and maintenance, lighting, gritting and security."Any surplus money is diverted into patient care to support the delivery of front-line services." Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
