Yesterday, there was an article published in Business Weekly that gives the impression that the EU really cares about the environment, and about the owners of small businesses.

The reality is that the EU cares about neither!

The first point to note is that the £3m supposedly given from the EU is in fact our money - Britain being the 2nd largest contributor to the EU’s budget.

Secondly, the whole Global Warming story is already debunked, and revealed as nothing more than pseudo science, used to enable the ’state’ to exert ever more control over our daily lives.  In other words, there would be better uses for these funds.

Interestingly the ‘Business Weekly‘ article also reveals a high level of co-operation/interaction between the academic world and the unelected Regional Development Agency - the body that has risen Phoenix like from the ashes of the Regional Assembly - many academics having been seduced by financial enticements from the vast educational propaganda budget of the EU: And of course, the Regional Development Agencies only exist to further regionalise England ( split up into easily controlled (by Brussels) regions).

Do read the article below, but do so with the knowledge that you are reading propaganda!

Written by News Desk
Tuesday, 05 August 2008

The East of England’s ERDF concentrates on low-carbon investments. Small firms in the East of England are to benefit from £3 million of European funding to help them go ‘low carbon.’

The first two projects to receive support from the East of England’s £88 million European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) will help businesses cut their energy bills and CO2 emissions and match companies up with the right universities to develop low-carbon projects.

The region’s ERDF programme, which has a nationally unique focus on low-carbon economic growth, will also help to drive EU-wide energy reduction targets and the government’s recently published Renewable Energy Strategy.

£2.1 million is going to the Resource Efficiency East (REE) scheme, which will help small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) become both more resource efficient and at the same time more competitive. REE will help businesses to cut their energy bill and carbon emissions and other resources over the next three years giving firms a sharper competitiveness edge.

A further £628,000 will go towards setting up a project to improve the links between academic expertise and innovation in universities across the East of England and regional businesses looking to develop commercially important low carbon technologies and products.

The successful application for funding for the i-10 Low Carbon Transfer project was made by the University of Cambridge on behalf of a group of eleven East of England universities.

This project will include a brand new ‘taster scheme’ to encourage SMEs to engage with academic hubs in higher education institutions for ground-breaking work on low-carbon issues.

David Morrall, European Programmes Director at EEDA, which manages the region’s European Regional Development Fund, said: “The new £3 million of funding in the region, the first two grants made under the ERDF programme, will help small businesses go ‘low carbon’. The funding will take forward the plans in the government’s recent Renewable Energy Strategy.

“Both the REE and i-10 projects represent innovative ways of developing regional businesses through low-carbon initiatives. I look forward to seeing the fruits of these schemes and to EEDA supporting many similar projects across the region in the coming months.”

Source

Land & People reported only a few days ago how the banks were doing very nicely out of the succession of crises hitting British farming in recent years. We can now tell you just how nicely. According to recently disclosed Bank of England figures the current level of lending to agriculture is now at an all-time high of £10.6 BILLION and growing.

Even more alarming is the revelation that this figure has increased by almost one billion pounds in the last year alone!

To get some idea of what £10.6 billion worth of debt equates to we’ll refer to this year’s anticipated bumper wheat harvest. At the present time and subject to the weather, it is estimated that a record 16 million tonnes of wheat will be harvested by the end of the month. Now, although the price of top quality wheat is around £140 per tonne the poorer grain, to go as animal feed, will probably reduce the overall price per tonne to around £100. In other words Britain’s bumper wheat harvest is estimated to be worth around £1.6 billion.

Taking into account the cereal harvest and all other agricultural production this year, it is probable that this has a value of around £12 billion. In other words the current level of indebtedness of the industry to the banks approximately equates to the entire annual agricultural output of the industry! Put another way, the banks own the harvest �“ not just of wheat but of all other agricultural commodities!

But, in a very real sense, the problem is even worse - as this is interest bearing debt that is serviced by interest payments that probably exceeds half a billion pounds per annum!

Returning to the cereal producers for a moment; it is likely that many will make a tidy profit this year �“ as opposed to breaking even last year, and the year before that. They, of course, are the lucky ones �“ for they will have the luxury of being able to choose whether to reduce their bank borrowings, to invest in new plant or a little of both. Other farmers, particular livestock producers, won’t have that luxury �“ as the high price of feed combined with rocketing diesel and other costs means that most will make a loss. To some extent the same can be said of dairy farmers, where the profit made from increased milk prices has been eroded by higher operating costs.

The bottom line is clear, whilst the industry as a whole is “soldiering on” �“ some farmers better than others �“ it is doing so whilst servicing an extraordinary level of debt. This is manageable during times of bumper harvests �“ but what is going to happen when harvests are not so fruitful and when the Bank of England base-lending rate is ratcheted significantly upwards from the current 5%?

Land & People asks: How many well-run family farms could survive a substantial and prolonged base-lending rate increase in a poor agricultural year we wonder? Furthermore �“ should the economy continue to decline and the banks apply “the squeeze” with a vengeance �“ with this Labour regime come to the aid of the industry or support the banks? Silly question really �“ because on recent past experience we all know the answer to that one!

Some good news that shows that people power can win - but only if you stick together.  Our congratulations to  the villager’s of Hempnall, South Norfolk for their efforts to prevent the imposition of a pseudo green wind farm upon their community!

Campaigners against the proposed windfarm at Hempnall celebrate the planning decision at South Norfolk Council headquarters. Photo: Nick Butcher.

EMILY DENNIS
06 August 2008 08:28

Campaigners were jubilant last night after controversial plans to build a windfarm in the south Norfolk village of Hempnall were unanimously refused.

More than 100 local people packed into the chamber at South Norfolk Council’s headquarters in Long Stratton to listen to the debate over plans by renewable energy company Enertrag UK to build seven 125m high turbines on land at Bussey’s Loke.

The proposals had been recommended for refusal and were last night unanimously turned down by the council’s south-west area planning committee. Enertrag said that it would appeal the decision.

There has been widespread opposition to the plans and Michael Windridge, district councillor for Hempnall, who has been a leading campaign against the scheme, said: “I am absolutely delighted the planning committee took the importance of protecting south Norfolk’s landscape into account. It is our most priceless asset.

“Enertrag have completely failed to understand just how deeply attached local villagers are to their own countryside. We will fight this appeal with all our vigour.”

The scheme was recommended for refusal on the grounds that it would be detrimental to the character of the area and visual amenity, it would have an impact on listed buildings and Norwich International Airport, there would be insufficient visibility at the junction of the B1332/B1527 and because it is contrary to policies.

Objectors to the scheme included local protest group Showt (Stop Hempnall’s Onshore Wind Turbines).

Group spokesman Hilary Battye said: “Of course we are delighted the planning committee has voted against this proposal, recognising the unsuitability of the site because of unacceptable visual intrusion. The appropriate planning policies have been applied with rigour and therefore it is the right result.

“We are, however mindful of Enertrag’s right of appeal and certainly their normal behaviour to do so. We hope that they will give thought to the level of opposition to this proposal and the fact that this is not a suitable site, a view that we feel a planning inspector will share.”

The district council received objections from Hempnall, Saxlingham, Shotesham and Woodton parish councils and recommendations of refusal from Topcroft, Tasburgh and Morningthorpe parish councils.

Other objectors included South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon and county councillor Adrian Gunson.

The district council received more than 600 letters of objection and 62 letters in support of the scheme.

The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) wrote in support of the scheme which it said would make a contribution towards the region’s renewable energy targets.

One of the best nature videos (in our opinion) on YouTube is that showing a year in the life of the River Torridge, sister to The Taw, in North Devon. This being set to one of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ compositions. The courses of the Torridge and Taw form much of North Devon’s “Tarka Trail” - well worth exploring - using the old market town of Barnstaple as your base. The trail is named after Henry Williamson’s creation - Tarka the Otter - which, as it happens, is just one of the creatures to be seen in the video.