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Council buildings' energy use "grossly inefficient", new figures reveal

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Written by Loretta Vendetta Friday, 03 April 2009 00:00

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Mark BlackburnWestminster council's buildings are wasting lots of energy, according to environmental information released under the Freedom of Information Act. The worst building uses six times as much energy as it should.

Under new rules brought in last October, all public buildings over a certain size have to display signs showing how energy efficient they are. Every building is graded from 'A' to 'G'. An 'A' grade means the building is very efficient and uses 25% or less energy than a building of the same type. At the opposite end, a 'G' grade is given to the most wasteful buildings, with energy use more than 50% higher than the average.

Over a quarter of the 49 council buildings that have been assessed received the bottom grade, 'G'. In fact, more council buildings scored a 'G' than any other grade. Not a single one of the 49 received the top grade, an 'A'.

The rules brought in last October also require the release of the exact percentage by which a building is more or less efficient than the average. By far the best performer was St Gabriel's School, which used less than half the energy for a building its size.

The worst two however were Westminster City Hall, which consumed almost four times as much energy as it should, and the council building on Lisson Grove, which used six times as much energy.

Commenting on the findings, Mark Blackburn, the LibDem parliamentary candidate for the new Westminster North constituency, said, "These facts are a damning indictment of Conservative-run Westminster council's green credentials. Not a single building won the most energy-efficient grade, whilst more than a quarter got the bottom grade.

"A Liberal Democrat-run Westminster would act to make council buildings more energy efficient. That would be good news not just for the environment, but for taxpayers too because at the moment they are paying more than they need to power these grossly inefficient buildings. The Conservatives need to get a grip."

Source:  Westminster Lib Dems

 

Westminster City Council forced to switch off digital CCTV cameras

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Written by Loretta Vendetta Tuesday, 31 March 2009 00:00

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CCTVWestminster City Council has written to Geoff Hoon to object to his department's decision to force it to switch off its 100 digital CCTV cameras, mostly used for parking enforcement.

The news is likely to be welcomed by motorcyclists who are this evening demonstrating against the Council's imposition of parking charges for motorbikes.

The cameras fall foul of the Traffic Management Act of 2004 which only came into force in 2008. The Council has only just been informed that its digital cameras do not meet technical standards.

The TMA rules state that cameras must operate at 720 x 576 pixels - Westminster Council's only work at 704 x 576. However, the council insists that images produced by the two standards are effectively the same because the analogue images include unused pixels - the black lines round the image.

The Council claims to operate the only fully digital network in the UK - most use analogue images which are then digitised.

It said an upgrade is impossible because it would require bespoke equipment which does not use broadcast standards which would cost up to £2.5m. The council said it had spoken to several camera manufacturers who confirmed that 704 x 576 is the industry standard.

A spokeswoman for Westminster said the decision would not help congestion in the city, but was unlikely to have much impact on policing of the G20 conference this week. Some reports had claimed the loss of the network would have resulted in "chaos" for the policing operation.

Source:  The Register

   

WCC - not so "Green" with their own vehicles

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Written by Loretta Vendetta Wednesday, 21 January 2009 00:00

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Maxda RX-8 - Nice car Councillor !

 A recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the council asked for the numbers and types of vehicles leased to senior officers.

The list that eventually appeared is very interesting and it's listed below.

Granted there are a few Hybrids and a Prius, however the rest are not very "Green" at all especially vehicles like the RX-8 and the 159 Sportswagon.

WCC are quick to criticise others about "Green" issues but it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black in our opinion.

 

 Here's the list (with the cost of the annual lease charge):

SEAT 1.2 Ibiza 12v 3dr Hatch £1,444.75
Volkswagen 1.4 Polo SE 1.4 Tdi 5dr £1,997.52
Vauxhall 1.8i Zafira Design 16v £2,412.67
Volkswagen 1.9 Golf Match TDI 5DR £2,559.78
Volkswagen 1.6 Golf Fsi SE 5dr Hatch £2,569.39
Volkswagen 2.0 Golf tdi GT Auto £2,812.46
BMW Mini Cooper 1.6 Hatch £2,911.44
Toyota 1.5 VVTi T3 Hybrid 5dr cvt auto £3,011.40
Honda 2.2i Civic Type S 3dr Hatch 2007 £3,060.13
Volkswagen 2.0 Touran 7st SE Tdi PD £3,119.48
Volvo 1.8 S40 SE 4dr 08 £3,136.13
Toyota 1.5 VVTi T4 Hybrid 5dr CVT Auto £3,139.92
Honda 1.4 i-Dsi ES 4dr IMA CVT Auto (Leather) £3,252.93
Toyota 1.5 VVTi T4 Hybrid 5dr cvt auto £3,298.90
Audi 2.0 A3 Sportback Tdi SE 170 5DR £3,482.69
BMW 2.0d 3 Series 318 Saloon Es £3,507.95
BMW 2.0i Z4 Roadster 2.0i SE 08 £3,617.03
Audi 2.0 A3 Sportback Tdi Sport £3,628.64
Toyota 1.5 Prius hatch Vvti T Spirit Hybrid £3,730.48
Honda 2.0i-vtec Estate Ex 5dr £4,008.66
BMW 2.0 320i SE Auto 4dr £4,117.90
Alfa 1.9 Romeo 159 Sportswagon Jtdm Lusso £4,166.87
Mazda 1.3 RX-8 Coupe 192ps £4,515.62
Hyundai 2.2 Santa Fe 5dr 5st Cdti Cdx Auto 06 £4,658.73
Jaguar 2.0 x-Type Saloon. Td SE £5,227.98
Volvo 2.4 XC90 Awd SE D5 07 £5,845.04

Source: FOI Request 3349