Leicestershire, UK, 14 January 2014 - Aerial mapping company Bluesky has been awarded contracts to map heat loss across towns and cities covering around 10 per cent of the population. Using specialist thermal sensors mounted on survey aircraft Bluesky accurately records heat loss from homes and businesses. Working with Local Authorities, property owners and energy companies the colour-coded thermal maps are matched against addresses to give accurate and up to date information to tackle fuel poverty, carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency. Bluesky thermal maps have also been used to identify illegal dwellings – known as beds in sheds, and even uncover cannabis factories.

“At a time when energy usage and fuel poverty are once again top of the political agenda and front page news, it is essential that those who are charged with protecting the most vulnerable in society are armed with the information they need,” commented Rachel Tidmarsh, Managing Director of Bluesky International. “Thermal survey data clearly shows households that differ from adjacent properties. Most often these are shown as ‘hot spots’ and can be explained by poor insulation however unduly ‘cold’ properties are also of concern as these households may be experiencing fuel poverty where they simply cannot afford to switch on the heating. Combining the thermal data with demographic and other datasets can highlight properties where this may be the case.”

The letter, sent to all English local authorities by Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Lord de Mauley, states that all funding for the scheme will cease from 1 April 2017; a move which has been sharply criticised by a number of experts.

Lord de Mauley’s letter held up the publication of revised Part 2A statutory guidance in April 2012 as justification for the announcement: “This has resulted in a more stringent risk-based approach to identifying and remediating contaminated land. Given these changes, Defra will no longer be supporting the costs of investigating and remediating contaminated land under Part 2A through the Contaminated Land Capital Grants Scheme”.

Dr Liz Goodwin, the Chief Executive of the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP, the Government’s waste and resources agency) has outlined the benefits that the EU could claim in 2020 through the adoption of a resource efficient circular economy. In short, these benefits include an improved trade balance and an increase in jobs.

A circular economy is the term used for an industrial economy that acts in an environmentally restorative way. WRAP describe the circular economy as a place ‘in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and material at the end of each service life’.

On 7 November the Soil Association announced two new funding competitions to support innovative research in sustainable agriculture, as part of the Duchy Originals Future Farming Programme.

Farmers and growers can apply directly for £2,000 of investment to test ideas to tackle real problems in farming on their own farm through a ‘field lab’. Field labs bring a small group of likeminded farmers together to solve a problem, adapting an approach pioneered in developing countries that supports practical DIY research by farmers. Up to 15 winners will receive £500 cash towards their time and costs, and at least £1,500 of ‘in-kind’ support from an expert researcher and facilitator.