House & Home

The rising cost of energy bills is putting a strain on household budgets, and wasting energy is bad news for the environment. Here are 10 tips that require no capital outlay: Switch your energy supplier Compare gas and electricity prices at www.uswitch.com and make sure you’re on the cheapest tariff for you. It only takes a few minutes and they’ll do all the paperwork. Ofgem estimate that the average household saving will be £300. Turn your thermostat down Keep your thermostat at 21oC max. If you’re still cold you should put on more clothes! For every 1 degree above 21oC it will cost you 10% more on your heating bill. Make sure your immersion heater is OFF Using on peak electricity to heat your hot water is 3 times more expensive than using your gas boiler. Make sure your kids haven’t accidentally left it on! Stick some tape over the..

Milton Keynes Council disclosed in December that it plans the building of 6,000 homes by developer Gallagher Estates in the rural area north of the city between the M1 and the West Coast rail line. This development will be part of its new Local Plan which allocates land for house building from 2018 to 2036. The 6,000 homes are expected by 2025/26. The new population of 15,000 to 20,000 would engulf Haversham and have a devastating impact on Castlethorpe, Hanslope, and Little Linford with most of  the countryside disappearing under concrete. New roads – including major dual carriageways – would be needed to feed into the existing MK Grid causing enormous increases in traffic severely affecting Wolverton, New Bradwell, Stantonbury, and Newport Pagnell. One of the dual carriageways would pass through the new Linear Park for Oakridge Park destroying their recreation facilities, Linford Lakes, and wetlands. The new main roads..