Herald - Issue 410

Page 58 • The HERALD • 5th August 2021 v THE NEXT HERALD IS OUT ON 26TH AUGUST v Helen Sparks Mortgages & Financial Services Offering professional advice since 1985 Mortgages Residential Life Time Equity Release Buy to Let – first time landlords Property Portfolios Help to Buy Insurance Buildings & Contents Insurance Life Assurance Critical Illness Income Protection Private Medical Insurance YOUR PROPERTY MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS This firm usually charges a fee for mortgage advice. The amount of the fee will depend upon your circumstances and will be discussed and agreed with you at the earliest opportunity. Some forms of buy to let mortgage are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. 023 8084 4108 helensparks@btconnect.com Helen Goodall T/A Helen Sparks Mortgages & Financial Services is an appointed representative of PRIMIS Mortgage Network, a trading name of First Complete Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Building Plans & Estimating Building Plans for Planning & Building Regulation approval Builders Estimating Service Free initial meeting and estimate CAD drawings produced on latest software Please call Bob on 07795 692060 Email abbott.bob@sky.com ASK A PROFESSIONAL GOVERNMENT URGED TO REFORM THE PLANNING SYSTEM TO REACH NET ZERO – CENTRE FOR CITIES Planning and transport changes in cities would bring UK 26% closer to its target . e Government needs to press ahead with planning reform to meet its net zero target according to Centre for Cities’ research in partnership with HSBC UK. Its campaign should begin in cities which, despite being big carbon emitters, have the best chance of leading the UK to net zero. e report nds that the right policies targeted in cities will being the UK a quarter of the way closer to achieving a carbon neutral future. Doing this this will require the Government to progress its planned reforms as the current system is a barrier to reaching net zero. ey encourage housing development in isolated areas over better-connected inner-city and suburban brown eld sites. Houses emit more carbon than ats, but they accounted for nearly eight in ten homes built in 2019 – an increase of 12 percentage points since 2013. erefore, providing a more balanced mix of low-rise ats and terraced houses close to city centres would therefore help the UK reach net zero. Building new homes centrally would also reduce car dependency. If the share of journeys made by public transport rose from one third to two thirds then urban carbon emissions would halve. erefore, providing good public transport in all cities is essential to reaching net zero. e number of people using public transport fell sharply during the pandemic and has not yet reached pre-Covid levels. Reaching net zero will be impossible while so many people continue to shun public transport in favour of cars. Policy makers therefore must encourage the public back onto public transport. ey should also introduce charges to disincentivise non-electric car usage and improve the public transport system in all cities. Doing these together could reduce total urban transport emissions by 87% by 2035. e report argues that, to help cities reach net zero, the Government should: • Make it easier to build new energy e cient homes in city centres and suburbs. • Reintroduce the £2 billion Green Homes Scheme to retro t existing homes. is would reduce carbon emissions by around 30% across England and Wales’ largest cities and towns. And local government leaders should: • Improve public transport by bringing buses under public management • Introduce Clean Air Zones that charge drivers of the most polluting vehicles. • Encourage walking, cycling and public transport usage. Centre for Cities’ Chief Executive Andrew Carter said: “The majority of people in the UK are based in our cities and largest towns. This means that changing the way that we live, work and move around them will be essential if we’re to reach net zero by 2050. Because 64% of the UK’s total carbon emissions come from homes and transport, it will be impossible to reach net zero without changes to our planning and transport systems. If the Government does these together it will help it reach its goals of becoming carbon neutral and levelling up.” Ian Stuart, CEO of HSBC UK said: “This report shows the key role Britain’s town and cities, and decision- makers leading them, are going to play in helping the UK reach its net-zero ambitions. Consumers, businesses and local communities will need support from both central and local government if we’re going to make the big lifestyle changes needed over the coming years in the way we travel and in the way we build and heat our homes. There is a real opportunity to build a partnership between the public and private sectors to create the new solutions to meet the climate challenge and to open up new green opportunities for growth for small and medium sized businesses right across the country. HSBC UK stand ready to play our part in this partnership.” We are excited to launch SLING YOUR HOOK - our new campaign to help tackle scams. e campaign taps into the psychology that scammers use to hook people in, helping you stay one step ahead and protect yourself and loved ones against the increasing variety of scams that are happening everyday. We’ve identi ed the following ve behaviours scammers commonly use: • ey imply they’re doing you a favour (reciprocity) • ey indicate everyone else is doing this (social proof) • ey say your only chance is to act now (urgency) • ey act like they’re similar to you so you like them and want to please them (connection) • ey ask you to do one little thing which makes you do more (commitment) We also know that o en victims of scams report that in hindsight they felt something wasn’t quite right at the time. is campaign aims to raise awareness of the tactics scammers use and encourages people to ‘stop and think’ if something doesn’t FEEL, SEEM, LOOK or SOUND right. is allows them time to trust your gut instinct and help prevent becoming a scam victim. “Everyone likes to feel special. But watch out! If a stranger is going out of their way for you, something fishy may be going on instead. Scammers like to offer one- off deals and favours. Don’t be afraid to tell them no.” John Hayward-Cripps, CEO of Neighbourhood Watch Network. How can you support this campaign? • JOIN THE CONVERSATION : Book your place one or more of our scams online talks • LEARN : Visit our scams website pages which looks at common scams, preventing scams, reporting scams, supporting victims and a scams campaign toolkit • SHARE : Follow us on our Facebook, Twitter or Instagram channels and share our posts WHY SLING YOUR HOOK Information from Neighbourhood Watch