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Daily Mail
18 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Matilda's parents thought she was just tired from nursery - in fact she had cancer and there were tell-tale signs they missed
At just three years old Matilda Turner was a bundle of energy and, like most children her age, 'always on the go', her mother Hannah recalls. 'She loved playing in the park with her sister, and she was so excited to go to nursery and see her friends,' adds the teaching assistant, 31.
STV News
20 hours ago
- STV News
Village's anger over plans for 'large-scale monstrosity' battery energy storage site
Locals are campaigning against plans to build a battery energy storage site the size of 21 football pitches on farmland near an Aberdeenshire village. The proposed 500-megawatt facility is being proposed for a field near Rothienorman, despite strong opposition from the local community. While designed to store excess wind and solar power to support the country's renewable energy transition, the development has sparked concern from locals over safety, visual impact and disruption to rural life. Riane Thomson-Bialy moved to a home overlooking the site in January. She said she received a letter from Blackford Renewables two weeks later, notifying residents of the project. STV News Riane Thomson-Bialy says she found out about BESS plans two weeks after moving to 'dream home' 'You don't move to the middle of nowhere, with everything you've desired for several years, just to find out you have this large-scale monstrosity literally in your back garden. 'It's our dream property – I've got my horses out the back and my outdoor school. 'It was a bit of a shock.' The number of battery energy storage sites being proposed in Scotland is expected to increase drastically as part of the move towards net zero. Over 240 large-scale 'battery energy storage systems' are being planned – or are already operating – in Scotland. STV News Proposed site near Rothienorman Criticism often centres on fire risk and emergency planning. Although industry experts say improvements in technology have reduced these risks, residents remain unconvinced. Marguerite Fleming moved to the village ten years ago and lives on the opposite side of the site. She said the community has already endured five years of construction for a substation and grid stability facility and faces at least another two years of building work if the facility goes ahead. 'They are not going to be able to screen that construction noise from us,' she said. 'The last six months have been the most stressful we have had in our lives for the last ten years. It's unbelievable.' STV News UK's largest battery energy storage site planned near Aberdeenshire village She says the risk of fire is deeply concerning for locals. 'We appreciate that with the improved technology fires are a lower risk, but they are a risk. 'BESS sites are insured for fire – they don't take into account how residents might escape from any potential fires.' A public consultation over the site is ongoing until August 26. A statement from Blackwell Renewables read: 'Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) play a vital role in Scotland's energy transition and contribute to energy security. Projects such as Blackford Energy Park will help to create a more efficient, resilient, and affordable energy system. 'We have actively sought feedback from the local community and stakeholders through public consultation to help shape the proposals for Blackford Energy Park. Our design takes advantage of the site's natural topography to minimise visual impact, and we have carefully selected the proposed equipment to reduce noise impact. Our recent noise assessment shows that noise impact on the local area will be minimal. 'We take local concerns about fire safety very seriously, and we are committed to maintaining the highest safety standards through the use of advanced technology, fire safety systems and close coordination with emergency services. 'We remain committed to engaging with the community and stakeholders as we continue to develop the details of the proposals.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
Britain's chemical sector at ‘very high risk', claims credit insurer
Britain's entire chemical sector has been branded 'very high risk' by a leading credit insurer after soaring energy costs triggered a wave of collapses. Coface, a leading global credit insurer, said high energy costs were hammering companies' profit margins and leaving them struggling to pay bills and repair vital equipment. Jonathan Steenberg, Coface's UK economist, said: 'We're seeing slow payments in certain sectors and insolvencies are about 60pc higher than they were before the pandemic. 'To a large degree, energy costs have been the root of this quicker deterioration. It has both first and second order effect, obviously starting with the increase in energy prices, which is also pushing up labour and other costs. It means we have taken the decision to move the chemicals sector up to a very high risk.' Coface specialises in insuring companies against non-payment when selling goods, especially across borders, and in commercial debt collection. The need to assess risk means it also analyses the potential for payment defaults across various industries. Mr Steenberg said it was still offering credit insurance to chemical companies. Britain's chemicals sector employs around 138,000 people directly across 5,000 companies, and supports another 360,000 indirect jobs with exports totalling £61bn. It is also a crucial supplier to other industries, providing the raw materials from which many final products are created. Last week the industry was dealt another major blow after the UK's largest bioethanol plant said it would close following Sir Keir Starmer's trade deal with the Donald Trump. Vivergo Fuels, near Hull, warned that the deal, which meant a 19pc tariff on bioethanol imports from the US to the UK was removed, would make its factory uneconomic because it faced much higher energy costs than US competitors. On Friday the Government said it had 'taken the difficult decision not to offer direct funding as it would not provide value for the taxpayer'. Other plants could follow – all linked to energy bills that now typically comprise more than 50pc of their total costs. Bosses at Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos petrochemicals plant in Grangemouth, Falkirk, said last week it had not made a profit for five years because of the taxes and levies imposed on the gas it consumes both for energy and as a feedstock for making plastics. CF Industries has also ceased ammonia and fertiliser production at its plant in Ince, Cheshire, in 2021 and then at its plant in Billingham, Teesside, in 2023. Steve Elliott, the chief executive of the Chemical Industries Association, said the high cost of industrial energy was because of government policy rather than global markets. He said: 'The Government has put multiple levies on power and gas prices while also rejecting supplies from the North Sea and from fracking. It means energy has become a huge proportion of overall costs and makes it difficult to remain competitive.' Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, said: 'The UK chemicals sector is foundational to much other manufacturing but is being crippled by high energy costs and penal carbon taxes. It's bonkers policy as when British firms die, the same chemicals are simply imported from overseas.' In June, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published a report on the impacts of high energy prices, describing how, between 2021 and 2024, industrial electricity costs rose 75 pc and gas prices by 108pc. 'Collectively, the volume of output in [heavy] industries has fallen by one third since the start of 2021, and is now at its lowest level since the start of the available time series in 1990,' the ONS said. Mr Steenberg said: 'When it comes to chemicals the main inputs are energy, specifically gas. If you're not competitive in that, there's no reason to have an industry.' A Government spokesman said: 'We inherited a difficult economic situation, with businesses facing some of the highest industrial energy prices in Europe. That's why we have announced measures to support sectors across the UK as part of our Plan for Change, ensuring that decarbonisation doesn't mean deindustrialisation.'
