Green London Assembly member Sian Berry is calling on Londoners to “lend us your roofs” to help tackle the climate crisis.
And her inspiration comes from an unusual source – the Sean Bean prison drama “Time.”
A drone shot of Runcorn revealed a high number of houses with solar panels. “I can’t think of anywhere like that in London,” says Sian, “and statistics show we are the lowest region for solar power installations.”
Sian wants the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, to make it easier for people to fit solar panels.
One problem is the amount of red tape in conservation areas, and Sian feels it’s putting people off getting panels installed. “There can be an idea that solar panels are some kind of blot on the landscape,” she says, “I think it’s time to change the narrative, generate more demand, get people won over.”
She has asked the London Mayor for a city-wide campaign promoting solar panels, and he’s agreed to meet her to discuss possible options. “I think a campaign to get whole streets, whole communities to lend their roofs to this emergency would be a brilliant thing,” says Sian.