This week I listened to a short talk by Rt Hon David Willetts MP, Minister for Universities and Science. The premise of his talk was one of optimism about the successful technological development happening in Britain. The person I was sitting next to asked David Willetts, “This is good news. But, why is this the first time I’ve heard this?”

I searched for more information on the subject and found the text of a fuller version of the speech on the same subject David Willetts gave earlier this year. There’s also a comprehensive discussion of them in Eight Great Technologies pamphlet, written by David Willetts in association with Policy Exchange. I’ll let you read about the eight technologies in detail. This is a summary of the best bits of the pamphlet.

1. The big data revolution and energy-efficient computing
   • “Firstly, we are good at the algorithms needed to handle diverse large data sets,.. This goes back to our historic strengths in maths. Secondly, we have some of the world’s best and most complete data-sets in healthcare, demographics, agriculture and the environment. Our long and stable history means we have reliable data sets stretching further back in time than just about any country.”
2. Satellites and commercial applications of space
   • “British companies have focussed on making satellite technology more affordable with smaller, lighter-weight satellites that lower the cost of commercial launches. Surrey Satellites Technologies(SSTL), one of the UK’s single most successful university spinouts, is the world leader in high-performance small satellites. Roughly 40% of the world’s small satellites come from Guildford – and now even smaller nano-satellites are coming from SSTL and Clydespace in Glasgow.”
3. Robotics and autonomous systems
   • “Our comparative advantage comes from our skill in algorithms to programme autonomous systems to handle massive data flows fast. The unusual breadth of our world-class research base combining software, engineering, clinical medicine and ethics gives us a lead in the development of this truly cross-disciplinary technology.”
4. Life sciences, genomics and synthetic biology
   • “Many of the critical discoveries related to DNA were made in Britain, … the NHS with its nationwide patient records is another great national asset. The pharmaceutical industry is responsible for almost 30% of all business R&D in the UK.”
5. Regenerative medicine
   • “We have a leading position in the science and commercial translation of regenerative medicine. This comes from our cross-disciplinary research base. It is also because we have a well-balanced legislative and regulatory framework.”
6. Agri-science
   • “Britain did not just lead the Industrial Revolution, we pioneered the Agricultural Revolution too…. Chickens are the world’s biggest source of meat, and are particularly important in Asia. We breed the world’s chickens – of the £85bn global poultry market, 80% of breeding chickens come from genetic stock developed in the UK. Thanks to our genetics research you get twice as much chicken for a given amount of chicken feed as 20 years ago. Each year we launch a new brand of chicken which will produce many generations over a year or more before a new improved version comes along.”
7. Advanced materials and nano-technology
   • “The UK has a long established reputation for excellent materials science, as well as industrial strengths in advanced materials. Wedgwood, Pilkington and the super-alloys and carbon fibre in Rolls Royce engines are all examples of successful business applications of materials research.”
8. Energy and its storage
   • “The UK has an internationally leading research base in energy storage basic science, but has ceded huge revenue generating opportunities in the manufacture of energy storage technologies to overseas competitors. The Li-ion battery, now in almost every portable computer, tablet and mobile phone in the world, was invented in the UK in 1980 but was only made commercially viable by use of Japanese manufacturing expertise, by which time benefit to the UK was lost.

Having read the 58-page pamphlet, it looks as though we’re improving our research & development investments, but we obviously need to do more to convert advances into manufacturing income.

Also in our mail this week is another utility company advising me of their infrastructure investment plans. This time it’s about water, not telecoms. The letter from South East Water, shown below, advises on their plans to increase their investment in water supply capacity.

Two water companies supply Surrey Heath. The six villages in the east of the borough are supplied by Affinity Water, while Camberley, Frimley, Frimley Green, and Mytchett are supplied by South East Water. Interestingly, Affinity Water have no plans to increase capacity, according to their draft Water Resources Management Plan, relying on reducing leakage, and consumers using water more efficiently, mostly backed up by water meters.

In the 2010 Affinity Water [when known as Veolia Water] plan contained a helpful map [see below - click to enlarge], showing the water supply companies’ operational areas.

In our post arrived a letter from Waldon Telecom, informing me of the proposed upgrade to the mobile phone base station mast, located at Lightwater sewage treatment works.

The upgrade is for Telefonica [known as O2], and Vodafone, through their joint venture company -Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Ltd.

The letter, see the front page below, describes the replacement of the antennas with new ones, and additional equipment cabinets on the site. Although it doesn’t give a date as to when the upgrade will occur. The sooner the better for me, as in this part of Lightwater mobile phone coverage for Vodafone is poor.

Prospect Magazine’s article on The relentless charm of Nigel Farage provides an understanding of his appeal to voters. It describes Nigel Farage’s success in connecting with voters.

The Daily Mail reports that Surrey borough Elmbridge “pays more income tax than any other area of the UK”.

They’re reporting on a survey by accountants UHY Hacker Young. Who say that, ”The latest income tax statistics show that the UK is increasingly reliant on the wealthy Home Counties commuter belt for tax revenue. The ten places in the UK with the largest average income tax payments are all in the South East.”

Here’s the table of top ten income tax-paying boroughs.

I hadn’t realised that local blog Left of Lightwater was now defunct. I wasn’t a regular reader. I’m not much given to reading political polemics, and I’m not fond of anonymity in blogs.

It’s a disappointment that the contents of the blog are now no longer available. That’s a shame, considering all the energy and passion that had been put into it. This brings to mind about what should happen when authors cease to maintain their blogs. I believe they should be considered as a digital library. There on the digital shelf, as it were, for anyone to read. I do hope the contents can be made available again, even though the author won’t continue to write there.

Bagshot gained a new shop in its High Street yesterday. Diamond Days designer boutique, at 24A High Street Bagshot. The Mayor of Surrey Heath, Cllr Beverley Harding, cut the ceremonial ribbon to open the new shop.

This new shop is an addition to owner Sandy Grayson’s Diamond Nights boutique in Updown Hill in Windlesham. As the Mayor said in the podcast below, a new shop opening is just what we want to see in our High Streets.

PopUp Britain announce that “The Mall in Camberley, Surrey, is to become the first shopping centre in the country to host a PopUp Britain outlet.” They continue,

“PopUp Camberley will open on June 5th to a mixture of home-grown and visiting retail start-ups, giving them their first taste of the high street.”

“The pop-up will run for six weeks and every two weeks six new retailers will take space. The shop has the capacity to house six start-ups at a time – so there is a chance for 18 retailers to pop-up.”

Earlier this year, I wrote about this key retail trend in 2013, describing a pop-up shop as one that uses low-cost use retail sales spaces for a temporary period – around six months.

It’s a great initiative for Camberley, which I’ll be visiting to see a PopUp shop in operation.

Councils up and down the country hold their annual council meetings in May. It’s the time when many change their mayor’s, and roles of their councillors.

Choosing a Mayor, Deputy Mayor, committee chairmen, and committee members is by the councillors themselves. It might surprise you to know that there are many different models of organising democratic control over councils – I won’t bore by going into them now – suffice to say that here in Surrey Heath at our annual meeting last night we voted in the new guard.

For this year our mayor is Councillor Beverley Harding, with Cllr Bob Paton as her deputy mayor. Annual council meetings are generally short, it’s the ceremony of the mayor making which is the key focus of the meeting. Here are the pictures of the event, with last year’s mayor Cllr Bruce Mansell, the new mayor, and her deputy. Click on the photo’s to enlarge.

Let’s begin with apologies. I’m late with this reminder to attend an exhibition on issues and options in housing, retail, green space, and employment in Surrey Heath.

Called Site Allocations, this is the title of the Surrey Heath Borough Council’s paper on the possible development sites to meet its plans for the borough up until 2028.

The public exhibition on site allocations in Bisley, West End and Lightwater is being held on Wednesday 15th May, at the Sports Pavilion, Benner Lane, West End, GU24 3JP from 12.30pm to 8.0pm.

This is the initial stage in a lengthy consultation process that is not due to be completed until early 2015. Without going into the issues involved, here are the sites that have been suggested for development, of one kind or another.

In Bisley:

• F C Brown Ltd [Bisley Office Equipment], potential for 125 homes
• Land at rear of 309-315 Guilford Road, potential for 5 homes
• Peerless site in Queens Road, potential for 9 homes

In West End

• Land west of Fenns Lane, 54 homes
• Land off Beldam Bridge Road, 51 homes
• Land at Pankhurst Farm on Bagshot Road, 26 homes
• Conifers Nursery on Bagshot Road, 24 homes
• West End reserve site [Benner Lane/Beldam Bridge/Kings Rd], 170 homes

Lightwater

• 99-101 Guildford Road, 9 homes
• 94-102a Guildford Road, 8 homes

NOTES:

• While I’ve given the number of homes, some of the sites are potential employment sites.
• The majority of the site are in Camberley, with only Bagshot of the six villages seeing any major potential expansion.
• This is the LAST of the exhibitions. If you’ve missed the earlier exhibitions in the borough; I’d suggest attending this event.

I’ll be at the exhibition, and will hope to see you there in the afternoon, and not in the evening as we have the annual Surrey Heath council meeting in the evening.