A smart & sustainable bike-share has announced it will be launching in Newcastle, following successful schemes in Manchester and London.
Following a partnership with British Cycling, Mobike will roll out an initial 1,000 of its iconic orange and silver bikes in the Newcastle City area at the beginning of October, as part of a wider aim to to get two million more people on bikes by 2020.

Leeds City Council has been awarded a multi-million pound contract to provide 72 community beds across the city.

A new report has recommended a comprehensive Buildings Energy Infrastructure Programme to achieve major energy savings in UK homes.
Frontier Economics’ report, Affordable Warmth, Clean Growth, proposes a package of policies to improve the energy performance of UK homes, including a target for all homes to be brought up to an energy performance rating of C by 2035, with all low-income households achieving a C rating by 2030.

Hertfordshire County Council has approved plans for a new model of delivering children’s centres, health visiting and school nursing services.

A £1 billion blueprint to shape and transform the future of Bolton town centre has been formally approved by the council’s cabinet.
Containing proposals to redevelop the town centre up to 2030 and beyond, redevelopment will create 1,800 new homes, 7,400 new jobs and generate £412 million worth of economic activity over five strategic sites: Trinity Quarter, Cheadle Square, Crompton Place, Church Wharf and Croal Valley.

Nearly 52 per cent of UK electricity generation was met by low carbon sources between 21 June and 22 September.

Bond Dickinson and Grant Thornton have urged the government to reopen conversations about ‘meaningful’ fiscal devolution to transform city regions.
The law and finance firms have launched the first benchmarking report for the performance of combined authorities, Combined Authorities: signs of success, providing a detailed analysis of the legal, funding and governance frameworks of each of the combined authorities and suggesting that ‘their potential to innovate and drive success’ should be recognised.

A new report by Zero Waste Scotland has argued that recycling at home and tackling food waste are key in the fight against climate change.
An innovative tool developed by Zero Waste Scotland, called the Carbon Metric, calculates how waste reduction and sustainable waste management can play a critical role in the fight against climate change, measuring not only the amount of waste recycled, but also the carbon impact of that waste.

Clayhill solar farm and energy storage facility in Bedfordshire will be the first in the UK to be built and operated without government subsidy.

A new survey has revealed that over a quarter of adopted families are in crisis, facing serious challenges affecting the wider family.
Approximately 5,500 children are adopted every year, with the majority of adopted children having suffered trauma, neglect and abuse which can result in a range of complex developmental and psychological difficulties.
The BBC and charity Adoption UK surveyed 3,000 subscribers to Adoption UK's newsletter and found that over half of those reported living with a child who was violent, including being punched, kicked or threatened with knives.