We join local renewable energy businesses in a new-year lobby of Hornsey and Wood Green MP Lynne Featherstone over government cuts to renewable energy

Ms Featherstone visited Ecodomus, a sustainable building consultancy in Princess Lane, Muswell Hill, to hear how a Government decision to halve the feed-in tariff - a payment given to homes, councils and community groups that generate electricity through solar panels - had devastated the borough's industry.

Dermot Barnes, Chief Executive of Ecodomus, also welcomed our Group Coordinator Quentin Given, Marcela Teran of Muswell Hill Friends of the Earth and Mark Kragh of solar panel wholesaler Know Your Planet.

The message to Ms Featherstone was clear - the government must rethink its cuts in these subsidies.

Ecodomus has had to make two of its eight employees redundant since the change, and nationally 29,000 jobs are at risk.

A High Court judge branded the decision to change payments from December 12 unlawful, but early January saw an appeal against this by Energy Secretary Chris Huhne.

Quentin said that Ms Featherstone had listened to the concerns of businesses and environmental campaigners and promised to pass them onto Mr Huhne.

He added: "Firms like these had plans to expand but now there are question marks over that in Haringey."

"The feed-in tariff has been very successful and helped to encourage people to take up solar panels, which is exactly what it was brought in to do."

Our survey of 320 people in the borough by the group revealed that 56 per cent thought solar power was the best source to invest in to reduce dependency on non-renewable energy.