Hastings’ Greens say council’s climate change motion ‘lacks ambition’
Local Greens say they’re ‘disappointed’ at the borough council’s ‘lack of ambition’ when it comes to fighting climate change.
And Hastings and Rye Green Party is also unhappy that despite the impetus for the motion coming from them in the first place, neither the motion, nor the proposer, council leader Peter Chowney, or seconder, Councillor Maya Evans, made any mention of what local green campaigners see as being their ‘crucial role’ in having the issue raised at Wednesday’s meeting of the full council in the first place.
The motion was passed unanimously at the end of a long meeting at which more than 50 members of the public were present. Among other pledges, Hastings Borough Council promised to establish a climate change working group to press ahead with sustainable energy generation on council land and to develop a procurement policy that reduces carbon emissions.
The motion included one of the Green Party’s suggestions to review the Local Plan to require all new buildings to meet rigorous energy efficiency standards. This, say local Green Party members, could mean that the 500 houses the council plans to build could have very low energy bills.
Hastings Green Party had gathered signatures of support for a climate emergency motion from almost 1,000 individuals, as well as over 70 local organisations and businesses, in advance of the council meeting. The motion by HBC follows those in a number of other councils across the UK which have already declared a climate emergency, including London, Glasgow, Kirklees, Bristol and Scarborough.
Hastings Green Party spokesperson Julia Hilton said, “We initiated the idea of a climate emergency motion, and welcome the commitment of the council to move Hastings to being carbon neutral by 2030. However, we are disappointed with the lack of interim timescales or binding commitments in the motion. Now the council needs to take urgent action to ensure this motion has real impact. We’re also calling on our Labour county councillors to build a consensus to bring a similar motion to East Sussex County Council so we have a county-wide commitment to urgent action on climate change.”
Read more by clicking these links
- https://hastingsinfocus.co.uk/2019/02/14/its-unanimous-borough-will-be-carbon-neutral-by-2030/
- https://hastingsinfocus.co.uk/2019/01/21/declare-climate-emergency-now-say-local-greens/
- https://hastingsinfocus.co.uk/2018/11/03/action-is-needed-while-a-window-of-opportunity-still-exists/
- https://hastingsinfocus.co.uk/2019/01/09/dont-alienate-people-from-climate-debate-say-local-greens/
How can anyone with a modicum of common sense imagine that this council is serious in their pledge to make a difference in halting climate change when we see their crazy proposals to erecet ground based solar panels in our Country Park? Our country park and all our woodlands and green spaces are important facets in halting climate change. We already read about the serious decline in wildife and even the insects which are so vital to our planet. Erecting ground based solar panels in the country park would have a detrimental effect on the eco systems and one really has to wonder whether this council knows what it is doing. Totally inept and foolish ideas. This town needs protection from these idiots in our council. Haven’t we lost enough green spaces here already? Land cleared all the way up Queensway which nobody wants? Now FOR SALE signs appearing everywhere. All that precious land cleared with the loss of so much wildife and ancient trees…sickening to see.