Political View: Tackling climate change at grassroots level
The Peterborough Green party are pleased that the motion backing the Climate and Nature Bill was voted through at the last full council meeting, writes group leader Nicola Day.
This reaffirms our commitments as a council to the climate emergency declaration (first passed at full council in July 2019).
We have all seen the devastating floods here in the UK and across Europe, caused by warmer and wetter weather. We have witnessed the heatwaves and seen the wildfires that have destroyed communities. These events will only increase if we fail to tackle climate change and that must begin at a local, grassroots level.
We have an excellent Climate Change and Environment team at the council who, mostly through grant funding, are working hard on these extremely important issues. They are working on mitigation (reducing carbon emissions), but will also be working on adaptation.
Adaptation should focus on how our local communities will adapt to this changing climate (flooding and heatwaves) in order to survive. Adaptation is about rewilding, natural flood defences, adapting our homes - making them energy efficient and cheaper to heat. Far more adaptation has occurred in the Global South because their lives have been drastically shaken by the climate crisis'. However, we, in the Global North, have not heard much about climate adaptation, because the rich care very little about how the poor will adapt. The Greens care about this, we want everyone to be protected, so thanks to all the councillors who voted for this motion.
As a councillor of Orton Waterville Ward, I argued strongly on behalf of local residents against the development of an extra 650 homes on the Showground. The Planning Committee had already given the go-ahead for 850 homes plus a hotel, care home and conferencing and leisure facilities. The SPURR (Showground Plans Under Residents Review) group still feel that this is too many houses for the local infrastructure and community facilities to cope with. Residents feel there will be a lack of GP surgeries, dentists, school places and beds at our local hospital. There are also major concerns about access and traffic, which have still not been fully answered or resolved by the council highways team. We all know how busy Oundle Road can be as a main route into the city, a development of 1500 homes, leisure, hotel, care home and conferencing venue will only exacerbate the issues.
The density of the housing that will be provided is out of keeping with the local area, with housing and flats up to five storeys high. I know a number of residents who are now planning to move out of the area now that this development has now been given the go-ahead. This was done via a call-in decision with votes from both labour and Conservatives councillors to approve this planning application. The saddest fact is, that none of the councillors on this Appeals and Planning Committee asked any questions about residents thoughts, views and feelings on this issue. Where is the democracy and do residents' objections and concerns mean anything? Is this, yet again, another case of 'empty ritual' where residents' views are collated and presented but ignored?
I sit on the local plan working group where lots of policies are carefully considered and thought through. The Showground Development flies in the face of both the local plan and national planning policy - and yet it was still approved. Is the local plan worth the paper it is written on, or will it get destroyed by a Labour 'Build, Build, Build' agenda that fails to address the lack of community facilities and infrastructure? The Green Party believe that if we build large estates and developments then we should have the right infrastructure and community facilities in place. This recent application that has passed guarantees none of that to date. We will watch this space and continue to speak up for local residents.
The Greens have taken a full part in the Financial Sustainability Working Group. Huge credit to Cllr Imtiaz Ali who spoke strongly in those meetings against council tax rises above 4.99% and who developed savings ideas on Children's Homes and Home to School Transport.
Even before the Lido featured as a savings proposal, Cllr Heather Skibsted had already met with Cllr Dennis Jones about getting pool covers for the Lido (saving money on heating), and has spoken strongly against the idea of 'mothballing' the Lido.
The plans around Museum and Libraries savings have also been reviewed so that further plans can be developed. We await the finer details around these plans. As always, Greens are standing and speaking up for residents they represent as well as all residents across the city.