Litton
Cheney Parish Council
Climate
and Ecological Emergency Action Plan
CONTEXT
Dorset Council has joined with other regional and
local councils to declare a climate and ecological emergency. Litton Cheney Parish
Council has voted to support this as far as possible, albeit its small size
will limit the scope of the changes that can be achieved.
There are two aspects to our approach to the
problems that the country and the wider planet faces:-
1. Mitigate the worst effects of the emergency, by reducing our
impact on the environment and the climate, either at an individual level or as
a council
2. Build
a resilient community to face future problems.
What Dorset Council can do
Dorset Council is currently in the process of
drafting their Climate and Ecological Emergency Action Plan, incorporating
ideas put forward by the community and detailed Here.
The Council is starting to change its practices to reduce the impact on
the environment. There is some useful information on their website with
suggestions for more sustainable living:-
What the parish council
can do
As a parish council we can influence behaviour
locally and regionally, and lobby central government through our MP.
As a member of BLAP, the Parish Council can work to
bring about change at Dorset Council in their policy and practices on public
transport, energy efficiency, pollution, verge management and use of chemical
pesticides etc.
The decision at Heathrow which found that the
application for a third runway had not taken sufficient account of the climate
commitments proves that climate issues can legitimately be part of the planning
decision process.
The Parish Council will support appropriate local
planning applications that satisfy the current planning restraints which
minimise carbon emissions and other impacts and ensure that new applications
are carbon neutral.
The Parish Council will also support applications
for new renewable energy schemes, provided that they are suitable for our sensitive
and special landscape in Dorset.
The Parish Council can provide a lead for the local
community by signposting initiatives to encourage residents to reduce their
impact on climate and the environment.
Examples
of helpful websites are:-
Additional
ways to recycle your waste
How to tackle the
Ecological Emergency
The
Parish Council will look at possibilities for:-
Provision
of an electric car charging point
Using the
churchyard/village hall area to encourage wildlife by the use of planting and
improving the habitat for wildlife.
Encouraging
parents at the school to reduce journeys by car where possible
WHAT VILLAGE RESIDENTS CAN DO
Any future initiatives will need to take into
account the changed world that we now inhabit. Car sharing schemes are not an
option at present and recycling projects have inherent risks attached. The table above shows the most effective ways
to reduce our carbon footprint. More
locally it is estimated that the biggest contributors to household carbon
emissions are food, housing and transport.
Taking each of these in turn, below are suggestions for actions that
individual households can take to make a difference:-
Food
Eat more
locally grown food and try growing our own
Reduce
the food you throw away and only buy what you need.
Avoid
palm oil in processed food
Eat less
meat
Housing
The
government has just announced a Green Homes Grant to reduce the carbon
emissions from heating and lighting our homes.
The grant will pay 2/3rds of the cost up to #5000 for the following:-
Loft
insulation, Wall insulation, Underfloor insulation, Double and triple glazing, Eco-friendly
boilers, heat pumps, low-energy lighting and energy-efficient doors
Install
solar panels if there is sufficient demand the Parish Council can coordinate
a multi-property installation scheme such as that set up by Frome Town Council
in their Solar Streets project.
Switch to
renewable energy - https://bigcleanswitch.org/
gives a
list of suppliers and how green they really are.
Use
renewable light bulbs
If you
have just moved home, have a look at the EPC for suggestions on what is most
effective for your house.
Transport
If
possible switch to an electric car
Walk or
cycle where possible
Avoid
unnecessary journeys we have all become used to going out less, so why not
continue?
And generally - Reduce waste, reuse, recycle,
repair, repurpose.
We are a small village but we can all make a
difference by using resources as efficiently as possible.