‘Climate change, intensive agriculture, and unsustainable use of resources are causing significant pressures on nature’s biodiversity locally and nationally. The result is a risk to local wildlife and longstanding habitats; simply put it is the decline of nature all around us.
In response, this Council formally declares an Ecological Emergency and will:
1. Address ecological issues alongside climate emergency actions to ensure that opportunities to gain co-benefits from addressing both together are maximised.
2. Add ecological implications to those for climate in committee and Council reports.
3. Ensure the delivery of biodiversity and environmental enhancements through our planning policy and development control functions by
a. Adopting robust biodiversity policies
b. Incorporating biodiversity measures into the Borough Design Code.
c. Ensuring that all our planning guidance documents reflect the importance of biodiversity.
d. Striving to enable the development of a 20% mandatory biodiversity net gain policy for Wokingham through the new local plan.
4. Re-establish the Wokingham Biodiversity Forum to allow the Council to collaborate effectively with local partners and the wider community.
5. Retain and update the Wokingham Biodiversity Action Plan including an audit of habitats and condition across the Borough with a highlight report each year and a progress report presented to full Council every 5 years.
6. Work with local, county, regional and national partners to produce a County wide Local Nature Recovery Strategy, and to increase wildlife habitats, green infrastructure and natural capital in Wokingham Borough.
7. Promote habitat creation and restoration in the right places and with the right species, ensuring robust connectivity between them and guided by the County Local Nature Recovery Strategy and the Wokingham Biodiversity Action Plan.
8. Manage Council services, buildings and land where appropriate in a biodiversity-friendly manner, taking opportunities to create new wildlife habitats and corridors.
9. Provide advice for local communities and businesses on how to incorporate biodiversity, green infrastructure and natural capital into Neighbourhood Plans and other initiatives.
10. Seek funding sources for any of the above actions that cannot be accommodated within the existing budget envelope.’
Chief Finance Officer comment:
There are no direct financial implications arising from this motion, subject to any works that cannot be met within existing budgets being funded through new sources of biodiversity related income.
The Chief Finance Officer comments are purely an assessment of the Financial Implications associated with the Motion as written and are not an opinion on the policy direction or intention contained within them.
Minutes:
Council considered the following Motion, proposed by Councillor Ian Shenton and seconded by Councillor Sarah Kerr.
‘Climate change, intensive agriculture, and unsustainable use of resources are causing significant pressures on nature’s biodiversity locally and nationally. The result is a risk to local wildlife and longstanding habitats; simply put it is the decline of nature all around us.
In response, this Council formally declares an Ecological Emergency and will:
1. Address ecological issues alongside climate emergency actions to ensure that opportunities to gain co-benefits from addressing both together are maximised.
2. Add ecological implications to those for climate in committee and Council reports.
3. Ensure the delivery of biodiversity and environmental enhancements through our planning policy and development control functions by
a. Adopting robust biodiversity policies
b. Incorporating biodiversity measures into the Borough Design Code.
c. Ensuring that all our planning guidance documents reflect the importance of biodiversity.
d. Striving to enable the development of a 20% mandatory biodiversity net gain policy for Wokingham through the new local plan.
4. Re-establish the Wokingham Biodiversity Forum to allow the Council to collaborate effectively with local partners and the wider community.
5. Retain and update the Wokingham Biodiversity Action Plan including an audit of habitats and condition across the Borough with a highlight report each year and a progress report presented to full Council every 5 years.
6. Work with local, county, regional and national partners to produce a County wide Local Nature Recovery Strategy, and to increase wildlife habitats, green infrastructure and natural capital in Wokingham Borough.
7. Promote habitat creation and restoration in the right places and with the right species, ensuring robust connectivity between them and guided by the County Local Nature Recovery Strategy and the Wokingham Biodiversity Action Plan.
8. Manage Council services, buildings and land where appropriate in a biodiversity-friendly manner, taking opportunities to create new wildlife habitats and corridors.
9. Provide advice for local communities and businesses on how to incorporate biodiversity, green infrastructure and natural capital into Neighbourhood Plans and other initiatives.
10. Seek funding sources for any of the above actions that cannot be accommodated within the existing budget envelope.’
Upon being put to the vote it was:
RESOLVED: That Climate change, intensive agriculture, and unsustainable use of resources are causing significant pressures on nature’s biodiversity locally and nationally. The result is a risk to local wildlife and longstanding habitats; simply put it is the decline of nature all around us.
In response, this Council formally declares an Ecological Emergency and will:
1. Address ecological issues alongside climate emergency actions to ensure that opportunities to gain co-benefits from addressing both together are maximised.
2. Add ecological implications to those for climate in committee and Council reports.
3. Ensure the delivery of biodiversity and environmental enhancements through our planning policy and development control functions by
a. Adopting robust biodiversity policies
b. Incorporating biodiversity measures into the Borough Design Code.
c. Ensuring that all our planning guidance documents reflect the importance of biodiversity.
d. Striving to enable the development of a 20% mandatory biodiversity net gain policy for Wokingham through the new local plan.
4. Re-establish the Wokingham Biodiversity Forum to allow the Council to collaborate effectively with local partners and the wider community.
5. Retain and update the Wokingham Biodiversity Action Plan including an audit of habitats and condition across the Borough with a highlight report each year and a progress report presented to full Council every 5 years.
6. Work with local, county, regional and national partners to produce a County wide Local Nature Recovery Strategy, and to increase wildlife habitats, green infrastructure and natural capital in Wokingham Borough.
7. Promote habitat creation and restoration in the right places and with the right species, ensuring robust connectivity between them and guided by the County Local Nature Recovery Strategy and the Wokingham Biodiversity Action Plan.
8. Manage Council services, buildings and land where appropriate in a biodiversity-friendly manner, taking opportunities to create new wildlife habitats and corridors.
9. Provide advice for local communities and businesses on how to incorporate biodiversity, green infrastructure and natural capital into Neighbourhood Plans and other initiatives.
10. Seek funding sources for any of the above actions that cannot be accommodated within the existing budget envelope.