The Climate Emergency highlight report to the June meeting was very comprehensive and one I welcome, but I have some concerns with some of the listed key priorities namely:
· 1. Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Transport;
· 5. Increase the levels of carbon sequestration in the Borough through greening the environment;
· 4. Finally create a Local Plan that specifies Net Zero Construction and Infrastructure;
· In any new Local Plan briefings which I have been involved in which will form the basis of the Council’s emerging Local Plan and be subject to public consultation followed by an examination in public, there is no real mention of Net Zero construction and infrastructure;
· Planning Officers seem to pay no attention to additional emissions when approving development that increases traffic on already congested roads, with no thought to reducing carbon emissions. No air quality checks are asked for and trees that impinge on development are usually removed.
· With respect to greening the environment, Planning Officers secretly approved the removal of about 500 mature trees including many with Tree Preservation Orders on them by Bearwood Lakes without any conditions to replace them.
My question is: will Overview and Scrutiny use their influence to insist that Wokingham’s Planning Officers apply, where possible, all the Council’s Climate Emergency plans/policies/targets and aims to every single planning decision they take and, at the same time, add Climate Emergency to the planning status internal consultation reports, also for every planning application?
Minutes:
The Climate Emergency highlight report is very comprehensive and one I welcome but I have some concerns with some of the listed key priorities namely:
· 1. Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Transport.
· 5. Increase the levels of carbon sequestration in the borough through greening the environment
· 4. Finally, create a Local Plan that specifies Net Zero Construction and Infrastructure.
· In any new local plan briefings which I have been involved in which will form the basis of the Council’s emerging local plan and be subject to public consultation followed by an examination in public there is no real mention of net zero construction and infrastructure.
· Planning Officers seem to pay no attention to additional emissions when approving development that increases traffic on already congested roads with no thought to reducing carbon emissions. No air quality checks are asked for and trees that impinge on development are usually removed.
· With respect to greening the environment Planning Officers secretly approved the removal of about 500 mature trees including many with Tree Preservation Orders on them by Bearwood Lakes without any conditions to replace them.
My question is: will the Overview and Scrutiny use their influence to insist that Wokingham’s Planning Officers apply where possible all the Council’s Climate Emergency plans/policies/targets and aims to every single planning decision they take and, at the same time, add Climate Emergency to the planning status internal consultation reports also for every planning application?
As Councillor Cowan was unable to attend the meeting, the following written answer was provided.
Answer
The O&S Climate Emergency Task and Finish Group recently published its 2021 report. The report highlighted the importance of the Planning process in achieving the Council’s 2030 Net Zero target and made specific recommendations, as follows:
· Introduce a Supplementary Planning Document linked to the current Local Plan to ensure that, whilst we wait for the new Local Plan Update to be completed, any new homes are built as close to carbon neutral as possible.
· Engage proactively and work together with housing developers, planning to build in the Borough, to clarify the Council’s position on Climate Emergency and explain the planning and building control requirements arising out of the Climate Emergency Action Plan.
· Use the Council’s housing companies to showcase the highest standards of energy efficiency in any future developments. These standards may surpass standards set in the new Local Plan.
The Task and Finish Group highlighted the importance of ensuring that key policies and plans were aligned with the Climate Emergency Action Plan. This included the emerging Local Plan Update. The Group also emphasised the importance of Council services working together with a clear understanding of the Action Plan. To support this the Group recommended that Climate Emergency training should be provided for Members, officers and contractors, with the aim of embedding awareness into every service and every key decision.
The Task and Finish Group’s recommendations will be submitted to the Executive for consideration. We trust that they will be given serious consideration in line with the points raised in your question.