Parish Council Conference: action on the environment

Today’s Parish Council Conference at The Maltings in Ely was attended by 50-60 representatives from parish councils across the district – and it was all about action.

Some of the highlights:

Richard Kay from East Cambridgeshire District Council gave us some stark figures. We’re one of the highest carbon-emitting districts in the country, at 14.9 tonnes per person per year – the national average is 5.16 tonnes. Much of that is down to because of land use for agriculture, and our peat soils. But it’s also our high car use and energy inefficient homes.

We’re also ninth worst in the country for tree cover. Though that’s hardly surprising when much of our flat fen landscape is unsuitable for tree cover, unlike the south of the county.

In better news, we generated enough renewable energy in 2019 to power 100,000 homes. And our recycling rate is the highest in Cambridgeshire.

But we need to act. Cambridgeshire is growing, which will mean more carbon emissions. Our predominantly rural character is a challenge. And if we carry on as we are for another six years, we will have used up all the slack we have to reach net zero carbon by the Government’s target of 2050.

The District Council has declared a climate emergency, put together an Environment Plan, and encouraged others to act. It’s set itself some overall targets, including a 20-33 per cent reduction in net CO2e emissions by 2025/26, and a hundred per cent net reduction by 2034

Richard encouraged parishes to prioritise education and information, setting or influencing policy, and taking direct action through its neighbourhood plans, biodiversity projects, and more.

Jenny Moss from Burwell talked us through a case study of action by Burwell Parish Council.

Jethro Gauld from East Cambs CAN made five climate asks of local parishes.

  1. Declare a climate emergency
  2. Improve electric vehicle charging infrastructure
  3. Include renewables, active travel, and energy in Neighbourhood Plans
  4. Make a statement of support for divestment from fossil fuels
  5. Support ecosystem restoration locally

Peter Bates from the Circular Economy Club in Ely and Cambridge Cleantech, gave us a run-through of an approach to making our own homes more sustainable. There was a discussion about the frustration of non-functioning electric vehicle charging points in Soham and Sutton.

Home Energy Advisers Lisa and Claire talked about their work helping residents manage current energy needs and reduce future energy needs. There’s £1,775,000 available in East Cambridgeshire to March 2023 to help improve energy efficiency in homes with EPC ratings of E, F or G, for those with a maximum household income of £30,000 a year. Owner occupiers are fully funded, private landlords pay a one-third contribution.

Karen Vincent and Julia Hammond spoke about the Wicken Fen Vision. 1.6 per cent of England is covered by fen, but this is home to 27 per cent of the UK’s rarest species. The project has doubled the size of the reserve, seeing species return to the area. There are 48 kilometres of new or improved access, and soil carbon emissions have reduced by 80 per cent. There’s a community engagement project, and a range of opportunities ahead.

Natalie Lambert from Cambridge Past Present & Future introduced the Cambridge Nature Network. It operates within a 10 kilometre radius of Cambridge, but that’s flexible if there are good ideas for improving biodiversity.

Helen Dye from Natural Cambridgeshire wasn’t able to be present but her slides were read out. The ‘Doubling Nature’ vision was launched in 2019, to increase the amount of land actively managed for biodiversity from 8.5 per cent to 17 per cent. Again there was a lot of practical advice for parish councils on how they could contribute to the vision.

And Stephanie Jones from East Cambs District Council brought the event to a conclusion with advice on grants and other sources of funding for local climate change and environmental initiatives.

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