Climate change is a real and present danger - both for our generation and for our children and grandchildren.
Last summer we had unprecedented temperatures in excess of 40C and in February, August and November storm systems carrying record breaking rainfall caused flooding up and down the country.
Climate change is now undeniable and it up all of us to start taking it seriously and agitate for something to be done.
Local government is going to be key in this battle and from the perspective of a county councillor there are several things I am looking to address.
ERYC say in their own words:
'Local authorities have a key role to play in responding to the climate emergency. Whilst local authorities in the UK are, on average, directly responsible for only 2-5% of local emissions, they can influence up to a third of emissions through the services they deliver, their role as a community leader, major employer, large-scale procurer, and so on.'
ERYC needs to live up their own rhetoric and use the influence they have to set a positive example to us all.
They can make a good start by divesting council pension fund investments in the companies that are responsible for most of the man-made carbon emissions!
In according to UK Divest the EYRC pension fund has over £200m invested in oil, gas and coal producing companies and funds. This is money that could, and should be invested in the new technologies that will be needed for a sustainable future.
Now you might see this as a risk, particularly for pension fund, but that £200m only represents just over 4% of the total pension fund so it's hard to see that this could be described as an imprudent decision.
From a personal standpoint I am against fracking - we should not be investing in extraction of more fossil fuels and the potential damage to our water courses, in a Britain where today only 14% of our rivers are in good ecological health, and every single one fails to meet chemical standards - the potential additional pressure on our natural environment would be untenable.
I believe that the development of renewable energy generation, be that wind, solar or biomass, is key to our future, and however difficult it might seem, we have to learn to live alongside wind farms and solar energy installations, but these should be installed with sensitivity and, importantly, should bring additional social and financial benefits to those who live in the areas affected.
The other discussion point in our area is new housing. The local plan calls for nearly 2,000 homes to be built on the Howden North site over a 30 year period.
The first tranche of 700 houses will be completed by 2029, and I understand that these houses will be built to the highest current standards in terms of things like insulation, air source heating and so on
This will create an exemplar for other developments in the county and keep the council’s promise to play a key role in responding to the climate emergency
We need to ensure that the new development is delivers benefits to the entire town, environmentally, commercially and socially.
The relief road from Knedlington Road to Station Road will now be completed in the first stage of the development.
This will be a massive win for Howden, markedly reducing the amount of HGV traffic through town and ensuring that any vehicles destined for the new development will be kept away from the centre.
We need to ensure that a new school and medical centre are built as promised and are delivered on time.
In the past the town has been shortchanged by developers who have managed to duck their social and financial commitments by various strategies - we cannot let this happen again.
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