July sees the first anniversary of the declaration of a climate and ecological emergency by Folkestone & Hythe District Council so now seems a good moment to look at what our Green district councillors have achieved so far in beginning to combat climate change.
- There has been a real culture change at the council, which has been an important and necessary first step.
- For the first time ever there is a Green member of cabinet.
- A Climate and ecological emergency working group has been set up – chaired by a Green councillor.
- A low carbon and sustainability officer has been appointed to support the the working group.
Environmental sustainability and response to the climate emergency is one of the priorities in the emerging Corporate Plan for our district. Following an amendment proposed by our Green cabinet member, Councillor Lesley Whybrow, the council’s Covid Recovery Framework now has the environment as one of its key themes.
In February, the council agreed a budget including a £5m climate change reserve. An additional £5m borrowing has been promised for climate change measures.
Work is in progress to measure the council’s own greenhouse gas emissions for the first time. The results are expected by the end of this month and will be used as evidence to support proposals in the council’s emerging Carbon Action Plan. A green infrastructure strategy is also being developed.
The council has already taken several practical steps:
• planting 900 trees across the district, including small, native and semi-mature trees
• replacing some street lighting with LED
• purchasing battery operated grounds maintenance equipment where suitable to replace petrol powered equipment
• adding a new climate change page to the council’s website (LINK: https://www.folkestone-hythe.gov.uk/climatechange)
Other measures to follow soon include:
• up to 40 electric vehicle charging points to be installed in various car parks throughout the district
• improving waste recycling at the Civic Centre and considering measures such as changing all lighting to LED and installing solar panels as part of a 10-year plan.
• Reducing energy use at the crematorium by about two thirds through work due to take place in the next two years.
There was unanimous support for the motion tabled by Green councillor Georgina Treloar on 24 July 2019 calling on Folkestone & Hythe District Council to declare a climate and ecological emergency and reduce its carbon emissions to net zero by 2030.
Green controlled Hythe Town council declared its own climate emergency on 4 July last year Its achievements so far include changing gas and electricity to a green supplier and lot of tree planting. Straightaway it set about changing its gas and electricity suppliers, thereby taking a major step towards its carbon neutral target. After comparing a range of suppliers, it has switch both gas and electricity for all buildings to Bulb Energy, moving from British Gas and EDF, respectively.
Not only is this the right thing to do from the perspective of saving the planet, it is also saving the council hundreds of pounds per year. The new supplier provides 100% renewable electricity from solar, wind and hydro. Its gas is 100% carbon neutral too. It offsets the emissions from the gas by supporting carbon reduction projects around the world. In addition, some of the gas mix comes from renewable sources, such as food or farm waste. A next step will be to look at the energy efficiency and renewable generation opportunities of the council buildings to reduce usage and create energy and heat.
As part of the response to the emergency, there is a major tree planting scheme, with an initial 800+ trees obtained from the Woodland Trust. These are a mix of indigenous species including Rowan, Hawthorns, Hazel, Holly, Silver Birch, Crab Apple and Oak. They will be planted around the town and wider area, coordinating with the district council’s tree officer, and will also be made available to residents.
A 20 mph zone is on the way, funded by the town council, initiated by our Kent County councillor, Martin Whybrow, and with widespread resident support, including from parents at Hythe Bay Primary School. This will be for a sizeable part of the town between the A259 and the seafront, from Stade Street to the east to West Parade to the south and St Leonard’s Road, Cinque Ports Avenue and Portland Road to the west. Other road safety schemes are in the pipeline.
The town council is also starting to monitor air quality. A trial with a mobile device has proved a success, with others now ordered so that it will be possible to build up detailed picture of what is going on around the town, which can then be used as an evidence base for measures to improve air quality.
