Cabinet have tonight (Thursday 28 March) agreed to adopt the Climate Local Kent Commitment at Thanet District Council (TDC).
This
was signed by the chair of the Kent Forum at the Local Government
Association Conference in September 2012 and will now been implemented
at a local level in Thanet.
The
council is already working with partners, including the Thanet
Regeneration Board, to promote and support businesses in environmentally
friendly sectors such as the wind farms. Tonight’s decision ensures
that the council is signed up to the national Climate Local Commitments.
The
Climate Local Kent action plan will be delivered through the Kent Forum
and partners including Thanet District Council, the Environment Agency,
Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue, NHS Kent and Medway and other Kent
Local Authorities and supports priority 6 of the council’s Corporate
Plan 2012-2016; “We will make our district cleaner and greener and lead
by example on environmental issues”.
Also, as part of the council’s Corporate Plan, local environmental targets, actions and approaches were developed which include:
- Working on projects to reduce our emissions including the completed crematorium projects, fuel saving on new refuse freighters, introduction of solar panels to the council offices, investigation of a more fuel efficient boiler for the council offices.
- Direct involvement in the preparation for and delivery of the Kent and Medway Green Deal.
- Identifying the low carbon sector as a key growth area in our emerging Economic Growth Strategy.
- Reducing our own direct water usage in the main offices and in relation to public open spaces.
- Supporting renewable energy projects through planning (Economic Growth Strategy) and through our Port as well as introducing solar panels to other council sites.
- Undertaking major flood defence improvement and restoration works using funding from the Environment Agency.
- Continuing to manage and support the SSSI areas around our coast, including partnership working with Natural England and the Kent Wildlife Trust.
- Developing further partnerships with local groups to encourage volunteering to assist with the management of our public open spaces.
In
addition to the above another target to replace the lighting
installations in council owned multi-storey car parks and main buildings
with LED lighting has been agreed. This will be undertaken where
appropriate and safe to do so and ensuring where the investment is
covered by energy and maintenance savings.
Mark
Seed, Director of Operational Services said, “We recognise that the
council has an important role in reducing the affects of climate change
in Thanet. We also want to ensure that we support and help our residents
and local businesses in managing this. The opportunities and benefits
of action on climate change include cheaper energy bills, income from
renewable energy, investment in green industries, managing local flood
risk and protecting the natural environment and we want to maximise our
involvement in these”.
Details of the Climate Local Kent Commitment and targets can be found at:
Unbelievable how important TDC has become, first Equal Marriage and now Climate Change are all down to Clive Hart and his merry cabinet. Well listen, Clive, as a council tax payer can you please tell me what you are going to do about this freezing weather we are having.
ReplyDeleteThanet becomes more like Lambeth at its worst as time goes by. How long before TDC adopt something to make us all vegetarians and then bans farting because of the release of methane into the atmosphere.
DeleteGood - but mainly warm words at election time. They've announced similar things before and done nothing. Much of this is also just minor tweaks to the councils own offices.
ReplyDeleteShould give them a few more years of tax salaries and pensions doing not very much.
A cull of failing KCC councillors and civil servants is required.
It's worse than that: if you click on the targets link there aren't any Climate targets, just a few summaries of what one or two Kent councils have done and vague statements about "working together", "partner agencies", "direction of travel", "working towards" etc etc
ReplyDeleteI would have thought the council would have installed solar panels and wind turbines as a matter of urgency on all council buildings
ReplyDeleteThey haven't got any money, Don, and to make matters worse are facing a massive compensation payout, plus legal costs, for their ill advised closure of the port of Ramsgate to animal exports. Still the same old Labour, brilliant at wasting other peoples hard earned.
DeleteDon, solar panels were installed on the ain council offices and at the crematorium under the last conservative administration, for revenue cost saving impact.
ReplyDelete