Agenda item

Motions for which notice has been given are listed on the agenda in the order in which notice was received, unless the Member giving notice states, in writing, that they propose to move it at a later meeting or withdraw it.

 

If a Motion set out in the agenda is not moved by the Member who gave notice thereof it shall, unless postponed by consent of the Council, be treated as withdrawn and shall not be moved without fresh notice.

 

Up to 60 minutes is allowed for this part of the meeting unless extended by the Chairman of Council on a motion moved, duly seconded and approved by the Council.  Members may ask one supplementary question in addition to their original question.

 

The Motions received are set out in the agenda papers.

Motion 1

 

Councillor P Walker had withdrawn his Motion prior to the meeting.

 

Motion 2

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13, Councillor J P J Burman moved the Motion of which he had given notice as follows:

 

“The council will direct its efforts to urgently mitigate climate change, starting with a commitment that all section 106 agreements with developers include a minimum of 30% of s106 funds being directed to carbon use reduction (e.g. installation of PV panels, habitat creation, grey water systems etc.).”

 

The Motion was duly seconded by Councillor C D Zosseder.

 

Councillor N S Kenton moved an AMENDMENT, duly seconded by Councillor J S Back, as followed:

 

“The Council recognising the need to will direct its efforts to urgently mitigate climate change, asks the Local Plan Project Advisory Group to consider how planning policies might be brought forward through the new Local Plan to require developers to include measures which support carbon use reduction (e.g. installation of PV panels, habitat creation, grey water systems etc.).”

 

Councillor K Mills suggested that the word “ask” be changed to “requires” in the Amendment, which was accepted by the proposer and seconder of the Amendment.

 

On being put to the meeting the AMENDMENT was CARRIED.

 

On being put to the meeting the SUBSTANTIVE Motion was CARRIED and it was

 

RESOLVED:   The Council recognising the need to will direct its efforts to urgently mitigate climate change, requires the Local Plan Project Advisory Group to consider how planning policies might be brought forward through the new Local Plan to require developers to include measures which support carbon use reduction (e.g. installation of PV panels, habitat creation, grey water systems etc.).

 

 

Motion 3

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13, Councillor J P J Burman moved the Motion of which he had given notice as follows:

 

“On the 8th of October 2018 the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) warned that “rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” will be required in order to limit global temperature to 1.5C above pre-industrial level and that we have only 12 years in which we can realistically accomplish this. Even half a degree above that will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, mass extinctions of animal species, and extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.

 

Within the current financial and regulatory framework, addressing this is primarily a matter for governments – local authorities have limited influence over the development of the local economy, transport, and human behaviour.  Councils need significantly increased powers to make real change locally, and significantly greater intervention by central government to reduce climate change and reduce dependency on fossil carbon.

 

Nevertheless, there are actions the council can take, to limit our own use of fossil carbon and encourage others to do the same, although this is limited by available resources and the scale of government cuts the council has to cope with.  Dover & Deal District must take this matter seriously and be committed to taking a lead on this and set a target for Dover & Deal to become carbon neutral.

 

To this end, we will:

 

·         Recommend to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee that it establish an ongoing Climate Change working group (as a panel of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee), which will scrutinise the council’s policies and actions to make sure they take into account the climate change impact of everything we do;

 

·         Develop a procurement policy that reduces our carbon emissions, procuring locally where possible, prioritising goods and services that are less dependent on fossil carbon, and prioritising companies who are taking steps to reduce their impact on climate change;

 

·         Use whatever powers and influence we have, taking advantage of any new powers as they are made available to us by central government, to aim to make Dover & Deal carbon neutral by 2030, aiming for the District to become energy self-sufficient through local sustainable energy generation, and call on Kent County Council to adopt a parallel commitment for Dover & Deal;

 

·         Press ahead with a programme of sustainable energy generation on council-owned and other land and buildings, investigating every viable council-owned site, as well as other sites, aiming towards supplying 30% of the town’s electricity by 2030;

 

·         Use the current review of the Local Plan to introduce policy requirements that new buildings should meet the most rigorous possible energy efficiency standards (for example, the ‘Passivhaus’ standards), include electric vehicle charging points in new housing and commercial developments, minimise the impacts of climate change (for example, by making sure contribution to flooding is minimised) and include solar arrays or other sustainable energy generation wherever possible;

 

·         Ensure council land is maintained in a way that maximises species diversity and mitigates species extinction;

 

·         Encourage existing supermarkets to install EV charging points, lobby ESCC to take up existing government grants to install on-street EV charging points, and press for a properly co-ordinated national EV charging network;

 

·         Include an evaluation of climate change implications in all reports to council committees;

 

·         Build on our existing single use plastic policy by not only eliminating single use plastics in council buildings, but also at festivals and events held on council land. We will also strongly encourage local businesses to cut back on their use of SUPs;

 

·         Use s.106 funding and planning conditions (and any available future powers) to continue the development of an off-road walking and cycling network as specified in the council’s Local Plan;

 

·         Appoint a member-level ‘Climate Change Champion’ to oversee the implementation of the above commitments and monitor the progress of the council’s progress towards doing all it can to make Dover & Deal a carbon-neutral town;

 

·         Work with voluntary, statutory and community organisations in the District wherever we can to achieve the above commitments;

 

·         Maximise the resources the council dedicates to combating climate change when national government restores council finding to a sustainable level”

 

The Motion was duly seconded by Councillor C D Zosseder.

 

Councillor T J Bartlett moved an AMENDMENT, duly seconded by Councillor S S Chandler, as followed:

 

“On the 8th of October 2018 the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) warned that “rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” will be required in order to limit global temperature to 1.5C above pre-industrial level and that we have only 12 years in which we can realistically accomplish this. Even half a degree above that will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, mass extinctions of animal species, and extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.

 

Within the current financial and regulatory framework, addressing this is primarily a matter for governments – local authorities have limited influence over the development of the local economy, transport, and human behaviour.  Councils need significantly increased powers to make real change locally, and significantly greater intervention by central government to reduce climate change and reduce dependency on fossil carbon.

 

Nevertheless, there are actions the council can take, to limit our own use of fossil carbon and encourage others to do the same, although this is limited by available resources and the scale of government cuts the council has to cope with.  Dover & Deal District must take this matter seriously and be committed to taking a lead on this and set a target for Dover & Deal to become carbon neutral.

 

Recognising the need for action on this issue, the Council agrees:

 

1.    To ask officers to bring forward a report for consideration by Cabinet and Council this autumn setting out the measures required to make the Council’s activities carbon neutral and the actions that would need to be taken to make the District as a whole carbon neutral;

 

2.    To undertake a review of it’s procurement policies to ensure that the impact on climate change is given appropriate consideration within all procurement decisions;

 

3.    To welcome the work already undertaken undertake by the Grounds Maintenance Team in response to climate change and to encourage diversity;

 

4.    To ask officers to include an evaluation of the climate change implications of any proposal in all reports to Council committees;

 

5.    To build on our existing single use plastic policy by seeking to prohibit the use of single use plastics at events held on council land.”

 

On being put to the meeting the AMENDMENT was CARRIED.

 

On being put to the meeting the SUBSTANTIVE Motion was CARRIED and it was

 

RESOLVED:   On the 8th of October 2018 the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) warned that “rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” will be required in order to limit global temperature to 1.5C above pre-industrial level and that we have only 12 years in which we can realistically accomplish this. Even half a degree above that will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, mass extinctions of animal species, and extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.

 

Within the current financial and regulatory framework, addressing this is primarily a matter for governments – local authorities have limited influence over the development of the local economy, transport, and human behaviour.  Councils need significantly increased powers to make real change locally, and significantly greater intervention by central government to reduce climate change and reduce dependency on fossil carbon.

 

Nevertheless, there are actions the council can take, to limit our own use of fossil carbon and encourage others to do the same, although this is limited by available resources and the scale of government cuts the council has to cope with.  Dover & Deal District must take this matter seriously and be committed to taking a lead on this and set a target for Dover & Deal to become carbon neutral.

 

Recognising the need for action on this issue, the Council agrees:

 

1.    To ask officers to bring forward a report for consideration by Cabinet and Council this autumn setting out the measures required to make the Council’s activities carbon neutral and the actions that would need to be taken to make the District as a whole carbon neutral;

 

2.    To undertake a review of it’s procurement policies to ensure that the impact on climate change is given appropriate consideration within all procurement decisions;

 

3.    To welcome the work already undertaken undertake by the Grounds Maintenance Team in response to climate change and to encourage diversity;

 

4.    To ask officers to include an evaluation of the climate change implications of any proposal in all reports to Council committees;

 

5.    To build on our existing single use plastic policy by seeking to prohibit the use of single use plastics at events held on council land.”