23 September 2022
Some good news
I started my last annual report with some good news so I thought I would do the same this year.
The good news last time was that the land at the rear of some of the houses in North Castle Street would not be developed for housing but would remain a wildlife area and possibly become a proper nature reserve. The good news is that with the appointment of Sue Neil-Boxley by the Wildlife Trust as their ‘Nextdoor Nature Community Organiser’ in Stafford, the plan has taken a step forward as it seems she and the Trust will be supporting this move, along with the proposal to make the former Universal cricket pitch in Doxey into a local nature reserve and plans to restrict access to and plant trees on the area at the rear of Doxey primary school.
The most significant development politically was the defection of two of the Conservative members to the Independent Group. The controlling group no longer has a majority, but is still the largest group and continues to control the Council.
The Cabinet has been changed to include an extra post of Cabinet member for Climate Change which is held by Cllr Price who also had the Environment portfolio. This is now held by Cllr Winnington. Cllr Pert is now Deputy Leader.
The Council decided to share the Chief Executive with Cannock Chase Council on a six month trial basis. Already many back office services are joint with Cannock Chase and there are now plans to make almost all the services joint. We were told at a workshop for councillors from both authorities that both councils face major deficits in 2 years time – Cannock £2.5m and Stafford £2m so it is clear that this is being driven by finance.
‘Station Gateway proposals’
Though not in the ward, these plans affect areas immediately adjacent and which are used by many Castletown residents, especially the area around the balancing pond. Roisin convened a meeting of interested parties and I am aware of many critical responses including one from the Castletown Residents Assn which I have been involved in helping to draft.
I have attended every Council meeting and put motions/raised questions at the following:
At the February Council meeting I raised the following questions and got the answers set out below:
Councillor Session
Question to the Cabinet Member of Environment:
(a) “The establishment by the Council of a volunteer panel of citizens concerned about the climate and biodiversity emergencies is very welcome. I would welcome clarification from the Cabinet member for the Environment on the following issues: A) What are the terms of reference of the panel? B) When will the first and subsequent meetings be held? C) Who will convene the meetings? D) Who will chair the meetings? E) Will there be any councillor involvement in the meetings?”
Response
Councillor J K Price, Cabinet Member - Environment Portfolio, responded as follows:- “The community panel has now been set up and the first meeting of the panel has been set for February and the terms of reference have been written and will be agreed by the panel when they meet. However, the purpose of the group will be ‘To support Stafford Borough Council to develop initiatives that raise awareness of climate change and green recovery and to identify opportunities to implement sustainable initiatives in communities and promote community action on reducing carbon emissions and increasing green recovery efforts’. Arrangements for chairing the meetings will be discussed at the inaugural meeting and the panel will be supported by colleagues from Corporate Business and Partnerships, who will convene the meetings. The meetings are predominantly for community representatives, however, the panel will need to engage, and collaborate with members in relation to identifying opportunities for projects and initiatives in ward areas”.
I then put a supplementary question :
“What is the proposed frequency of the meetings, and the level of Member involvement?”
Councillor Price stated that the frequency of the meetings was a matter for the Chairman of the Board to decide, and that it was in the gift on the Panel to ascertain the level of Member involvement.
Councillor Godfrey requested that any minutes resulting from said meetings be made available to Members; Councillor Price noted that publication of any minutes was a matter for the Panel to decide.
Question to the Cabinet Member of Environment: (b) “To mark her Platinum Jubilee, the Queen has called on individuals, organisations and public bodies to plant trees. What plans does the Council have to plant trees to mark the Queens Platinum Jubilee?”
Response
“The Council recognise the contribution of planting trees in our efforts towards carbon reduction as well as marking special events such as the Queens Platinum Jubilee. We have plans in place for tree planting and one example of this is our plan to work in partnership with the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee and Severn Trent Water to include hundreds of trees on site at the new Local Nature Reserve at Fairway. This will give us the perfect opportunity to recognise the Queen as the Head of the Commonwealth and dedicate a section of the trees to the celebration of the Queens Platinum Jubilee. The Council is committed to tree planting where need and suitability is strategically identified and also to the associated planning and ongoing maintenance requirements of planting trees”. Councillor Pearce raised the following points in responding to Councillor Price:- “tree planting was already taking place in the new local nature reserve, it was disappointing a separate scheme planting scheme was not envisaged; it would be beneficial to involve young people in any planting projects.” Councillor Price confirmed there was a separate section of trees, as referred to, and noted the other planning schemes as detailed at previous meetings of the Council. The Council was working with local schools on specific planting schemes, and acknowledged the valid point raised by Councillor Pearce.
Question to the Leader of the Council: (c) “At the September meeting of the Council, the following motion was proposed by myself and seconded by Cllr Godfrey: Whilst carbon reduction is given equal priority within the Council’s Business Plan with other objectives, it is clear that the amount of resource allocated to it within the budget is very different. For example, Economic Growth and Strategic Projects has a budget of £406,980 this year whereas there does not appear to be a specific budget for carbon reduction. This is borne out in the proposed plan for carbon reduction where almost all actions are to be sourced from within existing resources. This Council resolves to redress this when drawing up the budget for the coming financial year? Under the revised rules of procedure, the motion was referred, without discussion to the Cabinet for consideration of the financial implications. There have been 4 meetings of the Cabinet since September and the motion has not been considered at any of them. Can the Leader explain why this is?”
Response
“A draft Climate Change and Green Recovery Delivery Plan has been formulated by officers for 2022/23 onwards. The next step for the draft plan is for it to be assessed against corporate priorities and for feasibility of delivery. It will need to be costed and the outcomes defined, to inform prioritisation of the proposed actions contained in the plan, and prioritisation against other projects currently being undertaken by the Council. In tandem with this, the 2022-23 Budget has been developed and is on the agenda tonight to be agreed by this Council. Now that a draft delivery plan has been produced and once the budget has been agreed, Cabinet will be in a position to respond to the motion from Council, in the near future”.
Councillor Pearce noted that he hoped this was a genuine effort to explore the associated costs of carbon reduction.
I also put forward the following motion:
Notice of Motion
“This Council notes that:
- The Glasgow Pact is a significant deal, signalling the end of coal, oil and
gas - and it's wide agreement by leaders to "keep 1.5C alive".
- The moral authority shown by climate activists, based on climate science,
has been clear in setting this higher ambition.
- However the Glasgow Pact did not secure National Determined
Contributions (NDCs) to stay within 1.5C so will be only a game changer if
we get our act together over the coming year, which depends on what the
UK does with its continued presidency of COP, and the wider actions and
leadership across the UK.
This Council further notes that:
- The most climate - vulnerable countries are calling for natural justice, for
the rich countries to pay for current losses and damages based on historic
greenhouse gas emissions; and
- That the world's governments must accept we are now in climate
emergency mode and come back next year with plans and pledges that at
least halve carbon emissions this decade and set carbon budgets that stay
well within the 1.5C limit.
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Therefore this Council calls on the UK government to:
1. Reverse Official Development Assistance (ODA, "aid") budget cuts
2. Conduct an independent review into UK fossil fuel subsidies and set out a
plan and timetable to phase these out.
3. Put climate change at the heart of all future trade deals, and call for an end
to the investor-state dispute settlement (so called "corporate courts") that
allow companies to sue governments for taking climate action
(see www.globaljustice.org.uk).
4. Commit to no more coal, oil (je or gas) extraction in the UK, or through UK
investments overseas.
5. Commit to no airport expansion across the UK, and for international
aviation and shipping decarbonisation to be included in NDCs, and in
future trade deals.
6. Cancel the UK's current road building programme and divert spending to
local council zero carbon transport plans.
7. Commit that UK international climate finance is provided in addition to
existing official development assistance (ODA) as agreed at the
Copenhagen and Paris climate summits and for this to include funds for
climate mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage payments.
The Borough Council further notes that
• Staffordshire County Council Pension fund has around £200m invested in
fossil fuels via the Local Government Pension Scheme.
• The United Nations Paris 2015 Agreement commits our governments to
keep the global temperature increase to under 2 degrees and aim for 1.5
degrees. Carbon budgets produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, United Nations and the International Energy Agency
show that preventing two degrees of warming relies on not burning 60-
80% of all proven fossil fuels.
• There is increased emphasis by the UK government on showing global
climate leadership, especially in relation to finance. Divesting our pension
is a clear and meaningful action that can be taken at a local government
level.
• Fossil fuel investments are financially risky as a result of both the Covid19
pandemic and the global transition to a more sustainable economic and
environmental model. They are now being consistently out-performed by
renewables.
• Former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned in December
2019 that fossil fuel investments risk becoming “stranded assets” (i.e.,
worthless) as investors exit the sector. “A question for every company,
every financial institution, every asset manager, pension fund or insurer –
what’s your plan?”·
• As continued investments in fossil fuels pose material financial risks to
portfolios, funds have fiduciary duties to consider the benefits of
decarbonising as part of their investment strategies. Fiduciary duty is
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defined by the Law Commission as ‘ensuring that pensions can be paid,
ensuring that this is undertaken at the best possible value’.
• As continued investments in fossil fuels pose material financial risks to
portfolios, funds have fiduciary duties to consider the benefits of
decarbonising as part of their investment strategies. Fiduciary duty is
defined by the Law Commission as ‘ensuring that pensions can be paid,
ensuring that this is undertaken at the best possible value’.
• Pension funds have a legal duty to treat members “fairly as between
them”. That means taking seriously the longer-term interests of younger
members who may well be affected more by the climate transition.
This Council therefore agrees:
1. To review its Investment Strategy and develop and implement a
Responsible Investment Policy which rules out new investments in fossil
fuel companies.
2. Call on Staffordshire County Council pension fund to divest from fossil
fuels and the development and adoption of responsible investment policies
which:
a. Immediately freeze any new investment in the top 200 publicly-traded
fossil fuel companies.
b. Divest from direct ownership and any commingled funds that include
fossil fuel public equities and corporate bonds within 5 years
c. Set out an approach to quantify and address climate change risks
affecting all other investments.
d. Actively seek to invest in companies that will reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and minimise climate risk.
3. Recognise that fossil fuel investments should be considered as part of the
council’s ‘carbon footprint’ and divesting our pension fund is one of the
most impactful steps we can take to reduce our impact on our community
and the world.”
Decision
As provided for in Paragraph 13.5 of the Council’s Constitution the proposal to review the Councils investment strategy was referred to the Cabinet without debate
On being put to the vote, the remaining proposals were declared to have fallen
At the July Council I put the following motion which was amended
Stafford Borough Council congratulates the many residents who have shown their support for the people of Ukraine and places on record the Council's support for Ukraine and its people. In particular, we thank those who have organised collections of food, clothing and money to help those fleeing the war. It is encouraging that so many people and families have offered to host Ukrainian refugees. This Council will do all it can to support them and the families they host. The Government response to the situation has left much to be desired. Problems have included difficulty with obtaining visas, lack of financial support for local authorities and confusion over safeguarding arrangements for host families. The Council calls on the Government to give greater financial support to local authorities and to use the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Programme as the model for helping Ukrainian families. Further it urges the Government to treat all those fleeing war and persecution who wish to make their homes here with dignity and fairness.”
The motion was amended as follows :- “Stafford Borough Council congratulates the many residents who have shown their support for the people of Ukraine and places on record the Council's support for Ukraine and its people. In particular, we thank those who have organised collections of food, clothing and money to help those fleeing the war. It is encouraging that so many people and families have offered to host Ukrainian refugees.
The Council will continue to encourage everyone from central and local Government, communities where Ukrainian families are settling through to those individual hosts to continue in their efforts to support everyone looking for help and relief from war-torn Ukraine, especially as the fighting continues over the longer term and more and more people are affected.”
This amended version was passed.
Somewhat amazingly the controlling group proposed the following motion at the April council meeting
Stafford Borough Draft Nature Recovery Declaration The Council recognises that: Nature is in long term decline. With 41 per cent of wild species in decline nationally, and 15 per cent facing extinction. The requirement to take action to reverse this is urgent. We recognise that: (a) Nature provides us with vital support systems [‘ecosystem services’], and severe declines in biodiversity are undermining nature’s productivity and adaptability, posing excessive uncertainty for our economies and wellbeing. (b) A thriving natural environment underpins a healthy, happy, prosperous society. (c) The impacts of climate change are contributing to nature’s decline, while restoring and protection of natural habitat provides a wide variety of cost-effective benefits to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. (d) Many of our areas of work across the Borough have an impact on nature, and we have responsibilities to make decisions to protect and enhance it. 2 This Council further acknowledges that: To address the nature crisis and aim to achieve the multiple environmental benefits that nature can bring to people, the ‘Bigger, Better, More and Joinedup’ principles of the 2010 Lawton Report - ‘Making Space for Nature’ - should be followed to help rebuild nature: (a) There must be more space given to wildlife. (b) Existing wildlife spaces must be expanded. (c) The quality of existing wildlife spaces should be improved by better habitat management. (d) The connectivity between wildlife spaces must be enhanced. In order to support the recovery of nature across Stafford Borough, and in recognition of new obligations under the Environment Act 2021, this council commits to: (1) Improve and protect the Borough’s habitats resilience to climate change, providing natural solutions to reduce carbon and manage flood risk, and sustaining vital ecosystems (2) Prioritise the restoration of natural habitats in accordance with Stafford Borough’s Nature Recovery Network Map. (3) Formulate a tree planting policy which is underpinned by Nature Recovery Network mapping across the local authority area, pursuing a “right tree, right place” approach. Recognise that tree planting can be deleterious to habitat restoration and should only be planned on land with low ecological value/restoration potential. (4) Seek to manage council-owned land for the benefit of wildlife (5) Embed nature’s recovery into all strategic plans and policy areas, not just those directly related to the environment. Ensure the Local Nature Recovery Strategy is well understood across the authority and complements other relevant plans and strategies. (6) Working with partners, demonstrate leadership by supporting and engaging with businesses, communities and the wider public to take action to put nature into recovery. (7) The Council designates the Councils Economic Development and Planning Cabinet Member as portfolio lead for Nature Recovery and also a lead officer to coordinate the council operations in relation to the ecological emergency. 3 (8) Integrate the targets, objectives and outcomes of this motion with those outlined in the existing Climate Change and Green Recovery Strategy to ensure measures to tackle climate issues do not contravene the principles of enhancing biodiversity. The value of well managed heathland, wetland and other habitats of principal importance in sequestering carbon is of equal importance and must be acknowledged. (9) Where appropriate, and in accordance with the council’s Climate Change and Green Recovery Strategy, the council will invest in nature - based solutions to climate change in order to tackle the nature crisis and climate emergency together. (10) Support the development of a Staffordshire wide Local Nature Recovery Strategy, and through the recently commissioned Nature Recovery Network Mapping, develop a local evidence-based action plan including short and long-term targets for putting nature into recovery by 2040, in accordance with the council’s climate change obligations. Areas of focus will include: o Land management o Biodiversity o Roads and highways o Planning and development o Air quality o Transforming urban spaces o Health and wellbeing o People and communities o Education and awareness (11) That the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee monitor the Local Nature Recovery work and the council’s action to support biodiversity and nature recovery on an annual basis. (12) Work closely with Stafford Borough’s partners via the recently formed Staffordshire Sustainability Board and other organisations to promote Local Nature Recovery.
I am a member of the Community Health and Well-Being Scrutiny Committee. We have had presentations on anti-social behaviour, homelessness and from Housing Plus. At the last presentation from them, it was reported that the issue of removing outdoor furniture from Doxey House which I raised at the previous meeting had been addressed and they now have had new furniture installed.
At the last meeting of the scrutiny committee I raised an issue which has been discussed many times in Doxey parish council and which is often complained about to me – litter bins – lack of adequate number and size and frequency of emptying. I took photographs of overflowing bins in Stafford and bigger bins elsewhere that were clearly much better. The new Cabinet member for Environment, Cllr Winnington thought it was all a figment of my imagination, despite the photos. Apparently all the bins are perfectly adequate, we still have the same number as in the past and they are all emptied frequently.
I supported the members of the Universal Club who wanted to re-open it after it closed during the Summer. Thankfully it now has and I have applied to be a member.
The old Three Tuns site is the subject of a planning application from the owners of the shop in
I have continued to attend all the Doxey Parish Council meetings and now have a good relationship with them. I am also Chair of the Castletown Residents Association
We have continued our monthly litter pick and Councillor walking surgery in parts of the ward. It takes place on the first weekend of the month. We give out the leaflets on the Friday morning and do the litter pick and check for anyone wanting to see me on the Saturday morning. We have also distributed regular newsletters.
Tony Pearce
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