Agenda item

To consider and determine the amended Notice of Motion proposed by Councillor Cody and seconded by Councillor Softley. 

40.1           The report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, circulated at Pages No. 14-24, set out the details of the outcome of the special meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee which took place to consider the Motion deferred from Council on 30 July.

40.2           In introducing the report, the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee explained that a special meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had taken place on 13 August 2019. At that meeting some amended wording had been put forward for consideration and the proposer of the original Motion had agreed to incorporate those amendments within her Motion. It was the unanimous view of the Committee that the Council should support the amended Motion which was set out at Page No. 14 of the report before the Council.

40.3           The proposer of the original Motion proposed the amended Motion and, in doing so, expressed her disappointment that the original Motion had not been fully discussed at the Council meeting in July. She indicated that time was of the essence given the emergency the planet faced so the delay had been unhelpful. The Member also expressed disappointment that her Motion had been significantly watered down by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee; however, she accepted that it was a starting point and therefore was happy to propose it. The amended Motion, as set out in the report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, was seconded.

40.4           Another Member welcomed the declaration of a climate change emergency but felt that it could go slightly further. He was of the view that, given the fact that the Council was a powerful body with great influence, it should be leading the way for the rest of the Borough. He suggested that the Council’s policies should be assessed for their impact on climate change and proposed two amendments:

1.  That point i) be amended to read “preparation of revised Terms of Reference        to include an audit of the Council’s current position, an action plan to achieve           carbon neutrality by 2030, funding and promotion of good practice throughout       the Borough including buildings that provide a public service, such as the      Tewkesbury Leisure Centre, to assess the broad impact of all of the         Council’s policies on climate change; and” 

2. That all reports be amended so that the section ‘Environmental implications’ be     renamed ‘Environmental and Climate Change implications’.

40.5           The amendment was seconded and the seconder indicated that this would be a cultural change for the Council but one that provided a fairly easy way to make a difference.

40.6           A Member indicated that he understood the reason for the proposed amendments but, in his view, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had considered the wording of the Motion in its entirety, as such, a change at this stage could not be justified. Another Member agreed with that view and indicated that a cross-party group of Members had considered the issue and agreed the best way forward so it was not for the Council to change that on an ad-hoc basis. One Member indicated that reviewing all of the Council’s policies for carbon neutrality would be extremely time consuming and make it impossible for the Flood Risk Management Group to report back to the Council by April 2020, as requested by the Motion, and this was something that should be borne in mind when considering the amendment.

40.7           Upon being put to the vote, the amendment that point i) be amended to read “preparation of revised Terms of Reference to include an audit of the Council’s current position, an action plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, funding and promotion of good practice throughout the Borough including buildings that provide a public service, such as the Tewkesbury Leisure Centre, to assess the broad impact of all of the Council’s policies on climate change; and”; and that all reports be amended so that the section ‘Environmental implications’ be renamed ‘Environmental and Climate Change implications’, was lost.

40.8           The Motion as recommended by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee was put to the vote and, accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED          That the Council:

1.   declare a ‘climate emergency’;

2.  commit to doing all in its power to make Tewkesbury Borough Council offices carbon neutral by 2030;

3.   expand the remit of the existing Flood Risk Management Group to deal with climate change matters with the following delegations to the Borough Solicitor in consultation with the Group:

i)   preparation of revised Terms of Reference to include an audit of the Council’s current position, an action plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, funding and promotion of good practice throughout the Borough including buildings that provide a public service, such as the Tewkesbury Leisure Centre; and

ii)  membership of the Group, taking account of its wider role;

4.   call upon central government to provide additional powers and resources to support local and national action towards the 2030 target;

5.   commit to working with partners in Gloucestershire to achieve countywide carbon neutrality aims; and

6.   report to Council by its meeting on 21 April 2020 at the latest with a detailed action plan for delivery.