News - City Failing on Renewable Energy say Greens
May 1 2007
Council ignores its own target for renewable energy on major development
A huge question mark has been placed over Leicester Council's commitment to cut CO2 emissions and tackle climate change. Inquiries by the Leicester Green Party have indicated that the Council's target to generate electricity from renewable energy is not being implemented on a major building development in the City, the Shires Extension.
"It appears that the Council has failed to hold developers to an energy condition set out in the City of Leicester's Local Plan, which calls for a ten percent renewable energy target," said Matt Follett, the Green Party's lead candidate for Castle Ward in the May 3 council elections. "This target is a progressive one that is intended to become more rigorous on later developments. It is a matter of concern if it is already being ignored."
He added: "The Shires extension is a massive development, which can become the benchmark standard in renewable energy measures for other major developments to follow. So it's important to hold developers to energy conditions as set out in the Local Plan. We have written to Planning Management and Delivery on Leicester Council, asking them to confirm what renewable energy measures are being implemented in this development, and to justify any omission."
Matt pointed out: "Another failure under the current leadership was the loss of a £5.1 million government grant to help set up an energy service company to generate renewable energy for Leicester, to reduce energy bills and earn revenue for the city. The previous Labour administration also failed to make energy saving a top priority.
- Thanks to climate change the Greenland ice is gradually melting; eventually sea levels could rise up to 30 feet, submerging parts of the UK and many other countries across the world (Reference: "Melting ice 'will' swamp capitals", Independent, 7/12/2003).
- Temperature rises are linked to climate change. During the heat wave in the summer of 2003, high temperatures killed 20,000 people in Europe.
- Climate change may be to blame for some 150,000 deaths each year, according to the UN Agency on 11/12/04 (Reference: AP 12/12/2003).
- Around one in four species could be extinct by 2050 (Reference: BBC News, Wednesday, 7/1/2004).
