East Suffolk Council

Posted by on 10 May 2021 | Comments

East Suffolk Council continues to call on the Government to implement lasting changes which will have significant environmental benefits for communities, the country and the planet.

Last year, East Suffolk Council’s Environment Task Group (ETG) and the East Suffolk Greenprint Forum (ESGF) wrote to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industry Strategy, the Department for Transport, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to encourage the Government to consider the unique opportunity of bringing about lasting changes to address climate change in its Covid-19 recovery plan.

The letters, signed by Cllr James Mallinder, Chair of ETG and cabinet member for the Environment, and Jane Healey, Chair of ESGF, expressed the need for the Government to provide local councils with the correct framework, systems and resources to respond to the everchanging environment and deliver on its climate change targets.

East Suffolk Council is putting nature first in 2021 to help protect and enhance biodiversity and is continuing to encourage the Government to enable green changes that will benefit local communities, the country and ultimately the planet.

As a result, ETG and ESGF have written to the Secretary of State for Defra to raise concerns on topics which can have a negative impact on biodiversity, including Defra agreeing to revoke an existing partial ban on neonicotinoids to treat sugar beet deed despite it posing a significant risk to the environment, bees and other pollinators.

It also raises concerns about the impact fireworks can have on the environment, pets, livestock and people and asks that the Government reconsider its recent refusal to tighten existing legislation on fireworks and welcomes tighter restrictions on mass balloon releases and the sale and release of sky lanterns, which are already banned on council-owned land in East Suffolk.

Cllr James Mallinder said:

“East Suffolk Council is committed to tackling climate change and protecting and enhancing biodiversity, but we cannot do this alone. As a Council, we have been and continue to be proactive, we are asking residents to be proactive and now it is time we ask Westminster to be proactive so that we can achieve our commitments and do what is best for the environment and our communities.”

Jane Healey said:

“I urge the Government to provide East Suffolk, and other communities around the country, with the framework and tools that we need to effect meaningful change locally.

“The Greenprint Forum is a wide and diverse network of people, organisations and businesses from around East Suffolk who are all committed to our vision of working together to improve our quality of life whilst significantly reducing our carbon footprint, and by combining our voices with that of East Suffolk Council I hope our shared message has a bigger impact and we look forward to the Government’s response.”

Read the full letter.