Agenda item

Notice of the following Motions has been receivedin accordance with Council Procedure Rules.

 

1.   Motion for a Declaration of an Ecological Emergency

 

The following motion will be proposed by Councillor Passingham and seconded by Councillor Ostrander.

 

This Council notes:

 

• The National Biodiversity Network 2023 State of Nature report, concluded that since 1970 more than half of our flowering plants, mosses and their relatives have been lost from areas where they used to thrive. The July 2022 statement of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Sustainable Use Assessment provides compelling evidence that humans are over-exploiting wild species and habitats and the government’s Chief Scientific Advisor made it clear that we need to change if we are to survive;
• Under the Environment Act of 2021 the Government aims to clean up the country’s air, restore natural habitats, increase biodiversity, reduce waste and make better use of our resources. The provisions of the act will “halt the decline in species by 2030 and require new developments to improve or create habitats for nature”; and
• Warwickshire Wildlife Trust (WkWT) is calling for at least 30% of our land to be connected and protected for nature’s recovery by 2030. It aims to bring wildlife back, and to help people act for nature. This aligns with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

 

Council resolves

 

We are facing a biodiversity crisis. We advocate action at both the national and local levels to preserve and enhance biodiversity. We also recognise the importance of a healthy and biodiverse environment that ensures our future prosperity and the wellbeing of all who live and work in the District.

We request that the Council lobby the government to meet its own international commitments on biodiversity, but we want to do our bit locally as well!

 

We call for an increase in areas considered rich in habitats by initiating the development of council policy and practices on biodiversity and ensuring sustainable and significant biodiversity gain from new developments and call for new biodiversity sites to be included as part of the next local plan.

We therefore pledge to provide leadership and to work with all organisational departments, partners and our communities to reverse the decline in biodiversity and deliver measurable biodiversity net gain within this district. We ask Council to develop local measures to prevent the loss of and to enhance biodiversity and:

 

1.   Develop the work of the Development Requirements Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) Part N in the Core strategy Review by incorporating features to support wildlife in new-builds e.g. swift bricks, green roofs etc;

 

2.   To ensure that the provisions of the Environment Act 2021 for Biodiversity Net Gain are fully implemented in all developments in the District and that Biodiversity Net Gain is maximised in all developments that SDC has a financial interest in;

 

3.   Make the Council estate more hospitable to a wide range of plants and animals, including on our parks and open spaces by:

 

·         using peat-free compost or soil in all landscaping and horticulture

·         setting out options for reducing the amount of Glyphosate and other toxic chemicals that is used by SDC and its contractors, including at least one option to completely eliminate their use

·         mowing all green spaces less for the benefit of wildlife

·         increasing tree cover on all council owned and managed land

·         achieving Green Flag status for Council-owned parks

·         employing a planning ecologist to scrutinise planning reports for biodiversity net gain

·         ensuring 30% of Council owned greenspace is supporting nature by 2030

·         the creation of a new ‘wildbelt’ designation to enable the District to strategically plan for nature’s recovery spatially in the same way it does for development.

 

4.   Ensure the delivery of biodiversity enhancements through our future planning policy and development control functions by ensuring that the new South Warwickshire Local Plan will enable the development of a mandatory biodiversity net gain policy for the district, ensuring that this is a core principle for all future development;

 

5.   Designate more Local Green Spaces in the new South Warwickshire Local Plan to meet the desire for communities to be able to access nature rich areas for health and well-being;

 

6.   To work with the Environment Agency, Severn Trent and other relevant bodies to improve the biodiversity of areas supported by the natural water systems in the District including the development of natural flood management and drought resistant water courses and bodies of water;

 

7.   Work with Town & Parish Councils, landowners and other partners to:

 

·         reinvigorate wildlife corridors;

·         protect existing nature rich habitats including veteran trees and hedges; and

·         restore soil health by reducing the use of fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides.

 

8.   Work with Warwickshire County Council and other partners to develop a Nature Recovery Plan for Stratford District to complement the new Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Warwickshire being developed by Warwickshire County Council.

 

Addendum 1

The submission from Warwickshire Wildlife Trust to the South Warwickshire Local Plan Consultation.

 

The South Warwickshire Local Plan makes a firm commitment to:

 

·         Apply and implement the new Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) that will sit within the national Nature Recovery Network and ensure it underpins all planning, development, and land management decisions, including the Local Plan.

 

As part of this, the council will:

 

·         In line with the LNRS, use the council’s habitat/Nature Recovery Network map to prioritise sites within the ecological network to provide a strategic base for the creation of a Nature Recovery Network.

·         Use the council’s habitat/Nature Recovery Network map to inform the selection of biodiversity net gain projects within the region.

·         Increase space for wildlife and commit to the long-term maintenance and expansion of a Nature Recovery Network.

·         Seek to manage at least 30% of council-owned land for the benefit of wildlife by 2030 (in line with UK Government’s national and international commitments).

·         Maintain a commitment to achieve a net-gain to biodiversity across all development, meeting the Environment Act requirement of 10% biodiversity net-gain, and 20% above the biodiversity unit value of habitats lost using the South Warwickshire ‘replacement percentage’.

·         Improve the landscape’s resilience to climate change, employing nature-based solutions to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change on the District, including carbon storage and sequestration, managing flood risk, improving water quality, and sustaining vital ecosystems.

·         Formulate a tree strategy which is underpinned by Nature Recovery Network, mapping across the local authority area, pursuing a “right tree, right place” approach.

·         After satisfying safety and visibility priorities, develop greenspace cutting regimes to maximise potential for biodiversity, carbon storage and sequestration.

·         Carry out a carbon audit of local authority sites to establish how carbon storage/sequestration could be improved.

·         Prioritise the protection of heathland habitats, focusing on restoration and increasing ecological connectivity.

·         Adopting a peat-free policy for all council contracts and supplies.

·         Aim to achieve favourable condition on all council-managed protected and designated nature sites (e.g., SSSIs (Site of Special Scientific Interest), LNRs (Local Nature Reserves), LWSs (Local Wildlife Sites)) by 2030.

 

Addendum 2

The Council Climate Action Scorecards 2023 report stated that Stratford District Council scored 0% for the biodiversity. These were the biodiversity questions:

·         Does the council use peat free compost or soil in all landscaping and horticulture?

·         Has the council banned the use of pesticides on all council owned and managed land?

·         Has the council committed to mowing their green spaces less for wildlife?

·         Does the council have a target to increase tree cover and is a tree management plan agreed as they grow?

·         Have the council's parks been awarded Green Flag status?

·         Does the council employ a planning ecologist to scrutinise planning reports for biodiversity net gain?

·         Does the council require a higher biodiversity net gain commitment from new developments?

 

See: District Councils’ Climate Action Scorecards | Climate Emergency UK (councilclimatescorecards.uk)

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rules, the Chairperson to report that the Motion, once proposed and seconded, will be referred to The Cabinet for consideration and report without debate.

 

2.   Removal of designated parking spaces for the Chairman of Council, the Leader of the Council and all other Councillors in the Church Street Car Park

 

 

The following motion will be proposed by Councillor Harvey and seconded by Councillor Whalley-Hoggins.

 

This Council Notes that:

The Council’s policies towards its staff are based on a single employment status, including their access to staff car parking.

 

Currently there are a number of spaces in the Church Street Car Park that are reserved for the use of the Chairman of the Council, the Leader of the Council and Councillors. There are no such arrangements in place, for example, for spaces to be allocated for the use of members of the Management Team or, indeed, for any other member of the Council’s staff. The current arrangements are, therefore, inconsistent with the arrangements that apply to SDC’s staff as a whole and the essentially egalitarian culture of the organization.

Additionally, on the grounds of safety, it is also preferable that Councillors’ cars are not so easily identified as such when they are parked in a reserved and marked space.

 

It is a pragmatic arrangement, however, that on those five days during the year when the Council meets as a whole, sufficient spaces are reserved on those days to enable those Councillors who find it necessary to travel by car to meetings at Elizabeth House to be able to park in the Church Street Car Park.

 

This Council therefore resolves:

To ask the Chief Executive to investigate and report back to Council at its next meeting on the practical implications, including the cost of any changes to current arrangements, of the removal of the marked parking spaces in the Church Street Car Park reserved for the use of the Chairman of the Council, the Leader of the Council and all other Councillors so that an informed decision on whether to remove them may then be considered.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rules, the Chairperson to report that the Motion, once proposed and seconded, will be referred to The Cabinet for consideration and report without debate.

 

 

 

 

 

1.    Motion for a Declaration of an Ecological Emergency

 

The following Motion was proposed by Councillor Passingham and seconded by Councillor Ostrander.

 

This Council notes:

• The National Biodiversity Network 2023 State of Nature report, concluded that since 1970 more than half of our flowering plants, mosses and their relatives have been lost from areas where they used to thrive. The July 2022 statement of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Sustainable Use Assessment provides compelling evidence that humans are over-exploiting wild species and habitats and the government’s Chief Scientific Advisor made it clear that we need to change if we are to survive;
• Under the Environment Act of 2021 the Government aims to clean up the country’s air, restore natural habitats, increase biodiversity, reduce waste and make better use of our resources. The provisions of the act will “halt the decline in species by 2030 and require new developments to improve or create habitats for nature”;
• Warwickshire Wildlife Trust (WkWT) is calling for at least 30% of our land to be connected and protected for nature’s recovery by 2030. It aims to bring wildlife back, and to help people act for nature. This aligns with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

 

Council resolves

We are facing a biodiversity crisis. We advocate action at both the national and local levels to preserve and enhance biodiversity. We also recognise the importance of a healthy and biodiverse environment that ensures our future prosperity and the wellbeing of all who live and work in the District.

We request that the Council lobby the government to meet its own international commitments on biodiversity, but we want to do our bit locally as well!

We call for an increase in areas considered rich in habitats by initiating the development of council policy and practices on biodiversity and ensuring sustainable and significant biodiversity gain from new developments and call for new biodiversity sites to be included as part of the next local plan.

We therefore pledge to provide leadership and to work with all organisational departments, partners and our communities to reverse the decline in biodiversity and deliver measurable biodiversity net gain within this district. We ask Council to develop local measures to prevent the loss of and to enhance biodiversity and:

1.   Develop the work of the Development Requirements Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) Part N in the Core strategy Review by incorporating features to support wildlife in new-builds e.g. swift bricks, green roofs etc.

2.   To ensure that the provisions of the Environment Act 2021 for Biodiversity Net Gain are fully implemented in all developments in the District and that Biodiversity Net Gain is maximised in all developments that SDC has a financial interest in;

3.   Make the Council estate more hospitable to a wide range of plants and animals, including on our parks and open spaces by:

·       using peat-free compost or soil in all landscaping and horticulture

·       setting out options for reducing the amount of Glyphosate and other toxic chemicals that is used by SDC and its contractors, including at least one option to completely eliminate their use

·       mowing all green spaces less for the benefit of wildlife

·       increasing tree cover on all council owned and managed land

·       achieving Green Flag status for Council-owned parks

·       employing a planning ecologist to scrutinise planning reports for biodiversity net gain

·       ensuring 30% of Council owned greenspace is supporting nature by 2030

·       the creation of a new ‘wildbelt’ designation to enable the District to strategically plan for nature’s recovery spatially in the same way it does for development

4.   Ensure the delivery of biodiversity enhancements through our future planning policy and development control functions by ensuring that the new South Warwickshire Local Plan will enable the development of a mandatory biodiversity net gain policy for the district, ensuring that this is a core principle for all future development.

5.   Designate more Local Green Spaces in the new South Warwickshire Local Plan to meet the desire for communities to be able to access nature rich areas for health and well-being.

6.   To work with the Environment Agency, Severn Trent and other relevant bodies to improve the biodiversity of areas supported by the natural water systems in the District including the development of natural flood management and drought resistant water courses and bodies of water.

7.    Work with Town & Parish Councils, landowners and other partners to:

·       reinvigorate wildlife corridors

·       protect existing nature rich habitats including veteran trees and hedges

·       restore soil health by reducing the use of fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides.

 

8.   Work with Warwickshire County Council and other partners to develop a Nature Recovery Plan for Stratford District to complement the new Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Warwickshire being developed by Warwickshire County Council.

 

Addendum 1

The submission from Warwickshire Wildlife Trust to the South Warwickshire Local Plan Consultation

 

The South Warwickshire Local Plan makes a firm commitment to –

·       Apply and implement the new Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) that will sit within the national Nature Recovery Network and ensure it underpins all planning, development, and land management decisions, including the Local Plan.

As part of this, the council will:

·       In line with the LNRS, use the council’s habitat/Nature Recovery Network map to prioritise sites within the ecological network to provide a strategic base for the creation of a Nature Recovery Network.

·       Use the council’s habitat/Nature Recovery Network map to inform the selection of biodiversity net gain projects within the region.

·       Increase space for wildlife and commit to the long-term maintenance and expansion of a Nature Recovery Network.

·       Seek to manage at least 30% of council-owned land for the benefit of wildlife by 2030 (in line with UK Government’s national and international commitments).

·       Maintain a commitment to achieve a net-gain to biodiversity across all development, meeting the Environment Act requirement of 10% biodiversity net-gain, and 20% above the biodiversity unit value of habitats lost using the South Warwickshire ‘replacement percentage’.

·       Improve the landscape’s resilience to climate change, employing nature-based solutions to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change on the District, including carbon storage and sequestration, managing flood risk, improving water quality, and sustaining vital ecosystems.

·       Formulate a tree strategy which is underpinned by Nature Recovery Network, mapping across the local authority area, pursuing a “right tree, right place” approach.

·       After satisfying safety and visibility priorities, develop greenspace cutting regimes to maximise potential for biodiversity, carbon storage and sequestration.

·       Carry out a carbon audit of local authority sites to establish how carbon storage/sequestration could be improved.

·       Prioritise the protection of heathland habitats, focusing on restoration and increasing ecological connectivity.

·       Adopting a peat-free policy for all council contracts and supplies.

·       Aim to achieve favourable condition on all council-managed protected and designated nature sites (e.g., SSSIs (Site of Special Scientific Interest), LNRs (Local Nature Reserves), LWSs (Local Wildlife Sites)) by 2030.

 

Addendum 2

The Council Climate Action Scorecards 2023 report stated that Stratford District Council scored 0% for the biodiversity. These were the biodiversity questions:

·       Does the council use peat free compost or soil in all landscaping and horticulture?

·       Has the council banned the use of pesticides on all council owned and managed land?

·       Has the council committed to mowing their green spaces less for wildlife?

·       Does the council have a target to increase tree cover and is a tree management plan agreed as they grow?

·       Have the council's parks been awarded Green Flag status?

·       Does the council employ a planning ecologist to scrutinise planning reports for biodiversity net gain?

·       Does the council require a higher biodiversity net gain commitment from new developments?

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rules, the Chairman reported that the Motion, having been proposed and seconded, be referred to The Cabinet for initial consideration and report without debate.

 

2.    Removal of designated parking spaces for the Chairman of Council, the Leader of the Council and all other Councillors in the Church Street Car Park.

 

The following Motion was proposed by Councillor Harvey and seconded by Councillor Whalley-Hoggins.

 

This Council Notes that:

The Council’s policies towards its staff are based on a single employment status, including their access to staff car parking.

 

Currently there are a number of spaces in the Church Street Car Park that are reserved for the use of the Chairman of the Council, the Leader of the Council and Councillors. There are no such arrangements in place, for example, for spaces to be allocated for the use of members of the Management Team or, indeed, for any other member of the Council’s staff. The current arrangements are, therefore, inconsistent with the arrangements that apply to SDC’s staff as a whole and the essentially egalitarian culture of the organization.

 

Additionally, on the grounds of safety, it is also preferable that Councillors’ cars are not so easily identified as such when they are parked in a reserved and marked space.

 

It is a pragmatic arrangement, however, that on those five days during the year when the Council meets as a whole, sufficient spaces are reserved on those days to enable those Councillors who find it necessary to travel by car to meetings at Elizabeth House to be able to park in the Church Street Car Park.

 

This Council therefore resolves:

To ask the Chief Executive to investigate and report back to Council at its next meeting on the practical implications, including the cost of any changes to current arrangements, of the removal of the marked parking spaces in the Church Street Car Park reserved for the use of the Chairman of the Council, the Leader of the Council and all other Councillors so that an informed decision on whether to remove them may then be considered.

 

In accordance with Council Procedure Rules, the Chairman reported that the Motion, having been proposed and seconded, be referred to The Cabinet for initial consideration and report without debate.