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28
Jan 2022
Last Updated: 28/01/2022
Harrogate council ranks in lowest 15% of local authorities for tackling climate change
Harrogate Borough Council's climate strategy does outline the implications of climate change on the local area and fails to engage well with the community, a study finds. The council defends its achievements.
Harrogate Borough Council offices at Knapping Mount.
Harrogate Borough Council has been given a low score by a national campaign group for its plan to tackle climate change.
Climate Emergency UK employed a team of 120 volunteers to assess over 450 UK councils' written plans to cut emissions.
They wanted to find out if each plan is costed, whether it has a clear goal and if local residents were engaged with what the councils were doing.
Harrogate Borough Council's plan was ranked in the bottom 15% of all councils.
The authority's carbon reduction strategy sets a target of a net zero-carbon economy in the district by 2038. This means the district would put no more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than what it takes out.
A public consultation on the council's updated carbon reduction strategy ended this month.
Climate emergency
Unlike around 300 UK councils, Harrogate Borough Council has not called a climate emergency.
Volunteers found its strategy did not outline the implications of climate change on the local area and failed to engage well with the community.
Each council's climate plan was given a score out of 100, with Harrogate receiving 19. The UK average was 43 with Somerset West and Taunton coming top with 92.
Read Harrogate Borough Council full scorecard here.
'No surprise'
Harrogate and District Green Party executive Arnold Warneken said Harrogate's low score for tackling climate change "comes as no surprise".
He said:
"We have seen how slow the council reacts to an “emergency“, a word that doesn’t feature in the climate motion.
"There is no mention either of ecology or biodiversity, at all, demonstrating a lack of commitment the council has to protecting our future.
"I want to see us lead on the climate issue, not just following forward-thinking authorities at a pace just fast enough to stay on the scoreboard."
Read more:
- Exclusive: Council invests £70m into climate-damaging fossil fuel companies
- ‘Disappointing and vague’: Harrogate council’s plan to tackle climate change criticised
Kirsty Hallett, from Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition, said the group was encouraging Harrogate Borough Council to develop a "robust roadmap" to reach net-zero.
She said:
"In December 2021, HDCCC trustees met with Harrogate Borough Council and responded to the council’s consultation on their revised carbon reduction plan, which has been updated since the version scored by Climate Emergency UK.
"We highlighted the need for a fully costed action plan with measurable and timed targets for climate friendly changes to our housing, energy and transport.
"Climate action plans should be communicated effectively to ensure local people understand the need to decarbonise and to highlight the climate, ecological and personal benefits of change.
"We are looking forward to seeing what improvements Harrogate Borough Council have made to their carbon reduction plan following the recent consultation."
Jemima Parker, chair of Zero Carbon Harrogate, said she hoped the updated carbon reduction strategy can be fully costed:
"We suggested that a more holistic climate response was needed, not just carbon reduction but also climate resilience and carbon sequestration strategies were needed.
"Additionally, we felt that having an action plan which is fully costed, provides the likely carbon outcomes and also looks at the co benefits of each action would help the council prioritise their actions."
Council's response
A Harrogate Borough Council spokesman said:
"Unfortunately, we were unable to engage with Climate Emergency UK directly and understandably they have used historic information from our website. If we could have we would have provided a comprehensive wealth of information about the proactive work now underway across the Harrogate district.
"We have also recently consulted on an updated plan, which we look forward to sharing in the coming months.
"The existing action plan includes; improving our operational council buildings, introducing and supporting sustainable transport, working with business and public sector partners as well as influencing new development locations. The improvements we’ve made are already saving hundreds of tonnes of CO2 every year.
"We also have plans for more than 17-hectres of council-owned land have been allocated to support the White Rose Forest project. This project is a collaboration between councils across the Yorkshire region that aims to plant a substantial number of trees that will truly transform the region and help achieve carbon reduction goals. Thousands of trees will complement the 13,000 trees and hedgerow we’ve already planted.
"We are continually improving energy efficiency in our existing council buildings. The introduction of LED lighting, for example, not only makes us more energy efficient but also generates significant financial savings for the tax-payer every year.
"We’ve adopted an ultra-low emission vehicle strategy and are encouraging new developments to cater for the advances in electric vehicles. These new developments are also being supported with alternative travel options. We have also recently agreed to install electric charging points in a number of our car parks.
"Following a successful £1.8million bid from the borough council, through the government's public sector decarbonisation scheme, the existing gas boilers at the Hydro will be replaced with heat pumps, along with the installation of solar panels as well as metering and energy monitoring and control systems. It is anticipated that the carbon footprint for the building will be reduced by up to 60%
“These are just some of the schemes and projects – to date – that will help us reach this target.
“The most effective projects for achieving our ambitious targets are not going to happen overnight but we are committed to working hard to implement the right measures in the best way possible.
“We can’t do this alone – and nor would we want to – and plan on continuing to work with partners, business, the Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition and communities to help achieve our target of a net zero-carbon economy by 2038.
“Together we can make a difference.”
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