Green groups in Harrogate have joined forces to increase the pressure on Harrogate Borough Council to tackle climate change.
Harrogate District Climate Action Network represents more than 4,000 residents from 13 groups, including Extinction Rebellion Harrogate, Long Lands Common, the Pinewoods Conservation Group and Zero Carbon Harrogate.
The group is separate to the Harrogate District Climate Coalition, which the council set up at the beginning of the year to bring together councillors as well as green groups and local businesses.
The coalition has been criticised by campaigners for being little more than a talking shop.
The new network has said it will campaign for swift and radical change.
In an open letter to HBC council leader Richard Cooper and cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, Phil Ireland, the network calls for a “step-change in the ambitions and speed of activity” at HBC regarding the climate.
The letter says the network appreciates the council setting up the coalition and developing internal change plans but adds:
“However, the network is very concerned about the limited progress made so far.
“We believe there needs to be a step-change in the ambitions and speed of activity, one which reflects the growing and alarming body of scientific evidence and the urgency needed to mitigate and adapt to climate breakdown.”
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Responding to the open letter, Cllr Phil Ireland, cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability said the council had made “good progress” on its climate targets, which are set out in the authority’s Carbon Reduction Strategy.
He said:
“Responding to the climate crisis facing us all is not just an issue for the council.
“It’s an issue for every resident and business across the district. That’s why we created a climate coalition, so we have the right organisations around the same table to jointly tackle climate change together.
“When compared to councils of our size, and with the resources available to us, we have made good progress so far against an ambitious action plan.
“We had already agreed to meet the group before it issued its news release although a convenient date has had to be agreed.”
A full list of HD-CAN members is below:
Extinction Rebellion Harrogate
Harrogate District Friends of the Earth
Harrogate Cycle Action Group
Harrogate & District Green Party
Knaresborough SPARKS
Long Lands Common
Love Sustainable Knaresborough
Nidd Gorge Community Action
Nidderdale Climate and Environment Group
Pinewoods Conservation Group
Sustainably Harrogate
United Nations Association Harrogate
Zero Carbon Harrogate
Harrogate Climate Coalition faces fresh criticismAnother member of Harrogate’s Climate Coalition has spoken out against the group, saying it needs to be “more than a talking shop”.
Arnold Warneken from the Harrogate Green Party said he has written to Cllr Phil Ireland, who chairs the coalition, calling on Harrogate Borough Council to take “decisive action” in response to the climate emergency.
The Harrogate Climate Coalition was formed at the beginning of this year after HBC rejected calls to declare a climate emergency in 2019. It brings together councillors as well as green groups and local businesses — with the aim of working together in the name of sustainability and helping the environment.
However, since it was formed it has faced criticism, with members frustrated over progress in tackling climate change. In June, campaigner Malcolm Margolis resigned from the coalition’s sustainable transport subgroup because of a “lack of action”.
Mr Warneken said the coalition needs to “transform the way it operates and act with a real sense of urgency”.
He said:
“The coalition needs to be able to make policy recommendations to the council.
“Now is the time for Harrogate to be brave and forward thinking – for example, where are the sites for Park & Ride, where is the commitment for all council houses to be Passivhaus standard – it’s not enough just to say that these policies will be ‘considered’ or ‘encouraged’.
“The Climate Coalition has an important role to play in firstly guiding the council to declare a climate emergency, and then to strengthen the council’s commitment to achieve district-wide carbon-neutral status.
“I want the coalition to become a change-maker, not just a talking-shop!”.
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Cllr Phil Ireland, cabinet member for carbon reduction and sustainability, told the Stray Ferret that the council has implemented a range of measures to improve the environment which he said is saving “hundreds of tonnes” of CO2 every year.
These include a carbon reduction strategy, a low emission car club and improvements to Harrogate rail and bus stations.
He also said Harrogate Borough Council’s move to the civic centre at Knapping Mount, which includes solar panels, green roofs and passive heating, is improving the authority’s carbon footprint.
He added:
Environmental campaigner quits Harrogate Climate Coalition“The Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition, a partnership of businesses, public sector organisations and voluntary groups, not only supports these measures but has a joint aim of reducing carbon reduction activities throughout the Harrogate district.
“The most effective projects for achieving our ambitious targets are not going to happen overnight and the vast majority of members of the climate coalition understand this and are committed to working hard to we implement the right measures in the best way possible.
“This requires collective action and we will happily work with anyone and any group that is working to reduce carbon emissions to achieve net zero.”
Environmental campaigner Malcolm Margolis has resigned from the Harrogate Climate Coalition because of a “lack of action” around climate change.
The group was formed at the beginning of this year after Harrogate Borough Council rejected calls to declare a climate emergency in 2019.
It brings together councillors as well as green groups and local businesses — with the aim of working together in the name of sustainability and helping the environment.
Mr Margolis was a member of the Coalition’s sustainable transport subgroup that was set up to look at cycling lanes and how to get people out of cars.
Mr Margolis said he wanted to group to be “not just another talking shop”.
He said:
“The Climate Coalition was set up in recognition of environmental emergency – but it doesn’t feel there’s a sense of urgency if you don’t have meetings for months.
“The environental emergency is an infinitly more serious problem than Covid-19. It’s absolutely central that we act with urgency. The scientists are telling us we need to act now.
“Cllr Haslam said he wants the group to bring about small quick wins that can make a difference at a local level – but if nothing happens for two months then you’re not going to have any quick wins.”
Speaking to the Stray Ferret, the chair of the subgroup Cllr Paul Haslam said the Climate Coalition was a “great leap forward” for the environment in the district but conceded that action hasn’t been as fast as he would have liked.
He said:
“I agree fully with Malcolm that people haven’t seen anything yet.
Cllr Haslam said after the second meeting of the group, it became clear the members wanted to be “more than just a talking shop — they wanted it to be effective”.
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Cllr Haslam said he has had meetings with senior figures in North Yorkshire County Council and has presented them with “every single idea” that the Climate Coalition has come up with.
The group will meet again next week.
He added:
‘Well done lads’: Harrogate men win praise for cleaning the Stray“I want to get us into positions so we are effective, so we don’t just generate the ideas but they get through so we can make changes quicker.”
A group of four young men has won lots of praise for cleaning up rubbish on the Stray this weekend.
Dan and Tom Locke as well as Jack Wignall and James Wilson have been using the area to play football and frisbee during the lockdown.
In recent days they have noticed people leaving more and more rubbish on the Stray so decided to take action on Saturday evening.
The group managed to fill around five bin bags with rubbish by riding their bikes around for about three hours.
Hannah Lee Skinner came across the group on Saturday. She posted a picture of them online, where hundreds commented to call them heroes.
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Tom Locke, who is 22-years-old and works at Newnham Street Garage, told The Stray Ferret:
“We just want people to consider the others and the environment more. I have been starting to notice that small changes can make a big difference. Hopefully people will follow our lead or at least pick up their own rubbish. It wasn’t too difficult to do, we had a laugh.”
He added that people were very appreciative on the Stray but when he asked them to help out they would say that it wasn’t their rubbish.
This really MUST stop. Why do people, sadly especially the young ones, leave their garbage behind them?
Please , please use the bins and also take your litter home. pic.twitter.com/S1EDcAGOtl— Stray Defence (@StrayDefence) June 18, 2020
The Stray Defence Association (SDA) recently called for people to take their litter home after finding empty beer bottles, sweet wrappers and leftover takeaway food.
Litter has been an increasing problem in recent days with pleasant weather and the lockdown leading to more people meeting up on the Stray.
Harrogate Borough Council has welcomed more people using the district’s parks but added that people should dispose of their rubbish correctly.
COLUMN: We need to tackle climate change but not this way….This column is written for The Stray Ferret by Jemima Parker, Chair of Zero Carbon Harrogate*
When we started to go into lock-down I knew that Covid-19 would bring significant carbon emissions reductions for the District. Cutting our greenhouse gases and playing our part in the global response to climate breakdown is something I have been advocating for years. But not like this. Not with the shutdown of our amazing local businesses and heartache of lives lost to the virus.
Sure I, like many, have been enjoying waking up to a quieter world each morning without the roar of traffic out of the window; being able to hear the birds in the Valley Gardens; breathe clean air on Skipton Road and soak up those clear blue skies across the Stray without contaminating contrails.
It feels like a little window into a low carbon world, but it’s missing the vibrant economy that can go with it.
Strangely, I have found the pandemic crisis a levelling experience, with my own world of living in a continual state of climate emergency (10 years left to radically reduce our carbon emissions or millions more die), now shared in some ways with my friends and family.
Working from home has been normalised. Having food deliveries – as my family have done for years (from the lovely local Organic Pantry) – is all the rage and even creatively eating up all the bits and bobs at the back of the fridge is now obligatory.
In these difficult days, pockets of hope have surprised me. I was cheered by how quickly we got it, we acted, the science of the virus was understood, the risks evaluated and the radical changes required in our behaviour adopted. Next stop climate science, risk assessment and adaptation?
It has been a joy to see a resurgence of localism, neighbours walking to the local shops and others out exploring previously neglected footpaths – why wouldn’t you, we live in God’s own county?
I have been overwhelmed by the plethora of community groups that sprung up from nowhere to provide support, from Pannal to Pateley, Bilton to Boroughbridge. This community resilience, this coming together to support each other, will help as we adapt to the changes required to prevent the worst extremes of climate change.
How many of these positives can we capture and take forward as we begin the long and difficult task of rebuilding the local economy? We can’t go back. Can we go forward investing in more resilient local, low carbon businesses, creating green jobs, valuing all our key workers and giving a true value to the natural world that sustains our very existence?
*Zero Carbon Harrogate is an organisation dedicated to making Harrogate District a net zero carbon community by 2030 in order to secure a sustainable future- for more information click here.