WITH climate change and unnecessary tree works being high on Westbury council’s agenda, the news that a government-backed national review has called for nature to be taken into account by policymakers has been welcomed by members – but with the caveat that the words must be translated into action.
Launched earlier this month, the government- commissioned Dasgupta review outlines how businesses and policymakers can include and account for nature as part of economic decisions.
In a presentation to Westbury Town Council last month, a Wiltshire Council arboriculturist, David Wyatt, said the unitary authority (Wiltshire Council), which makes all the decisions on local planning applications, was trying to work with developers submitting proposals to take into consideration the environment, in line with the council’s green objectives.
And the point was reiterated at a local plan consultation in the town where a planning team manager admitted more should be done to push developers.
David Wyatt told White Horse News he was not aware of the review, but had recently taken part in a discussion with a local MP regarding the climate emergency and the lack of protection for trees.
Town mayor and wildlife enthusiast, cllr Mike Sutton said, “I am pleased with any legislation or initiatives that will arrest the destruction of the planet and wildlife, but there is always a qualification. What is needed is rhetoric being translated into actions that have real effects rather than symbolic, and backed up by enforcement.”
Cllr Sutton said it was difficult to understand the government saying we are world leaders in climate change reversal, who then let a coal mine be opened, contrary to all the science.
“Westbury has adopted a climate change plan and is working towards a green agenda as much as we can, but the processes at Wiltshire Council are not there,” he said. Wiltshire Council has declared a green agenda but in practice, it is all words and no action. Westbury has been identified as a location with air pollution above the recommended level but despite many requests, they have failed to produce any action plan, other than a vague promise to look at a road scheme sometime after 2025.
“The fact that children born now will have five years or more harmful particles in them by then, seems to have eluded them.
“If we are going to take meaningful action then the planning process needs to change to be part of that.”
Cllr Sutton said it was interesting that in his address to the council, Mr Wyatt stated that Wiltshire Council had no idea how many trees were being cut down or planted, and so the county could well be getting worse.
“They do not even know if we are increasing or decreasing green space and nature and even if they did, have no plan to arrest the decline,” said cllr Sutton.
“When planning applications are made, we should be asking what is the effect on the environment, air quality, wildlife and carbon absorption, but we do not.
“Trees are cut down to allow development but developers are never asked how they replace the loss of green space, how the development increases or decreases air quality, what wildlife is affected, how they will replace the loss of green space or animal habitats etc etc.
“I don’t think any rhetoric means anything until legislation is introduced that actively promotes wildlife and nature in any planning issue. It is still a case of profit before nature. Future generations may call it profit before survival.”
Local wildlife author and town councillor Jane Russ said, “I’m delighted the review has come out in favour of pulling up nature and climate change but, and it’s a big but, this government has such a poor record of actually doing anything more than setting off a hare and saying, ‘Look! Look!’, but on the other hand they say, ‘OK, let’s build an incinerator!’”
The government commissioned Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta to lead the independent global review on the Economics of Biodiversity in spring 2019. One of the main aims was to create insight into how financial and policy decisions can reverse biodiversity loss.
