ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN FOR ROTHER
WELCOME
!
The action plan will be part of Rother's Sustainable Community Strategy. This strategy sets out what we, both residents and businesses, want to happen in Rother. It is important that the officers and members of the council work with the Action Group to develop our action plan but the Action Group will be independent from the Council.
Rother District Council will need to engage support for the plan and in particular use the plan to guide the work of the the County and the Region in helping to bring about our plan.
The action plan could address, amongst others, the following:
CO2 emissions
Energy use- including household energy efficiency
Local
Renewable Energy
Water use
Sewage treatment
Adaptation to Climate change - including flooding
Waste - both domestic and commercial
Fly tipping
Local biodiversity
Local food chains
ETC
THE EMERGING LIST OF POSSIBLE ACTIONS
We are working on a list of possible actions. Below you will see one or two examples. We are asking for suggestions and advice on what the actions should be (any help with this is very welcome).
Once we have prepared the list we will circulate it more generally and ask for opinions. In particular we will be asking the parish councils in Rother to tell us what they think about the list and which actions they could support.
Those actions that are supported will be included in the Plan.
We expect the final action plan to take shape later this
year and to be adopted as the Rother Sustainable Community Strategy Action Plan
then.
EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE ACTIONS
Reduce the domestic CO2 emissions per head by x% (maybe
3% like Brighton and Hove)
The figure for domestic CO 2 emissions per head in Rother is calculated
and can be seen on the useful East Sussex in figures website:
http://www.eastsussexinfigures.org.uk/ (once there search for "CO2 Rother").
It will tell you that CO2 emissions in Rother for residents is the highest in
East Sussex and above average for the Southeast region. These figures are based
on 2005 - so there may be questions to ask as to how often they are updated.
Some of our other actions may address the issue of CO2 reduction but this could be an overall target for Rother.
Reduce the amount of waste generated per person by x% (whether
recycled or not)
The figure for waste per person in East Sussex is 523kg per year in 2006/7
Further work is needed to confirm the figure for Rother but a target would be at
least 3% reduction.
Reduce the amount of commercial waste by x%
This figure is almost certainly available but we have not found it yet. How can
Rother influence this? One way might be to impose stricter conditions on
planning permissions relating to waste - construction is one of the major
sources of commercial waste.
More examples of targets and indicators used by others
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES ACT - IMPLICATIONS
In November 2007- The Sustainable Communities Act was passed
into law. This Act requires the Secretary of State to draw up a Government plan
derived from our local action plans and to show how the Government is
going to implement this plan and if they fail - explain. Find out more about
this on http://www.localworks.org/ .
The Act is not being imposed on Local Authorities - they will be offered a choice whether to "opt in" or not this October. It is vitally important that we encourage the members of the Council to opt in. Please find out whether you District Councillor is aware of the chance we will have this October and make sure he/she is supporting the choice to opt in .
Please get in touch with us if you have any questions or would like to help
plan@rotherenvironmental.org.uk
What is Rother's Sustainable Community Strategy?
Local authorities in England are required to set up a Local Strategic
Partnership to draw up a Sustainable Community Strategy. This strategy will
guide policy in the District by setting priorities and also informs the policies
for the county and region .
What is the Local Strategic Partnership?
This is a group of people selected by the District Council that represent the
residents and businesses of Rother and the main services such as Social Housing,
Police, Health, Leisure etc. as well as representatives of the voluntary
sector, old and young people.
What is a Local Action Plan?
An action plan for Rother sets out what we want to happen in our district,
in this case - for the benefit of the environment - both local and global.
Some of the actions
may not be under the control of Rother but they will be able to influence others
to support the plan..
The actions need to be challenging but achievable, possible to measure, widely
supported by residents and businesses and if possible the District Council, and given a time
limit.
The plan needs to be regularly reviewed and updated.
Why do we need an action plan?
The plan defines the priorities for action- helping Rother to decide what to
do first. It will also help everybody in Rother, and beyond, to work together,
by giving them a shared set of objectives.
Who can be part of the Environmental Action Group?
It could include you. The action group is made up of individuals who are
concerned about the environment and believe that setting out an action plan is a
good idea. It is hoped that the group will be as representative as possible of
our community and include representatives of the members and officers of the
District and County Council.
More details of the group, its meetings and membership will be available here
soon
if you would like to help develop the action plan - get in touch (see below)
What's the point of including actions that are not
under the control of the Local Authority?
It is not just Rother that will be guided by this plan. The County and the
Region will also take account of the plan and they will be able to help ensure
the plan's success.
How can we know if the plan is working?
All the actions will have targets for reduction or increase of known
measured indicators. There will be a regular review of the plan's progress.
What happens if we fail to reach the targets in
the plan?
We will ask Rother to explain why the plan has failed and how they might be able
to help the plan succeed in the future. We will ask our own District Councillors
to help.
How can you help?
The plan is at the very early stages ( Summer 2008) we need you help.
Do you have any suggestions for the plan?
Do you think the action plan is a good idea, or not?
Would you like to come to a meeting to discuss the action plan?
Please let us know - the plan cannot succeed without your active support and participation.
email: plan@rotherenvironmental.org.uk or ring Christopher 01797 280282