Cornwall Council’s Consultation on Planning and the Climate Emergency
Conrwall Council has invited public consultation on a Scoping Report for a technical Planning document called the ‘Climate Change Development Plan Document’. Cornwall Green Party assembled a team of expert members from across Cornwall to analyse the report and provide a response.
In the context of this Climate Emergency, decisions made in relation to Planning play an important role in achieving the ambitious-but-necessary target of net-zero-carbon emissions by 2030. We welcome the opportunity to comment on this Development Plan Document Scoping Report. However, we are clear that Planning in general suffers from systemic failures at national level that have taken power away from local communities and handed it to large, unaccountable developers. This response focusses on decisions that lie within Cornwall Council’s control. We will provide a supplementary response outlining the changes for which we believe Cornwall Council should lobby central government.
Cornwall Green Party welcomes the vast majority of the measures proposed by the Scoping Report; it demonstrates a clear intention to take the Climate Emergency seriously. Our response focusses far less on what is already included than on what we believe should also be considered.
However, it is imperative that Cornwall Council takes initiative to reduce the likelihood of a conflict between its climate change priorities and other material considerations by integrating the specific Planning requirements of this DPD with the broader areas that impact on Strategic Planning, especially the Cornwall Local Plan and the Local Industrial Strategy.
Our response, therefore, provides a number of cross-cutting recommendations, before detailing proposed changes to the specific areas outlined by the Scoping Report.
Section 1: responses regarding the scope and use of the Climate Change DPD
Section 2: responses to the areas specified by the Scoping Report:
- Renewable Energy
- Energy Efficiency
- Coastal Change & Flood Management
- Natural Climate Solutions
- Transport
- Agriculture & Rural Development
- Town Centre Density and Vitality
Edited and submitted by Matt Valler, Policy OfficerResearch and recommendations prepared by:
Jonny Dry, Dr Harry Fonseca Williams, Karen La Borde, Ian Flindall, Collin Harker, Charmian Larke, Ken O’Brien, Robin Roper, Tamsyn Widdon
Cornwall Green Party values constructive dialogue and appreciates that making good policy which actually works in practice is a challenging task. We welcome further dialogue on any policy questions raised in this response.