From an open letter to Conservative councillors

• THERE is widespread anger in response to government plans to remove fundamental legal protections for our environment.

Opposition has come from many organisations ranging from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and National Trust through to the Wildlife Trusts and Friends of the Earth.

Even many farmers are rejecting these proposals. Alongside the reckless approach to the country’s finances, the government seems intent on tearing up protection for nature.

In a three-pronged assault on nature, the plan is to:

— Scrap planning rules that protect nature in new “investment zones” covering huge areas of the country.

— Rip up environmental protections introduced by the European Union, with no plans for replacement.

— Withdraw plans to help farmers protect nature, with reports suggesting the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) has been “put on hold” while a return to a Common Agricultural Policy type, per-acre, payment is expected, breaking a specific manifesto pledge.

Of course, just before these announcements we also saw Jacob Rees-Mogg open the door to environmentally damaging fracking, which the founder of Cuadrilla himself says is unviable.

The responses from those who care for nature have been overwhelming. Joan Edwards, director of policy for The Wildlife Trusts, says these policies will mean “polluters can get away with poisoning our rivers and countryside, even more than they are doing already”.

Hilary McGrady of the National Trust says, “environmental protections are dismissed as ‘burdens’, while investment and growth are pitted against nature and climate action”.

These proposals came as part of the “dash for growth” package which also spooked markets and ruined government finances.

There was no democratic mandate for these measures. Indeed they reversed the direction of travel on the environment in the 2019 manifesto and have never been put to the British people.

But we know people’s livelihoods and local economies can be put on a sound footing with a three-pronged approach to investment: l in nature recovery; l in renewable energy: and l in home insulation to reduce energy bills.

Research has shown that “Protection and use of environmental assets is key to evening out economic imbalances between metropolitan and rural areas”. – www.exeter.ac.uk/news/research/title_918714_en.html

In other words, the recovery of nature and the revival of local living standards should and can go hand-in-hand.

We call on you to make plain to your party leaders that these policies must be reversed. We ask for a public statement from your group leader on your group’s views about these policies.

There is no case for staying silent, and every reason to stand up for your communities and for your local environment by making it plain that you will not support the tearing up of environmental protection and the reversal of attempts to help nature thrive.

CLLR SIÂN BERRY
Green Party

EX-CLLR LORNA JANE RUSSELL

DAVID STANSELL
Chair, Camden Green Party