Green News And Action From The Last Year
These centre pages highlight a selection of the issues that Tom Dylan and your Green Councillors, Howard Jago and Steven Altman, have been campaigning on over the last year. Please elect Tom Dylan to ensure there is a strong Green team at City Hall to campaign on these and other issues.
May 2006: At the local elections, the number of Green Councillors at City Hall increases from five to nine – making the Greens a large opposition group. The Green Councillors continue to play a constructive role in cross-party discussions. They start by securing a commitment to include a requirement of a 30% renewable energy quota in all new developments in future council planning policies – one of the most progressive policies in the country.
June 2006: Green Councillors support a LibDem motion calling for the introduction of 20mph speed limits on all residential streets. Only the Green Councillors call for money to be redirected away from road-building and invested in road safety measures.
July 2006: Former LibDem Councillor Dawn Castle-Green defects to the Green Party, citing the unwillingness of the Norwich LibDems to oppose incineration as a key reason for this move. Later in the year she is joined by fellow former LibDem Councillor Simon Richardson who joins the Greens partly because of the Green Councillors' opposition to the demolition of structurally sound council flats on Barrack Street.
September 2006: Norwich City Council conducts a consultation on the future of the area around Anglia Square. Green Councillors respond by saying that: Anglia Square should be highlighted to businesses as a good place for office space; efforts should be made to promote independent businesses in the Magdalen Street area; St. Augustine’s Street should be pedestrianised; local green spaces should be maintained and protected. (The council is currently developing a masterplan for the area, on which there will be further consultation this summer.)
October 2006: Green Councillors propose a motion calling on the council to encourage businesses in the city to reduce the amount of packaging they use. Council officers take the issue up with the City Centre Management Partnership. The Greens argue that national taxes on packaging are needed to tackle the problem effectively but that raising the profile of the issue locally will also help.
October 2006: Following lobbying by Green Councillors, recycling banks for glass, paper and card are installed in various city centre locations.
November 2006: The local councils launch a scrutiny review of local bus services. Green Councillors highlight the need for a Quality Bus Contract to bring about reasonably-priced and reliable bus services for the city.
December 2006: It becomes clear that the application for 164 flats to be built on the former Lind Garage site on Ber Street will not be approved. Residents were concerned about the impact of such a dense, tall development on neighbouring properties and the local traffic situation. (A revised planning application was expected but has not yet been submitted).
January 2007: The City Council adopts a Green Party motion opposing any incineration of Norfolk’s waste. A few weeks later the County Council confirms that incineration is no longer its preferred option and that it plans to pursue the more environmentally-friendly option of a mechanical biological treatment plant at Costessey.
January 2007: The City Council adopts a Green Party motion asking for a commitment to reductions in carbon emissions from council services. The council later agrees to appoint an energy officer to secure energy efficiency measures in council buildings.
January 2007: Green Councillors oppose the decision of the ruling Conservatives at County Hall to axe the orbital bus service, just 17 months into its three-year trial period.
February 2007: The council agrees funding for significant improvements to local recycling facilities over the next two years. The improvements will include the collection of plastic bottles as part of the doorstep scheme and provision of recycling banks for flats.
February 2007: Green County Councillors propose an alternative budget, including a lower council tax increase, saving £1million that is currently spent each year on the expensive NDR road project and setting up a Climate Change Mitigation Fund.
March 2007: Plans for the redevelopment of Duke’s Wharf, off Duke Street between Charing Cross and the river, are unveiled in a public exhibition. Local residents contact Tom Dylan to express concern about aspects of the proposals, such as the height of the development and the loss of the listed former Eastern Electricity Building. (No planning application has been submitted yet but Tom Dylan will work with residents to put forward their views when the planning consultation takes place.)
March 2007: A planning application for flats to be built on a green space north of Armes Street, between Northumberland and Nelson Streets, is withdrawn. Green Councillors and local residents had objected to the plans.
April 2007: A key issue raised with Tom Dylan by residents during the election campaign is the amount of graffiti in many parts of Mancroft ward. Greens favour more police and warden patrols, and improved recreational facilities for younger people, to help tackle the problem.
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"I have enjoyed meeting so many residents during this campaign. If I am elected I will keep in touch by visiting residents and delivering newsletters all year round. The Green Party has increased its number of council seats each year for the last five years and we now form a significant opposition group on the council. Last year in your area (Mancroft ward) we won both the seats that were up for election, when Howard Jago and Steven Altman were elected. On 3rd May we are asking residents to return more Green Councillors to City Hall to help us work for a socially inclusive city, for a clean local environment and to protect the unique character of Norwich.