Green News And Action From The Last Year
These centre pages highlight a selection of the local issues that James Conway and the Green Party Councillors have been campaigning on over the last year. Please elect James Conway to ensure there is a strong Green voice for Thorpe Hamlet and 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.
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: Mini recycling banks for glass, paper and card are installed in various city centre locations. The Greens call for investment in further such banks for other parts of the city.
October 2006: Residents of the Cozens Road area approach the Green Councillors over safety concerns about fly-tipping and building materials on the abandoned former Clarence Harbour pub site, saying that the council had failed to respond to their letters on the subject. Green Councillors raise the issue at a full council meeting and the site is eventually cleared and made safe.
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.
November 2006: Following lobbying from local residents, the refurbishment of Heathgate Community Centre is made a top budget priority for the City Council as funds become available. Green Councillors argue that community facilities such as this should always be high priorities for council funding.
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: James Conway consults residents on their ideas about possible safety improvements at the junction of Thorpe Road and Riverside Road. James collates the responses for the council to consider (and if elected he will be organising a meeting between the residents who responded to the survey and council officers next month).
February 2007: The City 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: Residents of the Cedar Road area submit a petition to the City Council about the congestion problems caused by too many business parking permits having been issued in this part of Thorpe Hamlet. Green Councillors back the petition and ask for a review of the situation (which will be considered by the Norwich Highways Agency Committee in May.)
April 2007: Green Councillors report back on the results of the consultation on the future of the Deal Ground and the Utilities Site. The most common responses are in line with Green Party views: green spaces and Carey’s Meadow should be protected; any housing should be affordable and of a high environmental standard; there should be a pedestrian and cycle bridge to Whitlingham Country Park from Thorpe Road. It is currently unclear when and how the plans will be taken forward.
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"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. On Thursday 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.