The Norwich Green

Good News On Incinerator Plans

Norfolk County Council is set to approve a bid for the treatment of our county's residual waste that does not involve burning. The relevant County Council Committee has recommended to the Cabinet that WRG, the company that has been proposing to build an incinerator at Costessey and more recently Trowse, should not be the preferred bidder. Furthermore, the likely new preferred bidder, SRM, has confirmed that it will not include any burning as part of its mechanical biological treatment process.

Wensum Green Councillor Tom Llewellyn said: "I know from speaking to residents on the doorstep that there has been a high level of concern about the prospect of an incinerator being built locally. At the recent public meeting in Costessey, experts outlined strong evidence of links between incinerators and high concentrations of health problems amongst people living nearby. I am pleased that there is no burning involved in the likely new preferred bid. However, I am concerned that WRG is likely still to be the reserve bidder."

"Last month's City Council meeting adopted a Green Party motion calling on the County Council to rule out incineration for this and future contracts. Last year we proposed a similar motion and that one was not supported by any other party – but we are pleased that our motion got through this time. The successful motion also called for the development of a resource recovery park in Norwich. These centres exist in other parts of the world and achieve reuse and recycling levels of up to 90%. The Green Councillors are also pushing for improved local recycling facilities to be a high priority in the City Council's budget for the next financial year, which is to be considered this month. We will report on this in our next newsletter."

Have You Registered To Vote For 3rd May Elections?

Mobile Phone Masts Update

Councillor Rupert Read writes:

I have been helping concerned Wensum residents campaign against various recent mast applications:

• The proposed mast for Ivy Road (on the old Bowthorpe School site) was rejected by NELM as landowners.
• The application for a mast outside Earlham Road Police Station was rejected by the City Council.
• The Council has been consulting nearby residents on an application for a 15m T-mobile mast by Peruzzi Metals on Waterworks Road. No decision has been made yet.
• Councillors were consulted on a possible application for a mast near the Dereham Road/ring road roundabout but no application has been submitted to date.

The residents who have contacted me have been concerned about the health and visual impacts of masts. Norwich already has adequate network coverage and no new masts should be installed until there has been further research into the potential links between masts and illnesses among people living nearby. We will inform you of any updates in future newsletters.

Horse Chestnut Trees

Residents of Maple Drive and Sycamore Crescent have expressed concern about the disease that has damaged the leaves on horse chestnut trees in the area. Councillor Adrian Holmes raised this issue with council tree officers and has been informed that this disease, known as 'horse chestnut leaf minor', is seasonal. It is very unlikely to have killed the trees. They should be back to normal next year. Councillor Holmes has requested that officers inspect the trees anyway to check they are healthy and safe.

Application for Old Tyre Warehouse Site

Norwich Takes A Lead On Climate Change

The City Council has adopted a Green Party motion calling for the Council to take a lead in working for year-on-year reductions in carbon emissions from its buildings and services. Green Councillor Andrew Boswell, who is also Co-ordinator of the Norwich and Norfolk Campaign Against Climate Change, said: "The Council still has to ensure that this carbon reduction policy is pursued in every area of its work, but acceptance of a need for year-on-year reductions is a crucial breakthrough. We hope that the County Council, other organisations and businesses in the city follow suit – and that Norwich’s example will be copied across the country."

Save The Orbital Bus!

The County Council Scrutiny Committee has 'called in' for examination the decision by the ruling Conservatives at County Hall to axe the orbital bus service just half way through its three year trial period. At the recent Norwich Area Committee meeting Green Councillors strongly opposed plans to cut the service, which is due to stop in early March. Green County Councillor Andrew Boswell echoed calls from residents for this important service to be given more time to succeed and for a comprehensive publicity strategy to be developed.

New Green Gym Comes to Wensum!

The BTCV (British Trust of Conservation Volunteers) is running a Green Gym to give local residents the opportunity to take part in practical conservation activities. These activities include tree planting and woodland management. Councillor Tom Llewellyn said: "I have already been to one event and plan to go to more in the future. This is a great opportunity for people to get involved in much-needed conservation work in the local area and to have fun and get some exercise at the same time."

Earlham Green Lane Cycling Proposals

Wensum Councillors have welcomed plans to improve provision for cyclists on Earlham Green Lane, near Fiveways. Transport officers are proposing to turn the puffin crossing outside the Co-op into a toucan crossing. It would still be a push-button crossing but cyclists would be able to cross as well as pedestrians. The strip of pavement leading from Cadge Road to the crossing would also be widened and turned into a shared use footway / cycle way. This would connect Cadge Road with the cycle lane that runs along the corner of Earlham Green Lane and Earlham Road.

Councillor Rupert Read said: "Cyclists need to be especially careful when using a path shared with pedestrians – but the principle of promoting cycling through improved facilities is welcome."

Comment: Britain's Nuclear Weapons

Green Party City Councillor Adrian Ramsay outlines the arguments against replacing Trident.

On around 12th March, Members of Parliament will be asked to vote on the Government's plans to spend an estimated £76billion on renewing Britain's nuclear weapons system, Trident. Green Party members are working with campaign groups to outline the arguments against these plans.

The astronomical expense cannot be justified. £76billion could make a huge difference in helping to tackle dangerous climate change or in improving our public services.

Furthermore, Trident is often referred to as an independent deterrent – but it is not at all independent of the US. The factory in Aldermaston (Berkshire) that makes the bombs uses US equipment to do so, while the submarine maintenance base in Plymouth is largely the property of Halliburton (US Vice President Dick Cheney's old firm). If one agrees with the Government that international terrorism and the suicide bomber are the main threat, then the argument that nuclear weapons act as a deterrent against attack cannot stand up either.

Renewing Trident would also undermine the crucial United Nations Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty, which came into force in 1970 and which the UK has signed. The Treaty's goal is a world free from nuclear weapons: free from the risk of social and environmental destruction that the use of nuclear weapons would heighten. Renewing Trident would undermine all attempts to prevent Iran and other states from acquiring nuclear weapons. For this reason, renewing Britain's weapons of mass destruction would make the world a more dangerous place.