Ambitious plans for Cheshire East Council to be carbon neutral by 2025 are unachievable and have now been pushed back to 2027, writes Belinda Ryan.
The council made the 2025 commitment in May 2019 and the following year outlined how this would be achieved.
A report to next week’s meeting of the environment and communities committee says a great deal has been accomplished since then but financial pressures dictate the council won’t meet its target next year.
The report states: “In 2023/24 a range of carbon reduction projects have been developed and implemented, such as 10 additional air source heat pumps, the council’s first solar farm at Leighton Grange and a further 15 hectares of tree planting.
“Once fully completed in the spring 2024 these measures are forecast to move the council up to 68% of its carbon neutral target.
“This is an increase from 41%, as reported at the last annual update in February 2023.”
It says the council has projects in progress to achieve the 2025 target, but this is now unachievable because of external factors.
These include difficulty in securing off-takers for electricity produced though the solar farm and in acquiring the necessary volume of affordable small electric fleet vehicles within the required time-scales.
At full council last month it was also decided to defer capital expenditure on the second larger solar farm and transition to an electric vehicle fleet because of Cheshire East’s ‘very challenging financial position’.
Just over two years ago, the council also adopted the UK100 pledge, committing to the borough being carbon neutral by 2045.
Following that an initial action plan was developed to cover the years from 2024-29.
At next week’s meeting, councillors will be asked to give the go-ahead for this to go out for consultation ‘to ensure the actions and priorities within the draft plan are reflective of the priorities of the residents of Cheshire East’.
The environment and communities committee meeting takes place at 10am on Monday March 11 at Macclesfield Town Hall.
Labour run #CheshireEast should scrap their crazy #NetZeroBy2027 pledge.
There is no need for such a self imposed target.
Very few Councils in the UK have set themselves such a ridiculous target.
They should, instead, listen to the people they purport to represent for a change and introduce a pledge to have #ZeroPotholes by 2025.
The ever growing number of dangerous potholes need to be fixed urgently before someone is killed.
@CheshireEast has recently received £180 MILLION for transport expenditure so they can’t cry poverty as a false excuse for not repairing the potholes.
https://thenantwichnews.co.uk/2024/03/05/cec-forced-to-push-back-carbon-neutral-2025-target/