Norwich City Council’s Biodiversity Strategy, which is its response to the Biodiversity Emergency, will be discussed by councillors today when a draft document is presented to the council’s Climate and Environment Emergency Executive Panel [1].
Green councillor Sandra Bogelein, who was the proposer of the motion to declare a biodiversity emergency, which the council passed in September 2019, said:
“I welcome the council’s good intentions to improve biodiversity and wildlife in the city. In particular, I am pleased to see a promise to require developers to make sure there is provision for wildlife and green space in any new building, something that Green councillors have spent years calling for.
“However, the council is not acting with anywhere near the urgency that the disastrous loss in species and green space demands. The council has had years to prepare for this emergency and all we have now is a plan to make a plan.
“We need clear actions and we need to know when and how they will be delivered. These actions must be accompanied by dedicated funding for biodiversity measures such as phasing out toxic herbicides, establishing green corridors so wildlife can thrive in the city, and protecting the unique habitat of the River Wensum.”
Nelson ward councillor Denise Carlo, who is a member of the Climate and Environment Emergency Executive Panel and the proposer of the motion that led to the council declaring a climate emergency has concerns regarding the new strategy. She said:
“It’s disappointing to have waited more than decade for a new biodiversity action plan, only to see a dry three-page strategy that lacks a vision of what a more biodiverse Norwich could look like in ten years’ time and an action plan for achieving it.
“A great deal of informal green space in Norwich has been lost to development and not replaced. Also, the Council has failed to create ecological networks for connecting up green spaces to enable nature to move around and instead the Council has put a great deal of emphasis on cycle routes and the Riverside Walk to provide green links.
“In addition, a formidable barrier to connecting biodiversity in the city with the surrounding countryside is the major road network which encircles Norwich, apart from the gaps provided by river valleys and railway lines. A further four major road schemes planned around Norwich will destroy wildlife such as barn owls, water voles and bats and their habitats. We need to find ways of increasing green spaces, for example through the creation of green roofs and walls, allowing vegetation to flourish, such as through No Mow May, more tree planting, the creation of new green space in major developments, such as Anglia Square and not build any more major roads.”
In 2019, Green councillors asked the council to take twelve specific actions to improve Norwich’s biodiversity. They still hope that these will all be implemented [2].
Notes:
1: Document.ashx (norwich.gov.uk) The draft biodiversity strategy
2: CMIS > Meetings calendar (norwich.gov.uk) Councillor Bogelein’s motion to protect and enhance biodiversity was passed in September 2019.
