The news from Norwich Green Party
- council slammed for failing council tenants
Pressure grows on Cabinet Member as Labour-run council slammed for failing council tenants by housing watchdog
Last year, Green Party councillors called for an urgent review into Norwich City Council’s management of council homes across the city, after a damning report from the national Housing Ombudsman found the council to be among the worst performing landlords in the country for 2022-23. (1)
With the publication of the report for 2023-24 showing that the council’s performance has got even worse, Green councillors are now raising serious questions about the council’s ability to maintain its properties and the competence of the Cabinet Member for Housing, Beth Jones.
In a report published this month, the Housing Ombudsman showed that findings of inefficient or dishonest administration or mismanagement*, have risen five fold from 5 to 26, compensation payouts have risen from £2,100 to £11,125, and improvement orders from the Ombudsman against the Labour-run council snowballing from 8 to 55. (2)
This comes after Norwich City Council’s own report into its performance in handling housing complaints showed that just one in five residents said they were satisfied with the Labour-run council’s performance. (3)
The most recent investigation into Norwich City Council by the Housing Ombudsman showed the council had, for two years, repeatedly ignored concerns about vulnerable children in a mouldy property, failing to even acknowledge the residents’ concerns. (4)
Councillor Alex Catt Deputy Leader of the Green Group and Shadow Cabinet Member for Housing, Alex Catt said: “The council are putting lives at risk. Having raised these concerns last year, and on many occasions since then, it is incredibly disappointing that not only has the Labour-run council’s ability to resolve issues for its tenants has got worse, but its failings have grown exponentially. It is very clear that the Labour-run council has lost its grip on the state of its 17,000 council properties.
“Green councillors across the city regularly take on cases from mistreated council tenants and fight to get them the repairs they need, which can range from basic issues to damp and mould covering entire properties, properties infested with rats, homes lacking a properly functioning front door or residents with severe medical issues feeling trapped in inappropriate properties while the council refuse to rehome them.
“The issues faced by many tenants, and their experience in requesting help from Norwich City Council very often reduces people to tears and I have been in contact with multiple residents who have told me that the council’s negligence has pushed them to having suicidal thoughts.”
“In the short term, Green councillors are seeking an urgent meeting with the cabinet member about the treatment of tenants and we are calling for this matter to be referred to the cross-party scrutiny committee at the council. However, it is clear that the Labour-run council have lost control of this issue. With over 14,000 properties, it is high-time that the council establishes a housing scrutiny committee with tenant representatives so that a light can be shone on these issues all-year round and to ensure that tenants’ voices are at the heart of decision making.”
References:- Norwich City Council placed on list of worst landlords in the country by Housing Watchdog. – Norwich
- https://www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk/app/uploads/2024/10/Landlord-Report-Norwich-City-Council.pdf
- Norwich city council Housing complaints performance and service improvement report 2023-24 – Search
- Norwich City Council (202316506) – Housing Ombudsman
- homelessness Petition
Over 550 Norwich residents sign petition “Don’t let homeless people freeze on our streets this winter”
At the Full Council meeting on 24th Tuesday, Norwich residents will present a petition signed by 568 people asking the Council to take urgent action to ensure people experiencing homelessness aren’t left out in freezing temperatures and extreme weather conditions this winter.
This is in reaction to a letter published in the Guardian last year by a Norwich charity worker who witnessed how refugees experiencing homelessness were refused shelter by Norwich City Council during freezing temperatures. (1)
One chilling quote read, “One young man described his fear at 4am, under the bridge where he was sleeping, when it started snowing; how he had chest pains and felt his body lock up.”
The petition is calling for the Council to:
- Confirm that overnight Winter Shelters will be open every day of the week over the Winter period;
- Urgently review the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol so that it takes into account all forms of extreme weather, is based on the ‘feels like’ temperature and brings rough sleepers in BEFORE we reach freezing temperatures;
- Keep all homeless people safe from freezing temperatures and extreme weather over this Winter period, including refugees who are disproportionately impacted by failures in homelessness services.
Serene Shibli, a local campaigner and Green Party member who will present the petition said, “it’s unacceptable that in Norwich a ‘city of sanctuary’ we have city council policies that would turn away someone in need and risk leaving people out in dangerously low temperatures. It’s reckless and irresponsible, and we need to be demanding more as no one should be left out in the cold.”
Green Party Councillors Hannah Hoechner and Alex Catt will be proposing a motion at the same council meeting in support of the petition, in response to rumours that Norwich City Council is not planning to run a Winter Night Shelter for people experiencing homelessness this year, and given that the Council’s severe weather protocol is not currently in line with best practice.
Cllr Hannah Hoechner said:
“The Council’s current policy would leave people out in potentially freezing temperatures for up to three days and it does not take into account the ‘feels-like’ temperature or other extreme weather conditions like rain, snow or gales. Experiences on the ground show us that people in need have been refused access in the past. We must make sure this never happens again.”
“We hope that political groups across the Chamber will unite to support this motion so that nobody risks dying of cold on Norwich’s streets this winter.”
According to the ‘Dying Homeless Project’, 1,313 people experiencing homelessness died on the streets of the United Kingdom in 2022 when statistics were last compiled. (3)
- Norwich Green Party sends solidarity to the Muslim community and people of colour in the face of fascism
Norwich Green Party is appalled by the far-right organised political violence that we are seeing on streets across the country.
We must be clear that what we are seeing is racism and Islamophobia. It is aimed at destroying communities, targeting Muslims and asylum seekers and it is high-time that our political leaders called it out for what it is: fascism.
What we are seeing hasn’t come about inside a vacuum. It has been actively promoted by politicians who have given in to the rhetoric of the far-right: the false and dangerous narrative that immigration and refugees are a threat to our country. This must be a wake-up call for them.
While we have thankfully not seen these riots on the streets of Norwich, we know that Islamophobia and racism has been on the rise with hate-crimes increasing, racist material being distributed and a spread of racist attitudes online.
We send solidarity and support to the Muslim community and all people of colour in Norwich who will be watching the events unfolding and fearing for their own safety.
Norwich has a proud history of showing the far-right the door, and once again as a city we will unite against Islamophobia and political violence.
- Scrap the two-child benefit cap
More than a third of children in Norwich South live in poverty. Scrapping the cruel and unjust two-child benefit cap would help lift 300,000 children across the country out of poverty.
Yet both of Norwich’s Labour MPs have voted to keep this policy. While Green MPs voted to scrap the two-child benefit cap and support the most vulnerable, Norwich South MP Clive Lewis and Norwich North MP Alice MacDonald voted to keep the cap.
Clive Lewis and Alice MacDonald didn’t have to do this. Seven Labour MPs supported scrapping the two-child benefit cap, voting with their consciences. Yet Norwich’s Labour MPs chose to toe the party line rather than doing the right thing.
Norwich deserves better. We cannot afford to continue letting children live in poverty when the Government has the means to end it.
Tell Norwich’s Labour MPs Alice MacDonald and Clive Lewis – we will not stand for children going hungry. Alice MacDonald has said “I will always listen to constituents and make the case, if and when necessary, if I think my party hasn’t got something right.”.Urge to them to change their mind and vote against the two-child benefit cap. Sign our petition here.
- Protecting the right to strike
Protecting the right to strike
Green councillors brought a motion to the full Council meeting on 16th July asking that Norwich City Council protects the right of its employees to take industrial action. The motion was passed unanimously.
The motion, proposed by Cllr Hoechner and seconded by Cllr Stonard from the Labour group, asks the Chief Executive of the Council to agree to exercise its discretion to not issue work notices under the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023. It also asks the Leader of the Council to encourage Norfolk County Council to take similar steps to protect its employees’ right to strike.
The motion was suggested to the Council’s political groups by the Norwich & District Trades Union Council.
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 brought in under the past conservative government has severely restricted the right to strike. Under this legislation, employees in certain key sectors can be required to work, even if they have democratically voted to strike, and lawfully be sacked if they refuse to comply.
Amnesty International says that the Act “gives ministers sweeping powers to impose minimum service levels after whatever consultations they see fit,” thereby ignoring “key safeguards that protect workers’ rights under international law.”[1]
Cllr Hoechner says: “The right to strike is a fundamental freedom protected by international law. It is vital for the balance of power in the workplace and essential for keeping pay inequalities from growing further. The past conservative government has chipped away at this fundamental freedom. Let’s do what we can locally to protect the right to strike of everyone working for our Council.”
The incoming Labour government has pledged to repeal the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act within its first 100 days in office.[2]
The Trades Union Congress has been campaigning against the Act, calling it “malicious, unnecessary and unworkable”.[3]
- Council takes steps to buy Anglia Square
16 July 2024
Norwich City Council will this evening take a step forward towards purchasing the Anglia Square site and prioritising local businesses and affordable housing, as a motion written by Green councillors will receive cross-party backing.
Jamie Osborn, Green councillor for Mancroft Ward which covers the Anglia Square area, wrote a proposal for the city council to purchase Anglia Square using Government funding, and to work with local architects and developers to produce for the future of the site.
The proposals have received the backing of the Labour group, with Council Leader Cllr Stonard agreeing to propose a motion at the city council meeting this evening.
Jamie Osborn said: “For decades, Anglia Square has faced development limbo. This motion, which was written by Green councillors and is backed by the Labour leadership, sets out a way forward for this key site.
“Purchasing Anglia Square would be a huge step forward for getting affordable housing in the north city centre, and would mean that businesses can be sure of their future.
“Green councillors will continue to work collaboratively to put the needs of the local community and of our city first and foremost in the future of Anglia Square.”
- Peer joins Green councillors for election launch
Peer joins Green councillors for election launch
A manifesto for the 2024 local elections highlighting good quality housing for all, the need for the city council to get to grips with the basics, and creating a resilient city fit for the future is to be launched by Norwich Green Party with special guest and Green Party peer, Baroness Natalie Bennett on Friday.
Lucy Galvin, Green Party leader on Norwich city council, said:
“We want to see Norwich city council listening to residents and raising its game, to do the basics very well. More green councillors elected will help achieve this. We continue to call on the council to tackle out of control fly tipping, the huge housing repairs backlog, and build in action on the climate and nature to everything it does so that our city has a healthy future.”
“Our manifesto is all about leading the way to a resilient city – with homes for all, safe clean streets, and healthy nature. In Norwich, it’s a straight fight between Labour and the Greens; a vote for a Green councillor is a vote for someone who will listen and take action”.
- Norwich City Council slammed by Housing Ombudsman
Norwich City Council slammed by Housing Ombudsman
Greens propose new measures to counter severe mismanagement
Green councillors are proposing improvements to how residents contact the council in a wide-ranging motion to Norwich City Council’s full council meeting on 30th January 2024. The proposals also address serious issues in the council’s service to its social housing tenants.
In October 2023, the Housing Ombudsman named Norwich City Council as one of the worst social landlords in the country, with the council being found to be at fault in 100% of findings made in 2022-23.
And, in December 2023, the Housing Ombudsman were forced to make yet another ruling of severe maladministration against Norwich City Council, when a resident was hospitalised after repeated complaints about damp and mould which went without action from the council for nearly three years.
This damning report found that the council was failing in its duty to carry out basic damp and mould inspections, alongside failing to communicate with residents, not investigating complaints, and other major problems. The ombudsman ordered the council to pay out £1800 in compensation, and senior management at the council to apologise to the tenant. Reviews of council policies have also been ordered in response to this.
To ensure action is taken, Green councillors are proposing a list of measures to improve contact with the council and to try and prevent this record of maladministration. These measures include reopening the customer contact centre so that people can walk into City Hall and access services, simplifying letters from the council, allowing tenants to schedule their own repairs and ensuring that the council cannot close repairs cases when work has not been completed, or is not up to standard.
Cllr Alex Catt, Deputy Leader of the Green group at City Hall said: “Council tenants in my ward feel that they have been lied to by the council while fighting for basic housing repairs needed for their own health and safety. We need urgent action to improve the council’s communication with tenants so that people are not left in the dark when trying to get damp, mould or leaking roofs repaired. I hope that councillors of all parties will heed the warnings of the Housing Ombudsman and back the measures continued in this motion. “
Cllr Ash Haynes, Green Party councillor for Thorpe Hamlet said: “We absolutely cannot allow this situation to continue. We’ve highlighted simple, cost-effective measures the council can take to improve how it communicates with residents, saving time and money as well as bringing the service we provide back up to an acceptable level. If we delay fixing this, our tenants and residents will suffer.”
Notes:
- Housing Ombudsman list of landlords with high maladministration rates 22-23: Landlords with high maladministration rates 22-23 – Housing Ombudsman (housing-ombudsman.org.uk)
- Housing Ombudsman landlord report 22-23: Norwich City Council: Landlord-Report-Norwich-City-Council.pdf (housing-ombudsman.org.uk)
- Housing Ombudsman complaint ruling 202234907 for the case described above: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RJFox3_kbtXvfUlGBWvHEdjN_F7axt_L/view?usp=sharing
- Contacting the council and preventing maladministration motion to Norwich City Council, 30th January 2024: Document.ashx (norwich.gov.uk)
- How many phone calls to council does it take to change a lightbulb?
How many phone calls to the council does it take to change a lightbulb?
Council tenants have said that they are being left in the dark when it comes to reporting repairs in council housing, with broken lights and windows taking months to fix.
Green Councillors in Mancroft are concerned over the amount of time it is taking for repairs to be completed in council estates, with some issues, such as streetlights not working for over 9 months, leading to residents feeling unsafe in the area, and concerns over anti-social behaviour.
Multiple residents and Green Councillors in the ward have been consistently contacting the council to arrange repairs to streetlights in the area around Haslips Close & Greyhound Opening since before May 2023, yet the council has so far failed to carry out the repairs.
While the Haslips Close area is part of the City Council’s flagship new social housing development, which the council is keen to note has won major national awards, the council is failing on the basics. Residents have said that repairs aren’t being carried out on-time, including broken windows and flooding issues taking over a year to repair.
Sally Reynolds, a resident of Greyhound Opening since 2019, said: “The worst thing is that the council doesn’t even acknowledge that I have been reporting the broken lights for months. It feels like local people are being left in the dark by the council, and unsafe in our neighbourhoods. It shouldn’t take months to repair some lights. The council should get on with it.”
Another resident, Marc Wernicke, said: “Seeing these light posts out of order for at least a year and a half now has been very frustrating. It adds to the perception of this newly built residential area already being in a state of decay and neglect. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the lack of lighting also makes the path feel unsafe particularly during the dark season.”
Councillor Amanda Fox said: “One call to the council should be enough for repairs to be carried out in a timely fashion, and residents should be informed of any reasons for delays to the completion of these repairs. Tenants tell me that they are going in circles when reporting issues and are being promised repairs that never come to fruition. This case is just one example of the wider problems residents are facing when it comes to resolving issues in their homes and neighbourhoods. How many calls should it take to change a lightbulb?”
- Petition launched to help homeless
Petition launched to help homeless people survive freezing winter conditions in city
Green councillors have discovered the council’s support for homeless people in bad weather is inadequate, and are demanding shelter is provided more often.
Investigations have revealed that the Norwich City Council procedure for offering emergency accommodation in extreme weather circumstances is out of date and puts lives at risk. The Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) that the council currently uses is usually triggered if three consecutive nights of zero degrees or below are anticipated.
However, guidance for local authorities released in October 2023 by Homeless Link recommends a more common-sense, compassionate approach to the protocol, whereby shelter should be provided before freezing temperatures are reached, and that all types of extreme weather should be considered, including storms, gales and snow, which could be the difference between life and death.
Green councillors are asking Norwich City Council to update its policy by:
· Opening emergency shelters before temperatures reach freezing, in line with best practice recommendations, and not waiting for three days of below freezing temperatures
· Taking into account rain, wind, and snow when deciding when to open shelters, to keep bad weather from making streets deadly for those sleeping on them
· Investing in council-owned temporary accommodation so that we can bring more people in from the streets permanently
Residents are being urged to urgently sign a petition to Norwich City Council to ensure that all homeless people are given warm shelter to protect them from freezing on our streets this winter. This can be found here:
Councillor Amanda Fox, who works as a homeless person’s support worker, said: “It’s inhumane that it takes three nights of freezing temperatures to get homeless people into shelter. It’s unacceptable to leave a person outside in any extreme weather, for even one night. With the increased cost of living, any of us could find ourselves in this position, and it’s time for the council to update their policy and bring people safely indoors more often.”
Councillor Gary Champion, shadow cabinet member for communities and social inclusion, said: “Like many other residents of our fine city. I am concerned that we aren’t doing all that we can to prevent deaths on our streets in the depths of winter. I would also like to encourage people who see vulnerable individuals sleeping rough to contact Streetlink, who can help connect these individuals to local services. Alternatively, Pathways, the Norwich group of agencies that engage with rough sleepers, can also be contacted on 01603 980 799.”
Our petition comes after a letter in the Guardian newspaper, printed on 11th December, highlighting concerns about the treatment of homelessness in the city. The letter cited two personal accounts of individuals left at risk of dying on our streets in recent months, and how they were not treated in line with best practice by the authorities. This shows the urgent need for change in council policies.
Green councillors have previously raised concerns about inadequate supply of temporary accommodation in the city, and about how much it costs to provide low-quality accommodation.
- Norwich declares a housing crisis
Norwich declares a housing crisisRights of renters strengthened by motion to Norwich City Council.
Councillors at Norwich City Council have voted through a raft of measures to try and ease the housing crisis for private renters in a motion led by the Green Party, including:
- A commitment to licence all landlords in the city, asking them to agree to a code of conduct and minimum standards for all properties
- Introducing a clear system for tenants to report rogue landlords who have failed to meet these minimum standards
- Investing in an enforcement team responsible for inspecting and investigating landlords where serious hazards are reported
- A commitment to consult on increasing council tax for second homes in the city
- Arranging meetings with housing organisations like Shelter and Acorn to discuss how the council can work better to improve renting in the city
- Calling on the government and UK Labour Party to back national rent controls, an end of unfair evictions and invest significantly in local councils and the police to enforce against bad landlords
At the time of the motion being proposed, Home.co.uk listed average rents in Norwich at £1486.
Nationally, private renters pay a larger proportion of their income on housing than any other tenure. Meanwhile, a significantly higher proportion of privately rented homes are estimated to fail the decent homes standard which are minimum standards for the quality of a home.
Furthermore, private rented properties are the most likely to be deemed unsafe with category 1 hazards under the Housing Health and Safety rating system, meaning hazards where there is a risk of the most serious harm, such as death, permanent paralysis, permanent loss of consciousness, loss of a limb or serious fractures.
Alex Catt, Deputy Leader of the Green Group at City Hall and Shadow Cabinet member for housing and safer communities said: “The Green led motion at City Hall stands up for renters, committing our Labour-led council to finally use its available powers to protect renters in Norwich from unsafe properties and mistreatment by their landlords. We hope that the council now works quickly to implement these measures and urgently sets up meeting with us and the relevant organisations to discuss how the council can improve renting in the city.”
Ash Haynes, Shadow Cabinet member for Housing and Safer Communities said, “This motion is great news for the renters of Norwich who deserve to have safe, secure and affordable places to live. Good landlords who are genuinely fair with their tenants will not mind signing up to a licence ensuring they are meeting these standards. While it is important that we call on the government to end no fault evictions and to put the proper funding into our councils and our court system to enable renters to enforce their rights, the measures in this motion are achievable locally and can be delivered by our council”
Acorn Norwich, a renters union in the city said, “ACORN Norwich welcomes the motion’s passing and the proposed measures. However, we urge the council to act fast and implement the policy they say they support. Whilst they deliberate, renters are left paying eye-watering prices for unsuitable housing with no means to report rogue landlords. The council needs to act decisively and invest in addressing the housing crisis that is swallowing up the city.”
- Greens ask council to look again at where it banks
Greens ask council to look again at where it banks – for the climate’s sake
Green councillors are calling for money to be shifted away from fossil fuel-funding banks in a motion to Norwich city council.
The motion to the full council meeting on 28th November asks that Norwich City Council takes a stance on the role that the banking sector plays in financing the climate crisis.
The motion, proposed by Cllr Hannah Hoechner and seconded by Cllr Gary Champion, asks that the Leader of the Council lobbies the government to review current procurement legislation so that Councils can, in future, choose their bank based on its climate record. The motion also asks the Council to signpost resources to Norwich residents that can help them find out about their bank’s record on climate and about switching to a climate-friendly alternative.
At present, Norwich City Council relies on Barclays for its banking operations, and so do all other Norfolk Councils. Barclays is Europe’s largest funder of fossil fuels. Over 100 people have signed a recently launched petition by Norwich Friends of the Earth asking that Councils stop banking with Barclays when their contracts are up for renewal next year.
Current procurement legislation does not allow local councils to take into account the makeup and associated carbon footprint of a bank’s investments when choosing their banking partner. This means councils are unable to take carbon reduction into account in any meaningful way when procuring banking services.
Cllr Hoechner said: “Norwich City Council declared a ‘Climate Emergency’ and committed to reaching NetZero by 2030, and yet, we continue to hand over citizens’ money to Europe’s dirtiest bank. Barclays is Europe’s biggest funder of fossil fuels and the only major British bank not to have taken any steps to restrict investments in new oil and gas. Individuals can send Barclays a message and switch to a more ethical bank. Councils should also have the right to do so.”
Cllr Champion said:“Norwich City Council should be showing leadership on the issue of climate change and should not be investing money with banks that harm the environment. We need much better accountability for how our money is being used to make sure it is being invested for good and can help ensure we have a planet that is habitable today and into the future.”
Since the Paris Agreement was signed, the world’s 60 biggest banks have poured over $US 5.5 trillion into fossil fuel industries. Barclays has been Europe’s largest funder of fossil fuels for seven years running. From 2016-2022, it has given over £150bn to companies active across the fossil fuel life cycle. That is over ten times more than its competitors NatWest (just over £13bn) and Lloyds (just under £12bn), the other two banks currently providing banking services to local governments in the UK. Barclays is also the only major British bank not to have taken any steps to restrict investments in new oil and gas. In the period from 2016-2022, it has given over
£44bn to companies expanding fossil fuel exploitation, locking in future emissions. Unlike most other UK high street banks, Barclays continues to fund even the most polluting of fossil fuels, including offshore oil and arctic oil and gas.A range of campaign resources are available to people interested in finding out more about their bank’s climate record, and about switching to a more ethical bank, such as:
- Switch It Green,
- Make My Money Matter,
- Bank.Green.
- WE NEED MORE COUNCIL HOMES FOR THOSE ON THE STREETS
We need more COUNCIL homes for those on the streets
One family forced to move into a single room in Ipswich by Norwich council
As we see more and more vulnerable people sleeping on the streets, your Green councillors have been calling for more action from our Labour-run city council.
Greens believe everyone is entitled to a safe, secure place to stay. Work by Green councillors revealed that the council has spent
£2.3 million over the last 5 years on sub-standard private accommodation, due to the lack of suitable council-owned accommodation for those at risk of homelessness.
Councillor Alex Catt said “People facing homelessness deserve security and a decent place to live that will not require them to move away from work and family. We need more council-owned temporary accommodation to improve standards for those in need and also deliver these services in a cost-effective ways“
- SEWAGE DUMP FILLS RIVER WENSUM
Sewage dumping is filling the River Wensum
Greens are leading the fight against water companies dumping raw sewage
Recently Cllr Gary Champion and Cllr Gillian Francis brought a motion to the council that focused on how the River Wensum, which meanders its way through our fine city, needs a higher level of protection.
However,
n 2022, raw human sewage was dumped into the river for a total of 292 hours. Norwich is at the heart of an area of ecological importance, the majority of which is built up of designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and therefore the water quality of our river has a direct impact on the sustainability of this environment and downstream to the Norfolk coast.
We all enjoy our rivers and seas, especially during the Summertime. In NR3 we are lucky to have Andersons Meadow, a space where people
from across the area and flock to, looking to be near the running water and surrounded by the green space. Spaces like this are under threat.
- Green councillors call for an immediate ceasefire and an end to illegal occupation in Palestine.
The Green Party Groups on Norwich City Council and Norfolk County Council call for an immediate ceasefire to end the violence, and an end to the illegal occupation in Palestine.
The awful attacks committed by Hamas on 7 October were acts of brutal violence, and the hostages must be released unconditionally; at the same time, military actions that break international law should not be justified.
The current bloodshed, which must be seen within a context of decades of violence and injustice, must come to an end.
Over 700 civilians are being killed every day, including one child every ten minutes. The dire humanitarian situation is clearly intolerable, and an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian relief efforts are essential to protect the lives of innocent people.
Many of our residents have been reaching out to us as councillors to ask us to condemn the unacceptable violence sadly unfolding in the region. We are deeply concerned that neither the UK government nor the national and local leadership of the Labour Party have joined international calls for a ceasefire.
The Gaza ceasefire call has the backing of the United Nations, humanitarian aid agencies, three quarters of the British public, and an overwhelming number of countries, including Ireland and France. In this country, hundreds of thousands have been out on the streets peacefully calling for an end to the violence.
The long absence of meaningful political dialogue and of a peace process to end the illegal occupation has created a vacuum, which has been filled by those who offer violence as a solution. We call on all parties to push for an internationally arbitrated once-and-for-all settlement that fully ends the occupation of Palestinian territories, in accordance with the requirements of international law, that culminates in a two-state solution.
We also express our solidarity with everyone in Norwich affected by the ongoing violence, and condemn all forms of racism, including anti-Palestinian racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia. We hope that the other political groups at Norwich City Council will do the same and back our calls for a ceasefire.
Since the start of this conflict, Green Party councillors in Norwich have been raising this issue as a matter of urgency at Norwich City Council, calling on the Labour leadership of the council to publicly support a ceasefire in Palestine. To this date, we have submitted three questions to the leadership and proposed a motion in support of a ceasefire. All but one question (specifically regarding the choice to light up City Hall with the flag of Israel) were rejected, meaning they cannot be heard or debated.
- Norwich City Council placed on list of worst landlords in the country by Housing Watchdog.
Norwich City Council placed on list of worst landlords in the country by Housing Watchdog.
Urgent overhaul demanded by Greens.
The Green Party is calling for an urgent review into Norwich City Council’s management of council homes across the city after a damning report from the Housing Ombudsman found the council to be among the worst performing landlords in the country.
In a report published last month, the Housing Ombudsman urged the council to make improvements and for the Cabinet Member responsible for this area to carry out a review, after finding a 100% maladministration rate in the findings made in 2022-23, the highest of any council in the country, compared to a national average of 55%.
In every single finding, the council was forced to pay out for their failure to handle complaints from tenants across the city.
The Social Housing Regulations Act, which will come into effect early next year, introduces higher standards for landlords like Norwich City Council, and will give the watchdog powers to dish out unlimited fines to those landlords found breaching these rules. This will put Norwich City Council at significant financial risk if it continues on this path.
Alex Catt, Deputy Leader of the Green Group at City Hall said, “This report mirrors the reality that tenants face on the ground here in Norwich. Countless council tenants come to us for help feeling as though the council is completely ignoring them whether it is damp and mould, a lack of basic amenities, pests or general household repairs.”
“The Council is sitting on its hands while its housing stock is crumbling around them, with residents facing the brunt. We echo the concerns raised by the Housing Ombudsman and are demanding urgent action to resolve these issues so that tenants can feel warm, secure and safe in their homes.”
Ash Haynes, Shadow Cabinet Member for Housing and Community Safety for the Green Party said, “Green councillors across the city regularly take on cases from mistreated council tenants and fight to get them the repairs they need. Meanwhile we have been calling for an overhaul to the housing repairs reporting system to prevent tenants falling through the cracks. We urge the Labour administration to look at this again.”
A resident on Gertrude Road who has had multiple serious issues during her tenancy with Norwich City Council said, “It shouldn’t be this difficult to be a council tenant. Since moving in, the issues have been endless and have put a huge strain on my physical and mental health.”
“Whether it is a shower that doesn’t work properly, damp and mould spreading in my property, the lack of extractor fans where they are needed, anti-social behaviour in the neighbourhood or other basic repairs, I am ignored by this council. At one point they even uncapped a live gas pipe in my garden. My emails do not get replies, my complaints are brushed off, contractors either don’t show up or give you no notice and through all of this, the most basic issues take months to get sorted, usually only by contacting a councillor.”
“Over the last couple of months, being ignored by the council has meant our drain has been blocked to the point that raw sewage seeped outside and through my walls, holes in my walls and pipes have meant that rats have gotten in yet again, leaving urine and faeces around my home while destroying food I can’t afford to replace. I am at breaking point and they don’t seem to care”.
- No dentists accepting new NHS patients as Norwich declared a dentist desert by Green Party
No dentists accepting new NHS patients as Norwich declared a dentist desert by Green Party
Norwich has become an NHS dental desert as Green Party research shows that there are no longer any dentist practices accepting new NHS patients in all of Greater Norwich.
According to the NHS Find a Dentist website, the closest dentist accepting new NHS patients over the age of eighteen is 33 miles away in Stowmarket, while the closest dentist practice accepting patients under the age of eighteen is 17 miles away in Beccles.
The entry for six dentist practices in Norwich is “This dentist surgery has not given a recent update on whether they are taking new NHS patients. You can contact them directly to ask.” The Green Party has contacted these dentist practices and have found that none were taking on new NHS patients either.
Some dentists have an entry saying that they will accept NHS patients by referral. This is for specific services like sedation so a treatment can be carried out. These dentists are not accepting new NHS patients for checkups and other treatments.
Norwich Green Party has launched a petition calling on Norwich City Council to lobby central government and the NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board to develop a plan of action to improve the provision of NHS dental services across the city.
Cllr Alex Catt, Deputy Leader of the Green Group at Norwich City Council said: “Too many Norwich residents can’t get an NHS dentist and are forced to live in pain or have conditions deteriorate if they cannot afford the large private dentist bills in a cost of living crisis.”
“After 13 years of a Conservative government, the NHS has been systematically underfunded and increasingly privatised. Dental services have not been immune to this and the situation is reaching critical levels in the city. We are calling for Norwich City Council to lobby the government and the NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board to tackle the dental desert that Norwich has become”.
“Please sign the Green Party petition for Norwich City Council to lobby the Integrated Care Board, government and come up with a plan to tackle the dental desert that Norwich has become.”
Petition: We need more NHS dentists in Norwich! (actionnetwork.org)
- Love Norwich
Greens demand answers about £100k spent on Love Norwich campaign
Our councillors are questioning how a £100,000 fund meant to tackle fly-tipping in Norwich has been spent, as the fly-tipping has nearly doubled in the last year in the city.
Fly-tipping is on the rise in Norwich, with 6,000 incidents reported between July 2022 and July 2023. The cost of removal sits at a staggering £349,038, a 94% increase on the council’s estimated costs from the year before, and this figure does not include council officer time.
Meanwhile, despite promising tougher enforcement on fly-tipping via the £100,000 Love Norwich scheme at a budget meeting in February 2023, the Labour-run council only plans to install CCTV in 6-10 sites across the city, less than one per electoral ward.
Additionally, in spite of a promise of tougher enforcement, the number of fines handed out for fly-tipping, as an environmental crime, rose from one in all of 2022, to just two fines this year.
The Love Norwich campaign, which promised so much for the £100,000 it was allocated in the budget, has also failed to deliver the public events it committed to. Just two events have been completed with a third cancelled, and no further news has been announced about the campaign since the local elections in May 2023.
Alex Catt, Deputy Leader of the Green Party group at Norwich City Council said, “We all want to be able to take pride in our city. Many residents were hopeful that the £100,000 the council committed to tackling fly-tipping would result in cleaner streets and a more pleasant environment. Instead the cost of fly-tipping is spiralling while enforcement continues to be non-existent.
“£100,000 was announced just ahead of local elections in May, but with no visible results, we need transparency and accountability on how that money has been spent.”
Ash Haynes, Green Party Shadow Cabinet Member for Housing and Safer Communities at Norwich City Council said, “Green councillors in Norwich have long pushed for action on fly-tipping, leading the calls for CCTV to be installed in fly-tipping hotspots and fines for culprits of environmental crime.
“To help reduce fly-tipping, Norwich should have free collections for bulky waste and communal skips where people can dispose of waste easily and responsibly.”
- Wensum Lodge Update
Wensum Lodge Update
Wensum lodge has been the home of adult education in Norfolk for over 40 years. Many thousands of residents have taken advantage of the courses on offer. It holds a special place in the hearts of Norfolk residents and is a site that has historical and cultural significance. The County Council’s decision to sell off Wensum Lodge is incredibly short-sighted and is a waste of a huge amount of potential.
The petition that you signed gained more than 5,500 signatures – a huge response showing the depth of feeling against the sell-off. Frustratingly however, around 900 of these signatures were deemed to be invalid by the county council, which means that the petition did not meet the 5,000 signatures threshold required by the county council to automatically trigger a debate on the issue.
But we are not giving up!
On September 26 from 8:30am there will be a protest outside County Hall to show the Conservative-run councillors that the local community want Wensum Lodge to stay and are opposed to the sell-off of public assets. You can sign up to come to the demonstration here: https://actionnetwork.org/events/demonstration-stop-the-sell-off-of-wensum-lodge
Green councillors have submitted a motion to the September County Council meeting on 26 September calling for the county council to reverse the decision to sell off Wensum Lodge and establish a transparent and accountable process for consulting with the local community before selling off public assets (this applies to the Angel Road school site as well as Wensum Lodge).
In July, Green Party County Councillor Jamie Osborn proposed a motion via the county council’s scrutiny committee to support a Labour Party call-in of the decision and reverse the sell-off of Wensum Lodge on the grounds that there was no public consultation, but this was voted down by the Conservatives.
Recently, local campaigners have succeeded in getting Wensum Lodge listed as an Asset of Community Value. This will not prevent the sell-off, but it will mean that the local community is able to bid for the site for up to 5 years. We will keep you updated on the progress regarding this.
We simply can’t allow Conservative councils to continue to sell off our historical assets because of their Conservative government colleagues’ continued campaign of cuts to local authority budgets.
Keep in touch
If you would like to stay updated and get involved in the community-led Wensum Lodge campaign then please contact friendsofwensumlodge@gmail.com
If you are supportive of the work that Green councillors do in their communities then please consider joining the local and national party. We rely on volunteers to help achieve the positive outcomes to the work we do in our communities, and we are always looking for new people to be the Green councillors of tomorrow. If you would like to find out more about the work of Norwich Green Party and you would like to get more involved then please let us know here: Volunteer to Help Continue the Green Success in Norwich! (actionnetwork.org)
- Greens demand urgent action on £2.3m temporary accommodation bill
Greens demand urgent action on £2.3m temporary accommodation bill
Green councillors are calling for an urgent review into Norwich City Council’s use of privately-owned temporary accommodation, after it was revealed that the council has spent £2.3m over the last 5 years to fill gaps in the lack of council-owned housing.
Local authorities are required to provide temporary accommodation to those at risk of imminent homelessness. It is an essential service, but Labour-run Norwich City Council has increasingly been relying on expensive, often substandard privately owned units, some as far away as Ipswich. As a result, the bill to the taxpayer for this service has increased year-on-year for five years (discounting an outlier in 2020-21 as a result of the ‘Everybody In’ initiative during the pandemic).
Often, people are housed in B&Bs without access to the facilities they need to live and far away from their work and family, while the council ends up with a hefty bill for a poorly delivered service.
Greens are demanding that the council’s administration immediately makes a plan for improving standards and reducing this cost in the long term, by learning from other councils who manage to reduce temporary accommodation spend with innovative ideas, while keeping tenants in Norwich and in decent homes. Greens are suggesting more council-owned property and modular homes that can be constructed quickly and at low-cost, and are also calling on the Government to stop the forced sale of council homes.
The average time spent in temporary housing in Norwich is six weeks, which is as high as it is legally allowed to go. Green councillors believe this is far too long, causing excessive stress for tenants and adding strain on budgets, and that wait times need to be brought down urgently through action from both local and national Government.
Councillor Alex Catt, deputy leader of the Green Group at City Hall, said: “People facing homelessness deserve security and a decent place to live that will not require them to move away from work and family.”
“Yet the Labour councillors at Norwich City Council have allowed huge bills to rack up for far-flung and insecure accommodation. We need more council-owned temporary accommodation to improve standards for those in need and also deliver these services in a cost effective way.”
Councillor Ash Haynes said: “The cost to the taxpayer of stop-gap accommodation rose 41% between 2019 and 2023. Temporary accommodation is a critical service for those at risk of homelessness, but with the average stay already at the legal limit and a large and growing increase in costs each year, we hope that the Labour administration at City Hall will take urgent action to lower these costs and better support our tenants.”
- rail ticket office
Fight to save Norwich’s ticket office
Green Party councillor, Alex Catt has launched a petition to save the ticket office at Norwich Railway Station.
Councillor Catt said:
“The closure of Norwich and Norfolk’s ticket offices would affect hundreds of passengers and staff across the county. Not having a ticket office would make travelling by train less safe, impractical and even inaccessible for many people who depend on rail travel.
“These plans are about cutting jobs and making higher profits for rich rail bosses when Greater Anglia’s priority should be providing a reliable and affordable service for passengers. Railway companies should be paying their staff fairly and treating them well, but instead private railway companies are taking in excess of £500 million in annual profits.”
Councillor Catt’s petition, which asks for ticket offices to be kept open in Norwich, Norfolk and across the country, can be found at bit.ly/save-our-ticket-office.
Greater Anglia is carrying out a public consultation on whether to close ticket offices. The consultation ends on 26th July. Responses can be sent via https://act.newmode.net/action/trades-union-congress/save-your-greater-anglia-ticket-offices
- Greens call on all parties to withdraw support for selling off council homes
Greens call on all parties to withdraw support for selling off council homes
Green Party councillors have criticised Norwich City Council’s Labour administration for lobbying the government to put into place policies which Labour front bench politicians wouldn’t necessarily support. At the council’s meeting in June, leading Labour councillors proposed to lobby Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government to “abolish the Right to Buy policy in favour of expanding the provision of high-quality, energy-efficient, and environmentally sustainable social housing stock providing homes for residents and their families.”
Green councillor, Alex Catt responded to this suggestion by pointing out that Labour MPs such as the Shadow Secretary for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Lisa Nandy appear to support the Right to Buy which was originally suggested by the Labour Party in the late 1950s.
Councillor Catt said:
‘Right to Buy’ is set to lose us 140 council homes every year. Meanwhile, the waiting list is nearly at 4,000 and people who need council homes are stuck paying exorbitant amounts of money to private landlords for poor quality housing. By lobbying the government to abolish this policy when the Labour Party has supported it, local Labour councillors are misleading Norwich residents. My colleague raised this contradiction with Labour councillors at a council meeting, but they failed to take it seriously. It is a national scandal that we have lost two million council homes since 1980, 40% of which are now in the hands of private landlords. We need an end to right to buy, so we can provide quality housing for those who need it. I hope Labour councillors will be lobbying their own party to stand against Right to Buy and to protect social housing.”
Following an amendment from Green councillors, it was agreed that the council would write to the leaders of all parliamentary groups to ask them to support measures to improve the lot of private renters.
Notes:
Further information about the council meeting held on 20th June can be found here: CMIS > Meetings calendar (norwich.gov.uk)
- Petition to save Wensum Lodge launched by Greens
Petition to save Wensum Lodge launched by Greens
Green Party councillors have called for Norfolk residents to help in a campaign to save a vital adult learning centre in the King Street area of Norwich.
Norfolk County Council has today announced it is preparing to withdraw adult learning courses and is considering the future use and ownership of the Wensum Lodge site. The site includes a historic set of buildings on King Street dating back to the 12th century and has been used as a centre of adult learning for over 40 years. It remains hugely popular with residents across the city.
In 2019, before the Covid pandemic, Norfolk County Council unveiled proposals to transform Wensum Lodge into a creative hub, commissioning Hudson Architects. Plans were made for upgraded rooms for adult education courses, along with rental space for start-up creative and arts organisations to bring in money to help pay the centre’s running costs. The vision included a café and business support to help start-up companies.
Green councillors say that selling off Wensum Lodge is a short-sighted and regressive step and they are calling on the county council to revive the creative hub scheme. The selling off could undo years of effort by the local community to build up a space that is well-used and well-loved.
Green Party councillors are calling for the county council to reconsider its decision. Green councillors will work with local community groups to have the site listed as an asset of community value by Norwich City Council who also own the Grade 1 listed Music House also located at Wensum Lodge. This would mean that the owner would have to inform the council if they wanted to sell the property. The community would then be given a period of time to decide and prepare a bid for the asset.
Green councillor Ben Price said, “Wensum Lodge is an amazing hub of adult learning, sports activities and social events in the heart of the cultural quarter of the city. It has so much potential, and the local community were very excited at the creative hub proposal. Friday’s announcement from the county council is devastating news. The county council’s programme of selling off community assets like Wensum Lodge is incredibly short-sighted. The damage it will cause to the local community and the lost opportunity to help grow the economic and cultural offering in Norwich is incalculable.
“We can still save Wensum Lodge. Green councillors are urging people to sign the petition to retain Wensum Lodge as an creative hub and adult learning centre and also to support local community groups in their application to make the site an Asset of Community Value so that it can continue to benefit local people and the city for years to come.”
Notes:
The petition to save Wensum Lodge can be found here: Saving Wensum Lodge to be a Creative Hub (actionnetwork.org)
Photo: Councillor Ben Price at Wensum Lodge (credit: Olly Price)
- Residents to Decorate Dead Street Trees to Highlight Their Loss
Residents to Decorate Dead Street Trees to Highlight Their Loss
Residents and Nelson ward councillors will gather on Friday 23 June at 4pm to decorate some of the street trees that have died on Connaught Road with ribbons, leaves, flowers and messages to Norfolk County Council in order to highlight the loss of the city’s street trees and the County’s failure to provide adequate resources for planting new highways trees and their maintenance. (1)
In 2022/23, the County budget allocation for purchasing highways trees for the whole of Norwich was just £20,000 which paid for 49 trees. Norwich is currently losing more street trees than are being replaced. A citizen survey of street trees in Nelson ward last year found 75 dead or missing street trees and further trees have since died from the heatwaves and drought. Nelson councillors persuaded the County Council to find additional funding for nine new street trees in the Spring, but this number is still way below the replacement rate.
Councillor Julie Young, Green Party city councillor for Nelson ward said:
“It is dispiriting for residents and councillors to see so many dead and dying young trees. Nelson ward’s tree canopy cover is 13.6% which is far lower than the minimum 20% standard for inland towns and cities recommended by Forest Research, part of the Forestry Commission. Norwich has an overall tree canopy coverage of 18.6%, with nine of the city’s thirteen electoral wards below 20%. Green Party councillors want Norwich City Council to set a long-term target for increasing the city’s tree canopy cover to at least 25% and planting more street trees and maintaining them is essential for achieving this goal.” (3)
Notes:
1. Community Street Tree ‘Dressing’ Event on Friday 23 June – councillors and residents will gather at 4pm on the corner of Connaught Road and Maud Street. We will decorate three young trees which have died in the last few months outside numbers 50, 56 and 66.
2. In 2020, Forest Research conducted a desktop assessment of the tree canopy coverage for each of Norwich’s thirteen wards. Nine wards fall below the FR’s recommended 20% minimum level of provision. Overall, Norwich has 18.6% tree canopy cover. See below for tree canopy coverage figures for the 13 wards.
Bowthorpe – 20.2%
Catton Grove – 12.0%
Crome – 16.5%
Eaton – 27.9%
Lakenham – 20.6%
Mancroft – 10.7%
Mile Cross – 18.0%
Nelson – 13.5%
Sewell – 11.0%
Thorpe Hamlet – 19.3%
Town Close – 18.4%
University – 20.5%
Wensum – 18.0%
The above data is from UK Ward Canopy Cover Map, by Trees for Cities, Woodland Trust and Forest Research. This is a project set up in 2016 to measure the tree canopy cover of every ward of the UK. The assessment of wards in Norwich was carried out in 2020 The interactive map can be viewed here:
https://forestry.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=d8c253ab17e1412586d9774d1a09fa07
Photo: A dead street tree in Nelson ward (credit: J. Greenaway)
- Water Norwich’s Street Trees
Plea to Residents to Help Water Norwich’s Street Trees
A plea has gone out to the public to water any newly planted street trees close to their homes to stop them drying out.
The Woodland Trust has joined forces with the Arboricultural Association and local authority tree officers in rallying the public to water young street trees during the summer months using greywater from washing up or baths and rainwater collected in water butts. Newly planted trees require at least fifty litres of water a week from May to August for their first three years to help them become established. (1)
Nelson ward Green Party City Councillor Hannah Hoechner said:
“In Nelson ward we are setting up a citizens’ tree warden network for street trees in our ward to encourage residents to water young street trees and monitor their health. Several young trees in the ward died in last year’s heatwave and drought and we want to prevent any further losses.”
As many as 50% of newly planted street trees die within the first year according to the Forestry Commission. (2) Rising temperatures and dry periods are taking an increasing toll on urban trees.
Councillor Hoechner added,
“We were pleased to see the County Council plant nine new street trees in our ward in April, even though sadly, several other trees died. Weekly watering by a council team is part of a three year maintenance programme to establish the trees, but residents giving them extra watering during the prolonged dry spell would be welcome. Without trees, people and wildlife wouldn’t thrive but climate change is making it much harder for our urban trees to survive.”
- EV charging points
Badly-placed EV charging points could obstruct people in wheelchairs or with pushchairs, Green Party councillors have warned.
Norfolk County Council proposes to install 46 EV Charging points across Norwich in partnership with a commercial partner, EB Charging.
While Norwich Green Group supports improving the infrastructure for EV chargers as a step towards reducing the impact of climate change, we are concerned that most of them will be placed on the pavement to the detriment of pedestrians and wheelchair users.
There is a consultation taking place at the moment and we urge residents to take part using the email address provided.
Green Party Nelson Ward City Councillor Hannah Hoechner said: “It is great to see Norfolk County Council take steps to facilitate EV use in Norwich. We urgently need infrastructure that enables people to stop using petrol and diesel cars that emit CO2 and pollute our air. While EVs are an important part of the way forward though, the ultimate priority must be accessible and affordable public transport and safe walking, cycling and wheeling infrastructure. Let’s learn from others how we can enable EV use without compromising the experiences of people getting around on foot, with children, or using a wheelchair.”
Green Party Wensum Ward City Councillor Liam Calvert said: “Electric cars are a step in the right direction for reducing climate change but we cannot accept that life should be made more difficult for pedestrians and wheelchair users to accommodate cars. Public electric charging facilities are ideally placed in car parks, but, if they need to be placed on roads they must not be placed on pavements at the expense of wheelchair users, parents with buggies or those who simply want to walk next to their friends. - protection for Angel Road site
Green Gillian Francis seeks protection for Angel Road site
Gillian is working with Green councillors to seek a preservation order
Gillian Francis at Angel Road School ver the past year, children, parents, staff and local residents have been left in the dark while decisions have been made about the future of Angel Road Junior School. We have asked that this site is retained for the local community but a year later, our concerns are still being ignored by Norfolk County Council and our local MP, Chloe Smith, has told us to stay out of it.
Local resident and Green Party campaigner Gillian Francis is keeping up the fight for the Angel Road junior school site. It is an important part of the area’s culture and heritage, so she is seeking a preservation order to retain it for the community and prevent it being bulldozed in favour of development.
Gillian Francis said, “We urge local MPs and Norfolk County Council to give us information about plans for the site, and feel strongly that local residents must be consulted in this process. We have a unique opportunity to create a thriving centre for our community. As a venue for local residents, it could generate employment and be a self sustaining hub for local groups, small businesses, and charities. We want to know what you think should happen to this historical building, and who should benefit from it as a community asset. What does it mean to you? Please let us know.”
- Warmer Homes,cost of living,tree coverage
Greens demand warmer homes, advice to help with the cost of living and better tree coverage across the city
Green councillors want to change the city council’s budget to make more homes warmer, provide face to face help through Norfolk Citizens Advice, make sure the council makes more of its assets and add to the number of trees in the city. The Green Party budget amendment will be put at tonight’s meeting of Norwich City Council.
Councillor Jamie Osborn will propose the amendment, showing how the council could create a long-term funding stream and help people in fuel poverty immediately by insulating homes and installing renewable energy sources.
Councillor Osborn said:
“Thousands of people in Norwich are living in homes that are prohibitively expensive to heat. Our proposals would scale up action to insulate homes and install cheap renewable energy, to reduce bills permanently. This is the progressive investment we need the city council to be making.”
The Greens’ proposal to increase retrofitting the city’s houses with insulation and renewable energy comes in two parts. Firstly, to retrofit a small number of homes in order to show how this can be done in Norwich and to develop the crucial skills that are needed. Norwich would then have a trained workforce in the city, and the city council could have an important new income stream. In addition, the Greens would like to extend the council’s Solar Together scheme to include heat pumps, insulation and electric vehicle charging points so more people can buy them to add to their own homes. Together, these measures will keep people warmer and help to lower Norwich’s carbon emissions. They can be partly paid for by not installing new domestic boilers because gas boilers wouldn’t be necessary if we had these other ways of keeping warm.
Councillor Denise Carlo will explain the urgency of planting more trees now, when the city is losing trees, through disease and other causes, all the time. Mancroft ward in the city centre has barely half the recommended 20% cover minimum provision. Trees and green spaces are essential to health and wellbeing, cooling the city as it heats, and cleaning our air. More trees and green spaces are needed in poorer areas. That’s why the Green amendment includes an ongoing sum to be spent on the maintenance of new trees, so they will be looked after in the future.
Greens also want to ensure that the council’s money is spent better in future, particularly the money spent on capital programmes which include security doors and communal bins. The opposition group wants to invest in a Capital Strategy Manager in order to save money in the long run by making sure that budgets are used efficiently and the council obtains value for money for the people of Norwich.
The cost of living crisis is a theme running through the Green amendment. It’s highlighted by the proposal to award a grant to Norfolk Citizens Advice to support people with advice, particularly about financial issues.
Councillor Lucy Galvin. Leader of the Green Group said:
“Our amendment makes practical, costed changes to deliver vital carbon and money saving now, rather than accepting a budget which doesn’t take enough action on the cost of living and climate crises.”
Our proposals in detail
Proposals to increase the following revenue budget items:-
2023/24£000 Investigating both the immediate commercialisation opportunities of retrofitting insulation and renewable energy in homes, and a medium-term strategy to similarly retrofit the council’s housing stock 1 60 This £0.06m would come from the invest to save reserve and would support development of the business case to demonstrate the costs and benefits from the proposed approach. We would seek to establish the principle that some of the benefits of such measures would generate commercialisation opportunities which would initially replenish the invest to save reserve and then provide a future income source for the council. Scoping an investigation to extend the collective bidding scheme currently applied to Solar Together to other decarbonisation investments such as insulation, heat pumps and private electric vehicle charging points 2 30 The scoping investigation would be funded by £0.03m from the business change reserve and would also provide procurement activity in support of collective bidding schemes. Capital Strategy Manager 2 80 This £0.08m would come from the business change reserve. It will provide a resource to establish a better strategic overview of capital spending Grant to Norfolk Citizens’ Advice to provide face to face advice 3 30 £0.03m would be funded from general reserves. As this would be funded from reserves this would be a one-off grant to meet the immediate additional need created by the cost-of-living crisis. Any on-going support would need to be considered as part of future years’ budgets. Ongoing tree maintenance 4 20 This proposal should be considered alongside the additional capital investment set out in our capital programme proposals. This £0.02m would ensure that the on-going cost of additional tree planting was included in the revenue budget on an on-going basis. It would be funded through the proposed £0.1m permanent decrease from the environmental services contract for grass cutting (See Table 4). Total revenue budget increase 220 The additional one-off revenue costs of the above can be met as follows
Table 1
One off items 2023/24£000 Invest to save reserve 1 60 Business change reserve 2 110 General reserves 3 30 Total 200 The additional on-going revenue costs of the above can be met as follows
Table 2
On-going items 2023/24£000 Permanent budget reductions 4 (see Table 4) 20 Total 20 Proposals to add the following items into the capital programme:-
2023/24£000 2024/25£000 Developing a pilot project for enhanced retrofitting of social housing for 20 homes. 1,5,6,7[HRA and General fund capital programme] 250 750 £0.5m would come from government Wave 2 funding. A further £0.325m would be funded by a newly-created municipal bond scheme and £0.150m would be a contribution from the invest to save reserve in recognising the opportunities for commercially retro-fitting private housing which would be unlocked. The sum drawn from the invest to save reserve would be replenished from the additional incomes generated from private sector housing. The remaining £0.025m would be saved by not having to replace so many domestic boilers. Fewer domestic boilers would need replacement as opportunities were taken to retrofit alternatives such as air source heat pumps. Capital project to plant new trees on council-owned land and on-going from permanent reduction to grass cutting provision. [General Fund capital programme] 80 80 This £0.08m spend would be funded as a revenue contribution to capital in both 2023/24 and 2024/25 following the proposed £0.1m decrease in the environmental services contract for grass cutting on an ongoing basis. Grass cutting would be reduced in areas where biodiversity would be improved as a result and grass would continue to be cut where reducing this service would have a detrimental impact on the appearance of an area. Total capital budget increase 330 830 The additional capital costs of the above can be met as follows
Table 3
2023/24£000 2024/25£000 Invest to save reserve 1 150 Wave 2 social housing funding 5 500 A newly-created municipal bond scheme 6 75 250 Permanent budget reductions 4 (see Table 4) 80 80 Reallocation of existing capital items 7 25 Total 330 830 The capital proposals would be met by the following reallocation of items in the existing capital programme
2023/24£000 HRA upgrades Heating / Boilers Domestic 7 (25) Fewer domestic boilers would need to be replaced as opportunities were taken to retrofit alternatives such as air source heat pumps. Total (25) To decrease the following revenue budget items on an on-going basis:-
Table 4
2023/24£000 NCSL contract for grass cutting 4 (100) This sum would be used to pay for additional trees to be planted and maintained on an ongoing basis. Grass cutting would be reduced in areas where biodiversity would be improved as a result and grass would continue to be cut where reducing this service would have a detrimental impact on the appearance of an area. Total (100) Financial Implications
The council’s S151 officer has considered the proposals submitted above as budget amendments and confirms that the proposed approach to funding those items are sustainable in the context of the council’s overall level of resources including reserves where identified.
There are risks associated with the generation of commercial income from some of the proposals which should be considered fully as part of developing the business case for investment in those areas. The municipal bond scheme is a mechanism of funding capital expenditure that is in essence borrowing and, as such it will if agreed, need to be included as an amendment to the council’s treasury management strategy.
This amendment was prepared based on a full understanding of the budget and with the assistance of council staff in checking its financial soundness.
- Save Norwich’s Street Tree
Save Norwich’s Street Trees
Green councillors are demanding an increase in Norfolk County Council’s budget allocation of £20,000 for planting highways trees in Norwich, after a sample survey showed a large loss of city trees along residential roads . If no action is taken, they fear the gradual loss of trees from the city’s streets and main roads.
Norfolk County Council took on responsibility for more than ten thousand highways trees in Norwich in April 2020 but has allocated just £20,000 for tree planting in 2022/23 . To date, over 800 people have signed a petition calling on both the county and city councils to find more resources for planting many more trees in the face of the climate and biodiversity emergencies .
Cllr Paul Neale Nelson ward Green Party County Councillor Paul Neale said:
“Our survey of street trees in Nelson ward found 60 gaps where trees need replacing, but the County’s budget will fund just 3 trees. Norfolk County Council’s insignificant tree planting budget of £20,000 for Norwich will only buy about 40 standard trees for the whole city. Once you add in stump removal, pavement ground works and 3 years’ maintenance and watering the figure could drop to under 10 trees. We have worked with officers to secure some additional government match funding, but this will still not be sufficient to save our tree heritage in Norwich as trees are being lost at a faster rate than they are replaced.”
Although the city council has a higher rate of tree planting on council land in its ownership, at around 130 standard trees a year, Green councillors say that the council should at least double this number in the face of the climate and biodiversity emergencies .
Nelson ward Green Party City Councillor, Cllr Denise Carlo said:
“We are asking all residents who care about trees to sign the petition at bit.ly/norwichtrees. The county and city councils need an ambitious tree vision and programme for Norwich to match that of the renowned Parks Superintendent Captain Sandys Winsch who planted 20,000 trees in the 1920s and 30s in public parks and in avenues along streets and roads laid out for new communities. His tree legacy will disappear unless both councils invest more money in trees.”