The South Devon Green Party Manifesto
For the County Council Elections on 4th June 2009
Sustainable Politics in an Uncertain Age
This manifesto supports the aims and aspirations of the Green Party. It offers policies that would make Devon a fairer and more sustainable place to live and work in the following key areas:
- Transport
- Education
- Waste
- Housing and Buildings
- Employment and the Economy
- Farming
The Green Party will ensure that its transport policies support the following aspirations:
A fundamental shift in emphasis in transport policy is required. Towards one based on traffic reduction, lower speeds and improvements in air quality. We will move transport spending away from highways to public transport, cycling and walking.
As a planet we urgently need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and the amount of carbon emissions we release into the atmosphere. The Green Party policy on transport supports these aims.
We need to reduce the amount we travel. The way in which our society is currently organised means that many of our basic needs, such as work, school, leisure and shopping, are further away than they should be.
This is not just a question of transport, but also of planning. Facilities should be easily accessible to all who need them without the need for excessive travel. We need to support local businesses and more facilities should be provided locally.
More and longer journeys encourage excessive use of cars, lorries and aeroplanes. They produce many of the worst pollutants. These are major causes of global warming and are also bad for human health.
We will promote alternatives to high polluting transport. New roads simply encourage people to drive more often and further, we need to stop building them. New roads will move and extend the problem of congestion rather than solving it and can take businesses and jobs away to more distant facilities. We will encourage small local firms and transfer freight onto rail and waterways from roads, where it causes damage and congestion. Over the past three decades public transport has been increasingly run down. Chronic under-investment, deregulation of bus services, the closure of many rail lines and then the privatisation of the network, has all played a part in this. We will shift investment to schemes that provide benefits and access for all not just mobility for some, such as opening up rail branch networks.
Walking and cycling, which should be a healthy and enjoyable experience, are now often too dangerous because of our polluted and congested streets. We will encourage policies that will promote walking and cycling, such as the provision of suitable pavements & cycle lanes.
We need to reduce the amount we fly. Aeroplanes actually cause more damage to the environment than any other form of transport. This is due to the upper atmosphere being more sensitive to pollution than at ground level. Flying is cheap because its fuel is currently exempt from tax, we would ensure all the costs of flying were included in its costs, and would stop the continual expansion of airports.
When elected in Devon the Green Party will champion the adoption of the following specific policies on transport for the benefit of all:
We will encourage the efficient use and extension of the rail network. There are a number of disused railways and stations that should be reopened; we would shift spending from roads to fund this. We would seek to coordinate integration of rail and bus services by requiring any station redevelopments to provide adequate facilities for transport interchanges. This would include the use of local break-bulk deliveries (where the freight from larger vehicles is separated for transportation in smaller vehicles).
We will reduce traffic speeds to improve safety, reduce emissions and reduce noise. More than half the people unlucky enough to be hit by a car doing a seemingly harmless 35mph die. Reduce the speed to 20 mph and only 1 in 40 of us die. We believe that people on foot and on bicycles have just as much right to feel safe on the streets where they live as car users, so we will introduce a 20 mph limit in residential urban areas, including villages. Cars travelling at 20 mph hit 60% fewer people, kill far fewer of those they do hit and do not scare kids so much that they are afraid to play outside. In the end, driving is a privilege, but being able to walk the streets safely is a right.
In addition, speed reduction along with lowering traffic volume would provide a reduction of environmental noise and provide a much improved urban environment for residents and workers.
We will upgrade or build cycle paths along all major routes between towns. Research has shown that where safe direct off-road cycle commuting routes are provided the volume of car traffic falls. We will work with Sustrans to draw up cycle route networks throughout Devon, both within and between urban areas. We will use compulsory purchase powers to ensure private landowners provide land to speed up the provision of safe and direct off-road routes between towns.
We will provide increased financial support for essential but 'uneconomic' bus and train routes. We will improve the facilities provided on them. These routes are a lifeline for many of the more vulnerable within our society. We will consult with parish and district councils to ensure that they are affordable and provide adequate facilities for people with disabilities, bikes, prams and shopping/luggage. This will help overcome transport poverty and isolation, especially in rural areas.
We will promote the development of the local economy. This will encourage local production for local needs and ensuring jobs and wealth remain within the area. As a consequence long distance traffic and pollutants will be reduced.
We will encourage council staff and elected officials to utilise public transport.
Individual councillors have a travel allowance for car usage. We will bring this in line with charities at 40p per mile and encourage the use of public transport. Other councils have saved £500,000 by reducing the 50p per mile allowance to 40p for councillor's travel. In addition we will provide bus passes to council workers which will assist local bus companies and give workers more choice. Essential car travel by council staff will be made using pool cars and car parking at council offices will be reduced to encourage the use of public transport.
Education
Whilst constrained by the Government in the funding and content of education, the LEA has a vital role to play in determining how education is delivered. Devon County Council should be far more creative in executing this role. The Green Party will ensure that its education policies support the following aspirations:
A holistic education
Classrooms should be places for the children to explore and discover new things. This is easier to achieve if we provide funding for more teachers and smaller class sizes.
Currently a successful education is regarded as one that produces a collection of marketable certificates. This reflects the view of other parties that education is important only as a means to enable Britain to compete in the global economy.
We fundamentally reject this point of view and seek an education system in which no child is left behind or given a second class education.
Opportunities will be made available to all regardless of their ability to pay. We believe that quality education should be adequately funded by Government and oppose the private funding of state schools in any form, and say no to academies. Academy schools take power away from the community and hand it to privileged private companies and individuals.
All children, even those with disabilities and special educational needs, will be given the opportunity to attend their local school, which will provide diverse support for people with special needs. In special cases and in accordance with the child's wishes, there may be a need for segregation, which will be provided as a unit within the school.
Our policy is that students will not have to pay tuition fees. In addition we support grants not loans, providing a basic income sufficient for needs while in full time education.
Our education policies will:
- Provide essential numeracy and literacy skills
- Promote a sense of responsibility, confidence and respect in all young people
- Cater for all specialisms and needs, inspiring a hunger for learning in all areas: academic and non-academic, therefore authorising young people to pursue what they are good at rather than what is expected of them
- Promote a sense of community so that children are proud to attend their local school
- Promote a healthy lifestyle through good diet and exercise
When elected in Devon the Green Party will champion the adoption of the following specific policies on education for the benefit of all:
We will provide free, locally sourced, nutritious school meals to all. Meals will be prepared on site from local produce wherever possible. Daily portions of nutritious food for each child will be guaranteed. This is something which is critical not just too academic success but your child's future health. Children will be encouraged to understand food in the context of how and where it is grown and we will promote the growing of vegetables by pupils in school grounds or on adjacent land.
We will ensure all school buildings are environmentally sustainable. We will encourage sharing and recycling within schools. The use of renewable energy sources and use of natural light will be promoted. All new school building will be built using sustainable materials with the aim of achieving the lowest possible carbon footprint.
We will encourage schools to include pupils in decision-making. By setting up a 'schools council' in every school that is comprised of students of all ages we will empower young people to take responsibility from an early age. This will be of benefit to them and society now and in the future.
We will encourage school and community-led initiatives to expand the use of schools, for their mutual benefit. An example of how this policy would work successfully is in the provision of school-based allotments. These would be available for the whole community to use, outside of school hours, and could provide a valuable resource for school meals.
We will increase the provision of youth services. We wish to see our young people active in our community and will prioritise funding for Youth and Community Centres in your area. This will provide more activities for young people with youth workers available to support and encourage all to participate and enjoy these facilities.
Waste
"Britain is the dustbin of Europe with more rubbish being thrown into landfill than any other country on the continent." Local Government Association.
Despite increased recycling, the amount of household waste produced across the County is still rising. The Green Party wants to expand recycling and introduce waste minimisation schemes, and remain opposed to incineration. We will ensure that our waste policies support the following aspirations:
The championing of a new philosophy to "reduce, reuse, recycle". We urgently need to change the old attitude of "produce and disregard" to a new philosophy of "reduce, reuse, recycle". The Green Party is calling upon the UK Government to develop and implement a zero waste strategy. Britain's waste crisis has reached such proportions that we can no longer afford to sit around and wait until we are told to do so by the European Union.
The vast amount of waste generated by our over-consuming society is a scandalously inefficient use of resources. It is environmentally damaging, unsustainable and unnecessary. Certainly, national legislation would be the most effective way to tackle the root causes of the problem but much more can be done locally to encourage the reduction of waste and the reuse and recycling of materials.
Evidence from other parts of Europe, where recycling rates are generally higher, shows that recycling in itself is not sufficient to tackle rising resource use. Getting more out of fewer resources is the only sensible strategy. This requires a different approach to waste management which sees 'waste' as a resource, not as a problem.
Establishing a "Zero waste" policy as the next logical step beyond the short-term goals established for recycling. Instead of managing waste, zero waste is about managing resources better, further expanding recycling, eliminating costly waste and reducing consumption. We will develop a 'Zero Waste' strategy for Devon (as other councils have done) and use the council's influence to promote this in all commercial and domestic activities across the county. Encouraging local businesses to do more with fewer resources will benefit the economy of Devon as will the creation of jobs in waste reduction industries.
NO to Incineration
Green Party policies on waste rule out incineration and the burning of valuable resources, including incineration at 'energy from waste' plants. It generates additional lorry traffic, and commits the Council to maintaining waste levels far into the future, as part of the Private Finance contract that funds it. The Greens do not believe that PFIs are a solution to anything.
When elected in Devon the Green Party will champion the adoption of the following specific policies on waste for the benefit of all:
We will encourage policies which use waste as a resource. There is a lot of potential for using sewage as biogas for domestic heating and producing small scale energy from waste schemes such as biodigesters (like the campaign for a small scale biodigesters for Totnes that we have been promoting, which uses food waste to generate electricity for local homes, as in Ludlow). In addition we will:
- Expand schemes such as SPARC in Dartington that use safe waste materials for creative and educational purposes
- Expand community recycling centers such as Proper Job in Chagford, with extended opening hours.
- Community composting schemes will be set up in co-operation with local allotment associations.
- Set up an internet-based waste exchange service for business and community use.
We will offer more incentives for using real nappies. Disposable nappies alone constitute around 5% of the volume of domestic waste. Door to door collection schemes run by the council to distribute clean nappies and collect & clean used ones will be set up.
We will campaign against incineration. The Green Party is committed to campaigning for a law banning new waste incinerators and setting the earliest practicable date for phasing out any existing incinerators. We will vigorously pursue this policy in Devon to ensure that valuable resources are not burnt.
Housing and Buildings
The Green Party believes that Devon County Council should take an active lead in tackling both climate change and the 'peak oil' energy crisis with respect to the built environment.
Saving and Reinvesting
The County Council must commit to using renewable energy, and work towards reducing overall energy usage through insulation, better design, etc. The Green Party wants to promote the use of renewables in all commercial and domestic activities across Devon. 100% of County Council properties should be retrofitted to reduce heating and cooling energy demands to as close to zero as possible.
Wasted Lighting
Devon County Council is responsible for street lighting. The Green Party would introduce a system in which unnecessary lights are turned off after midnight. A similar scheme introduced in Essex is saving 10,000 tonnes of carbon and £1m per year.
Insulation and Green Energy for ALL
The money saved through the above lighting scheme would be invested in free insulation for all and support for renewable energy through low cost loans for private householders. In Kirklees, Green Party councillors have introduced second charges on properties, as a means to secure loans of up to £10,000 to be spent on insulation and renewable energy micro generation. These loans are repaid when the house is eventually sold. Over 40,000 homes have benefited from this scheme and saved an average of £150 per year for each household. We could do the same in Devon.
Climate Change Intelligence
District Councils often lack in house in depth knowledge regarding climate change, whereas County Councils have bigger budgets and potential for employing expert officers. There is a desperate need for the County Council to provide specialist knowledge to local authority planners. This would ensure that their conversations with developers and other local partners regarding sustainable development don't amount to the usual greenwash.
One stop shops for eco-building advice The transfer to zero carbon homes and the use of zero carbon building materials is a near impossible learning curve for developers and retro-fitters. High street information centres could give advice on training, on grants, professional services and products. This is similar to the assistance currently given regarding affordable housing or as was given by home improvement grant officers in the 1990's.
Capital Asset Transfer
Small pockets of County Council owned land that come up for sale or lease should be made available to one off community proposals first, community land trusts second and open market auction as a last resort. This would ensure that land and assets owned by Devon County Council on behalf of the people, is not lost forever by being sold off to the highest bidder. Land is an asset in perpetuity for generations to come.
Employment and the Economy
The County Council is well placed to work with local business and other agencies to secure the transition to a low carbon economy.
The Green Party opposes the perpetual-growth and free-trade economic models of the mainstream political parties and will work for a sustainable economy providing jobs and opportunity for ALL not just a few investment bankers!
The Green 'New Deal'
The Green Party is calling for a 'Green New Deal' to tackle the recession, create jobs and address climate change through the investment in green technologies, businesses and infrastructure, something that the council could take a leading role in. The Local Government Association has echoed this call and estimates that thousands of 'green' jobs could be created by such a policy. Investment for this would be achieved by issuing Local Authority Bonds.
An Ethical and Sound Financial Policy
We believe the council should invest OUR money ethically and sensibly. This means we will not only avoid investing in unethical activities like the arms trade, but also avoid unsound banking investments such as those that lead to many UK councils being caught up in the 'Ice save' fiasco (collapse of Icelandic Banks holding UK local Govt deposits).
NO to PFIs
We will avoid financial waste, which ultimately leads to service cuts and tax increases, wherever possible. That means NO to inflated PFI /PPP projects where tax payers underwrite the profits of bankers and corporations.
Local Finance
The key to a sustainable local economy is to keep money and skills in the area, for example by supporting local currencies, LETS, time banks and credit unions. These practices are vital at the moment, under the 'credit crunch' and deepening recession. We would follow the example of Essex County Council and set up a County Bank.
Supporting Local Economies
We will build community benefit and social clauses into all our procurement contracts, so as to use our influence to reduce unemployment and provide good quality, well-paid local jobs. This would directly support the local economies throughout Devon.
Secure the future of local Post Offices Promote Post Offices and their role in supporting local communities. Keeping local services reduces the need to travel. Essex county council have led the way in devising a scheme to keep all Post Offices open. The Green Party believes Devon County Council should do the same.
County Assets
Sale or renting of County assets, whether land or buildings, should be decided on ethical and environmental grounds, not just the highest bidder or the leverage of powerful corporate lobby groups.
Corporate contracts
"Business as usual" is no longer a sound basis for future planning. Climate change and peak oil forecasts fundamentally change all long term planning. All long-term contracts should be risk-assessed against these worst-case scenarios.
The Green Party has a vision for future transition to a low-waste, low-energy, low-transport localised economy. This would seriously compromise long term contracts with incineration companies, for example, that guarantee waste stream volumes into the future.
Farming
Devon County Council currently owns 91 farms, down from 116 in 2002. The Green Party believes that the sale of these farms should cease, and that the management aims and objectives should be re-written to support sustainable soil management and ethical food production in the face of climate change and oil peak.
The Future of Farming
Climate Change and Oil Peak will undermine world trade in food, and present the UK with a food crisis. Conventional farming is heavily reliant on oil, so new forms of farming that require fewer artificial fertilizers and less mechanical power will be needed. The County Farms are an asset to develop these new sustainable ways of farming that will prove invaluable as demonstration farms in the future.
Sustainable Practices
Currently, County Farms are biased to livestock and dairy. There are many forms of food production depending on geology, local climate, soil types, land formations, the existing natural environment, and the existing traditions and culture of food. Some land is very productive and some is marginal. Devon Farms vary in their produce accordingly and include dairy, livestock, market gardening of fruit and vegetables, orchards, arable and potentially biomass for energy and fuel production. Farming systems that best mimic nature include mixed farming, organic farming, permaculture and biodynamic farming. Food production that best utilises the diversity of land available will also reflect in a diversity of farming systems and farm produce. So it would be wrong to promote just one type of farming practice. However, proposed farming methods for County farms should consider the following:
- Rebuilding soil fertility
- Carbon sequestration
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Fossil fuel reliance
- Reliance on petrochemical inputs
- Low energy requirements
- Dependence on imported grains and soya feedstuff
- Health value of food
- Biodiversity of the farm wildlife
- Diversity of farm produce
- Productivity
- Profitability
- Public access to the farm
Intensive indoor production of meat, eggs and dairy would not be permitted.
Letting policy
All Devon County Council Farms should be progressively transferred to sustainable husbandry as tenancies become available. Rents can be adjusted to take into account such things as conversion times to organic husbandry, planting of orchards that take several years to bear fruit, and the rebuilding of fertility in soils that have been exhausted by conventional practices.
