Two reports heading to Dorset Council’s Cabinet provide further insight into how we are getting to grips with tackling and adapting to the Climate and Ecological Emergency.
Newly published papers focusing on the Council’s management of trees across Dorset and our approach to flood defence work demonstrate how councillors and officers are changing the way they work to protect the environment, people and property. This also includes the commitment of millions of pounds over the next 20 years and beyond to prepare Weymouth for rising sea levels and subsequent flooding due to climate change.
Management of Council Owned Trees
Dorset Council owns and is responsible for around 250,000 trees across our highway network, amenity, and open space areas. While they occasionally present an inherent safety risk (depending on where they are growing), trees make a significant contribution to the quality of our environment in a number of ways and play a significant role in carbon sequestration, improving air quality and micro-climate characteristics.
Dorset Council always prefers to retain trees unless there is a sound arboricultural reason not to do so, such as if the tree is dead, dying or dangerous, or is proven to be causing significant structural damage to property.
It is proposed that the current policy of replacing each felled tree with a new one is altered so that for every tree felled, at least two new ones will be planted. Dorset Council will also be considering other opportunities to plant trees as part of the Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy and Action Plan response, and has produced a ‘guide to tree planting’ leaflet which it will circulate to interested parties and members of the public who wish to plant trees on their own land.
Weymouth Harbour & Esplanade Flood and Coastal Risk Management Strategic Outline Case (SOC)
Weymouth Town Centre and parts of the surrounding area are at risk of flooding and coastal erosion. With sea level rise accelerating and more frequent intense weather events because of climate change, the problems facing Weymouth will increase significantly. In the present day, 985 households are at ‘intermediate’ risk of flooding, which will rise to 1,369 households at ‘very significant’ risk of flooding by 2120.
The SOC sets out a holistic way of tackling all sources of flooding in Weymouth including fluvial (riverine), coastal (tidal inundation and wave overtopping), surface water and groundwater. This will involve a comprehensive programme of wall replacement and wall raising around both the Harbour and Esplanade frontages.
The scale of engineering construction works is significant and will require investment from multiple funding sources in line with Government’s Partnership Funding approach, exceeding £115million in cash cost terms over the next one-hundred years.
Cllr Ray Bryan, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said:
“These are both good examples of how we’re approaching the Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) in Dorset. Whether it’s a relatively simple but important change to our Tree policy, or something as big and ambitious as our Weymouth flood strategy, we are making sure Dorset Council plays its part to protect our residents from the consequences of climate change, as well as help prevent making the emergency worse.
With our CEE Strategy approved by Cabinet and set to be presented to Full Council in July, these kinds of measures and projects will only become more commonplace as we embed the strategy at the heart of all our decision making and work with our communities and organisations to reduce our carbon footprint.
I want to thank all the officers and councillors involved in this vital work and I’m excited to see how our residents will embrace the other changes and works we’ll be announcing over the coming months and years as we work together to make Dorset the greenest county in England.”
Given that DC is seriously considering permitting an incinerator, which will import waste for burning, to be built on Portland one has to question whether this “demonstrate[s] how councillors and officers are changing the way they work to protect the environment.” I would be very interested to know how this jibes with ” … work[ing] together to make Dorset the greenest county in England.”
Judi – We have a legal obligation to consider any planning application that comes to us. The incinerator application will be discussed and decided upon publicly by a committee of councillors later this year.