Protecting Our Environment
We will
- Scrap the Western Link Road & invest in public transport & work with parish councils to solve rat-run issues
- Ensure our planning policy properly considers environmental impacts
- Ensure there is a climate and environmental risk assessment of every policy decision that the council takes
- Set high environmental standards for our County Farms and review the council’s County Farms policy and re-focus on the original aims of broadening access in to farming
- Ban hunting with dogs, including trail hunting, on County Farms land
- Identify surplus land for energy production and biodiversity projects
- Oppose fracking and the use of damaging fertilizers
- Reduce plastic by offering free drinking water re-filling stations at all libraries & Norfolk County Council public buildings
- Protect Norfolk’s green belt, sites of Special Scientific Interest and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
- Work with police and land-owners to tackle the impact of illegal hare coursing
- Identify areas to rewild and support with incentives
- Create bee and pollinator corridors on County Council land, and support our communities to do the same
- Protect our native rare and at-risk species e.g. barbastelle bats, newts, stone curlews
- Prioritise our Local Member Highways budget for planting or projects that help tackle the climate crisis
- Increase funding to Parish Partnerships and extend remit to include environmental projects
- Protect access to the countryside by maintaining Rights of Way, opening up new ones and improving accessibility
- Ensure all Norfolk rights of way are identified and on the ‘definitive map’ by 2025 & support local communities to identify and register rights of way
- Encouraging community growing projects like ‘incredible edible’ (Incredible Edible – If you eat, you’re in)
- Expand Tree and orchard planting – including in urban areas, farmland and schools