Birmingham Friends of the Earth News

FREE Planning Masterclass

kara@birminghamfoe.org.uk (Kara Moses) — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:49:19 GMT

Saturday 30 June - FREE all day event - Birmingham

Wondering what the changes to planning mean for you and your community?

Come along to our planning masterclass and get a detailed update from experts on:

what's in the new national policy framework
what neighbourhood planning could mean for you
why 2012 is special for planning in England

Find out from the Inspectorate and a Planning Officer about their roles in the system, and top tips for making your campaign a winning one.

We'll also have workshops on fracking, retail, and wildlife sites to help you develop specific tools and tactics for your campaign.

Please contact charlotte.chan@foe.co.uk to register your place.

BFOE speakers at UK Green Film Festival

kara@birminghamfoe.org.uk (Kara Moses) — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:22:10 GMT

The UK Green Film Festival - the only multi-location film festival in the UK focusing on films with an environmental twist - is back for 2012.

Friends of the Earth is supporting the festival, which takes place in 13 independent cinemas in 12 UK cities between 18-20 May 2012.

Some of the great films that will be showing include:

What’s on in Birmingham?

Two film screenings will be shown in Birmingham, organised by Just Film for a Fairer World. The following events are happening at the Birmingham and Midland Institute, Margaret Street, Birmingham, B3 3BS

'Happy'

Doors 6.30pm 7.00pm start £4.50 (£2.50 members), Friday 18th May 2012

HAPPY, the latest award-winning film from Academy Award® nominated director Roko Belic, takes us on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy. Combining real life stories of people from around the world and powerful interviews with the leading scientists in happiness research, ‘Happy’ explores the secrets behind our most valued emotion.

‘Taste the Waste’

Buffet 1.30pm Film 2.00pm FREE ENTRY FOR ALL, Saturday 19 May 2012

Amazing but true: on the way from the farm to the dining-room table, more than half the food lands on the dump - most of it before it ever reaches consumers. A documentary about the worldwide destruction of food. Why do we throw away so much? And how can we stop this kind of waste?

We are also excited to announce that John Newson, Lead Waste Campaigner for Birmingham Friends of the Earth, will speak at the ‘Taste the Waste’ event about local waste issues, and Kara Moses, Lead Campaigner for Biodiversity, will introduce our new campaign. It’s going to be a great evening, so don’t miss out.

Follow @UKgreenfilms and @wwwfoecouk on Twitter for regular updates, and@justfilmcoop for updates on the Birmimgham events.

Check out the festival website for further details and a full line up.

Press release: Climate Jobs caravan in Birmingham on 15 May

kara@birminghamfoe.org.uk (Kara Moses) — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:55:19 GMT

Press Release

For immediate release

Contact: Rob 0765 476372 or email kazeliot@hotmail.com

Nationwide Tour to Promote Climate Jobs

Climate Jobs Caravan in Birmingham on Tuesday 15^th May

The Climate Jobs Caravan will be visiting Birmingham on 15^th May. It will form part of a tour of Britain taking in 25 towns and cities across the country (1) to promote climate jobs. The ambitious tour, organized by the trade union arm of the Campaign against Climate Change, starts in London and Edinburgh on 12^th May. Throughout the tour there will be meetings, exhibitions and publicity stunts. The tour has the support of a number of trade unions plus national bodies such as the Quakers.

The van will be at Bristol Road South (opposite Boots), Northfield, as guests of Northfield EcoCentre, between 12.00pm and 12.30pm and then at St Philips Cathedral on Temple Row, Birmingham B3 from 2.00pm to 6.00pm.

This will be followed by a public meeting in the Council House (committee Rooms 3 and 4)in Victoria Square, Birmingham, at 7.00pm (9.00pm finish) to hear local and national speakers from a number of campaigns.

These will include John Stewart, Chair of the Campaign Against Climate Change and Hanna Thomas, the Director of the East London Green Jobs Alliance (2) and will be chaired by Chris Crean of Friends of the Earth.

The message of the tour will be simple: the creation of climate jobs can help solve both the economic and climate crises. It will be promoting jobs in areas like public transport, home insulation and renewable energy. (You may want to add a concrete example from your own area). It will argue that one million climate jobs could be created, cutting CO2 emissions by 80% (3). It will be calling for the Government to set up a National Climate Service (NCS) to invest in climate jobs.

Suzanne Jeffery, Chair of the Campaign against Climate Change Trade Union Group, said, “Investing in climate jobs would be a win-win situation. It would help solve both the economic and environmental crises. With 2.5 million people unemployed and climate change threatening the future of our planet, we are dismayed that the Government is refusing to seriously invest in climate jobs.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors

(1). For a list of towns and cities, see map below. Contact details for each area and information about events as they are finalised can be found on our local groups page and on the Campaign against Climate Change Trade Union Group website.

(2) East London Green Jobs Alliance (http://greenjobsalliance.org.uk/), a coalition of trade unions, NGOs, community based organisations and green businesses working together to create green and decent jobs for people and particularly young people in East London.

(3). Based on the booklet Million Climate Jobs report, compiled by the Campaign against Climate Change Union Group with the assistance of the CWU, PCS, TSSA & UCU trade unions

For further information contact: Rob on 0765 476372 or email kazeliot@hotmail.com

Route 2
12 May – London
13 May – Coventry
14 May – Cardiff
15 May – Birmingham
16 May – Cambridge
17 May – Norwich
18 May – Oxford
21 May – Southampton
22 May – Portsmouth
23 May – Brighton
24 May – Redhill
25 May – London

Our Election Ideas – Responses From Politicians

kara@birminghamfoe.org.uk (Kara Moses) — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:33:36 GMT

Friends of the Earth are not a political party and are completely neutral when it comes to elections, but we do try to influence the policies that are adopted by all the parties. Recently we published a list of policies that we would like to see implemented locally to make Birmingham a greener city.

We sent these policy recommendations to the leaders of the parties standing for election. Their responses are summarised below. None of the parties we contacted agreed to pledge to any of the policies we suggested, however most responded to our communications, with varying degrees of enthusiasm. You can use these responses for comparison when making your election choices.

Cllr Mike Whitby – Leader of Birmingham City Council and Leader of the Conservative Group in Birmingham

Cllr Whitby said: 'Clearly our mantra is to create a cleaner, greener and safer City in Birmingham and we tailor our policies to realise these aspirations.'

He suggested that Cllr Huxtable's Strategic Directorship would address our concerns more specifically, and asked him to consider the points we raised. We are yet to hear from Cllr Huxtable.

Cllr Paul Tilsley – Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council and Leader of the Birmingham Liberal Democrats

Cllr Tilsley responded to each of our top ten points individually.

With regards to our recommendations to become a 'no incineration' city, Cllr Tilsley pointed to the Council's contract with Veolia which runs until 2020 and essentially means that Veolia own the waste. No mention of possibilities after 2020 however...

Cllr Tilsley said they they are already committed to creating jobs by re-using or recycling more waste items and working with social enterprises under the Green Deal.

He agreed that street bins should have sections for recyclable items (but maintained that they still need general waste section as well, which we agree with) and our ambitions for increasing the number of journeys made by bicycle in the city. He said that he could 'use influence with BCC representative in Centro' to create the bus system for the 21st century we suggested.

With regards to energy conservation and production, Cllr Tilsley said that making energy conservation a major priority, as we suggested, was 'already done', pointing to the 'already reduced Central Administrative Buildings (CAB Programme) from 65 down to 9' and the 'new flagship offices at Woodcock Street to Bream standards.' In response to our recommendation to expand the Birmingham Energy savers scheme, he said that it was already a success, and agreed.

He agreed that local procurement should be a major part of the council's strategy to create jobs and drive sustainable practices amongst local companies, pointing to FinditinBrum.com as en example of this already in practise.

Finally he said that having access to spaces for growing food was 'important' and green infrastructure was 'very important'.

Phil Simpson, Co ordinator, Birmingham Green Party

Mr Simpson responded with: 'Thank you for the thoughtful and inspiring list of policies your members have drawn up. Whilst they may be different nuances in one or two of them I am more than happy to share these as our joint aspirations.'

He said he would ensure that the 40 Green Party candidates across the city would be informed of our policies recommendations.

Cllr Albert Bore, Leader of the Labour Group of Birmingham City Council

Cllr Bore said that sustainability and making Birmingham a green, smart and safe city was 'very high up on our agenda. 'Should we be successful in our aim to win back control of Birmingham City Council next week,' he continued, 'it is my intention to create a new Cabinet position specifically to tackle these vital issues.' He said he had spoken to the Birmingham Post about aspects of this aim, and sent us the relevant article.

Encouragingly, Cllr Bore said he would welcome the opportunity to discuss with us how they can drive forward the green agenda in partnership with others in Birmingham.

He also sent us a a paper outlining Labour's strategic thinking for the new Cabinet Member, some of the main points from which are outlined below.

The Cabinet Member for a green, smart and safe city would help make Birmingham an exemplar city, providing strategic leadership on the green agenda which includes objectives such as:

Retrofitting of public and private buildings with energy saving measures
The identification of locations for new district heating schemes
An increase in energy and resource efficiency through smart initiatives/ technologies, including maximising the use of waste to generate energy
The development of green jobs
Support for the development and introduction of low carbon transport
The reduction of CO2 emissions in Birmingham by 60% by 2026

The Cabinet Member would set up immediately a Green City Commission with membership drawn from the business community, academic institutions and the third sector. This would replace other partnership arrangements in which the City Council participates and will be the City Council’s vehicle for developing Birmingham as a sustainable, green city.

Peter Hughes, Chairman of UKIP Birmingham Edgbaston, Northfield and Selly Oak

We have not received a response from UKIP.

Dragon's St George's Day Challenge to Cameron as 86% of People in the Midlands Back Clean ...

joe@birminghamfoe.org.uk (Joe Peacock) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Birmingham Friends of the Earth Press Release

David Cameron has come under fire on St George’s Day today (Monday 23 April 2012) as a new poll from Friends of the Earth reveals a patriotic 86 per cent of people in the Midlands would like to see the Government increasing the use of clean British energy and reducing the use of overseas gas.

In the week David Cameron delivers his first green speech as Prime Minister at an international energy summit in London, the YouGov poll reveals that the most of the public in the Midlands want their electricity to come from renewable energy from UK wind, solar, wave and tidal power.

When people in the Midlands were asked which specific sources of energy they would most like to see being used more in ten years’ time a massive 66 per cent of people opted for wind, solar or wave/tidal. Only two per cent would like to see more gas being used. Despite this, recent announcements from Ministers will trigger a new dash for gas that is likely to be met with foreign imports.

New research from the Renewable Energy Association shows that the West Midlands:

Employs over 9,300 people at 691 renewable energy technologies.

Is second only to London in numbers of people employed in the solar PV industry and biofuels for transport.

The region has also seen:

The Co-operative launch an Enterprise Hub in March 2012 to support renewable energy schemes in the region, with £1 million to help local community renewable energy schemes.

Forkers Ltd’s £3.5m contract for Wadlow wind farm which will lead to sub-contracts being offered to local businesses.

The West Midlands Local Authority Low Carbon Economy Programme helping local authorities to use the low carbon agenda to achieve cost reduction and create private and third sector low carbon jobs.

Community Energy Warwickshire adopting a new approach to local energy – a co-op which invests in renewable energy projects and helps local people to reduce their use of energy and save money.

Friends of the Earth’s poll of nearly 3,000 people marks the launch of its new Clean British Energy campaign, supported by Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden.

Deborah Meaden said:

“David Cameron needs to listen to the public and say ‘I’m in’ to clean British energy, opening up a multibillion pound opportunity for British businesses.

“Gas, coal and nuclear are the technologies of the past. Our country has the skills and the talent to be world-beaters in the renewable energy technologies of right now.

“Friends of the Earth’s Clean British Energy campaign would switch the UK to home-grown clean power – we can’t afford not to.”

Birmingham Friends of the Earth’s lead campaigner on Energy and Climate Change, Robert Pass, said:

“The Government has a once-in-a-generation chance to wean Britain off costly fossil fuels with its Bill to reform the electricity market this year – we need better support for smaller businesses and community groups developing clean power from our wind, sun and sea.

“It’s what people in Birmingham want and it’s what people across the country want."

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2884 adults, of which 396 were from the Midlands. Fieldwork was undertaken between 15th - 17th April 2012. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

2. A report to be launched tomorrow from British Renewable Energy - REA/Innovas ‘Renewable Energy: Made in Britain’, April 2012 - marks the first time that the turnover and employment figures of the entire UK renewables sector have been quantified and brought together in one place. The report launched on the eve of the Clean Energy Ministerial Summit finds that the UK renewables industry is worth £12.5 billion and supports 110,000 jobs, with 400,000 required to meet the 2020 renewables targets.

3. For more information on the Co-operative’s Enterprise hub, see here: http://www.co-operative.coop/enterprisehub/ and for more on the West Midlands Local Authority Low Carbon Economy Programme see here: http://www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/projects/?/Public+sector+-+Local+Authority+Low+Carbon+Economy+Programme+/1118

4. Currently, only 9.5 per cent of UK electricity comes from renewable energy sources: http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/stats/publications/energy-trends/3946-energy-trends-section-6-renewables.pdf.

5. Britain lags far behind other European countries like Germany and Italy, who invested around three times as much money in clean energy in 2011. For further information see a recent by the Pew Environment Group, ‘Who’s winning the clean energy race?’, which compares investment in clean energy by country: http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/reports/whos-winning-the-clean-energy-race-2011-edition-85899381106.

6. Department for Energy and Climate Change figures show that there has been nearly £4bn of investment in renewables, and nearly 14k new jobs in less than a year: http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/meeting-energy-demand/renewable-energy/3994-renewables-investment-and-jobs-announced-1-april-t.pdf.

7. David Cameron is delivering his first green speech as Prime Minister at the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) in London on 26 April 2012. The summit will be attended by G20 Ministers and aims to promote policies and programmes that advance clean energy technology. For more information see: http://www.cleanenergyministerial.org/.

8. Friends of the Earth’s Clean British Energy campaign is urging the Government to transform our energy system by developing clean and affordable power from our wind, sun and water. To find out more and back the campaign, visit www.cleanbritishenergy.co.uk (goes live on Monday 23 April 2012).

Climate Caravan Comes to Birmingham

joe@birminghamfoe.org.uk (Joe Peacock) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:41:37 GMT

On Tuesday May 15th, our friends at the Campaign Against Climate Change are bringing their caravan to Birmingham to talk about how we can create a million jobs while dealing with climate change.

The meeting is taking place at 7.00pm in Committee Rooms 3 and 4 in the Council House.

The lineup for the evening meeting will be John Stewart, Campaign Against Climate Change, Hanna Thomas from East London Green Jobs Alliance, Chris Crean of West Midlands Friends of the Earth to chair. Other local speakers welcome- from platform or floor.

This should be an inspiring evening of ideas to get people back into work, create a greener and better society, more efficient houses, cities and organisations.

For more details you can contact kazeliot@hotmail.com and check back here for more in the next couple of weeks.

Our response to the Digbeth LDO consultation

joe@birminghamfoe.org.uk (Joe Peacock) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:29:20 GMT

The Local Development Order (LDO) for Digbeth was proposed as part of the city centre Enterprise Zone and means that planning restrictions are eased in order to "stimulate economic activity" in the area.

We are concerned about the impact of this LDO in its current form and have submitted the following response to the consultation which closed recently - click on the image below to download the pdf:

Fracking Dangerous!

joe@birminghamfoe.org.uk (Joe Peacock) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:16:13 GMT

Today, a government report on Fracking has said that the two small earthquakes last year near Blackpool were caused by the activities being carried out by Cuadrilla, but it is safe to continue drilling, because the risks can be managed.

This completely ignores all the other problems with fracking that have been clearly shown in other places where it has taken place. Friends of the Earth have produced a briefing on this, which very clearly explains our position.

Executive Director Andy Atkins also said today:

"We don't need earth tremor-causing fracking to meet our power needs - we need a seismic shift in energy policy.

"Earth tremors aren't the only risks associated with fracking - it's also been linked to air and water pollution and produces gas that causes climate change.

"There should be a full scientific assessment of all the impacts of fracking - a short consultation on one of the problems is completely inadequate.

"We should be developing the huge potential of clean British energy from the sun, wind and waves, not more dirty and dangerous fossil fuels."

This issue is hugely controversial and has already caused some large protests across the country. If we burn all the shale gas that could be exploited, not only will there be likely local environmental problems, but we will also ensure that CO2 levels in the atmosphere rise so high as to make it impossible to stop runaway climate change.

Curry Night Thursday 26th of April

shaz_30@msn.com (Shaz Rahman) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:39:52 GMT

Curry night on Thursday 26^th April

Next Thursday on the 26^th of April Birmingham Friends of the Earth are holding a curry evening at the Bay Leaf in the Custard factory at 7pm.

There will be a delicious three course meal with both vegetarian and meat options available. At the meal there will be a chance to socialise and meet with other green minded campaigners as we will be enjoying a drink before the meal starts.

The meal is priced at £20. £10 will go to the Bay Leaf and £10 will help Birmingham Friends of the Earth. The meal is a great chance to support Birmingham Friends of the Earth and the work we do.

We welcome you to bring your friends and family and we would be happy to provide you with tables to seat either 2,4 or 8 people.

The tantalising menu is as follows;

-Chicken Tikka Tamarind
-Vegetable Samosa
-Vegetable Pakora

Main Course:
A choice of the following

Lamb Balti
Lamb with fresh spices ,cooked with tomatoes, onions, green peppers completed with fresh green chillies to give it a slight kick.

Chicken Tikka Masala
Succulent pieces of breast tikka chicken cooked in a rich ,creamy sauce.

Paneer Tikka Bhuna (V)
Indian cheese spiced lightly and pan fried then cooked in a spicy Bhuna sauce.

Vegetable Bhuna (V)
Vegetables cooked with onions, tomatoes, selected spices and garnished with herbs .

Dessert:
Chocolate brownie with ice cream

If you would like to attend please send an email to emmakgj@gmail.com with the following information:

- Your name,
- Contact telephone number,
- Table size you would like
- Your main meal choice for your table.

Our Election Ideas - Who Will Adopt These Policies?

joe@birminghamfoe.org.uk (Joe Peacock) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:37:37 GMT

We are not a political party and are completely neutral when it comes to elections, but we do try to influence the policies that are adopted by all the parties, so we are publishing a list of policies that we would like to see implemented here.

These will also be sent to the leaders of the parties standing for election and their responses will be published in order for people to be able to compare these when making their choices. We have produced a top-ten priority list and a more extensive list of recommendations:

Birmingham Friends of the Earth – our ten-point plan for a better Birmingham

1. Plan to phase out the burning of rubbish as a fuel – make Birmingham a 'no incineration' city with a zero carbon waste system and clean air.

2. Create jobs by re-using or recycling waste items and working with social enterprises to help them develop locally relevant projects.

3. Street bins will have sections for recyclable items.

4. Aim to get 5% of journeys within the city made by bicycle in the next 4 years by prioritising safety on the roads through 20 mph speed limits and creating safe cycling corridors. Also, aim to massively increase the number of school journeys made by walking or cycling by resourcing “walking buses” or “bike trains”.

5. Plan a bus system for the 21st century, so people have a real alternative to the car – this would include better stops with cycle facilities, better interchange between different bus routes and bus and other modes, clear mapping of bus routes and interchanges, better frequency, dedicated lanes and smart ticketing.

6. Energy conservation should be made the major priority, especially on council-owned buildings, as it is deliverable much more quickly and the returns on investment are higher than any other measure.

7. Birmingham Energy Savers should be expanded in a way that maximises the potential for local job creation, the development of local manufacturing, training up young people and dealing with the most acute cases of fuel poverty first.

8. Local procurement should be a major part of the council's strategy to create jobs and also drive sustainable practices amongst local companies by building in expectations on environmental standards to contracts.

9. Spaces for growing food should be an integral part of every neighbourhood and access to these spaces a right of every citizen. This should be part of local planning policy on new developments.

- Many of the the suggestions in the Places for the Future Supplementary Planning Document are excellent, so we would refer candidates to these: http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/placesforthefuture

10. Recognition of the importance of Green Infrastructure (parks, trees and green spaces) needs to be core to planning every area of the city because of the benefits it provides.

And here's the more extensive list of recommendations:

Birmingham Friends of the Earth – Environmental Policies for Birmingham 2012

Resource Use – Zero Waste

Plan to phase out burning of rubbish as a fuel - a 'no incineration' city, zero carbon waste system, clean air.
Create jobs by re-using or recycling waste items and working with social enterprises to help them develop locally relevant projects.
Halve household rubbish i.e. 'residual waste' by 2020.
Plan for digestion or composting of all biodegradable waste.
Move towards a fully contained waste system for recyclables and food waste, with a trial of bins instead of boxes in part of the city, including a separate food waste collection.
Street bins to have sections for recyclable items.
Look at different incentives for residents to encourage recycling – charity donations, competitions for best neighbourhood to win award for new facilities or discounts on public transport through smart cards.

Transport

Safety for pedestrians and cyclists should be prioritised. There are large numbers of people who do not own or have access to cars, so it is time for their needs to be recognised by implementing 20mph speed limits on all residential roads and enforcement of a ban on pavement parking so that it is safe for people to walk there.
Improvements to be made to the public realm in order to encourage walking to and use of local centres and high streets all over the city. These should include using shared space design, removal of pedestrian guard railings and general street 'clutter' (unnecessary signs, cabinets, etc).
Aim to get 5% of journeys within the city made by bicycle in the next 4 years.
Create safer cycling corridors through physical measures, such as blocking off streets, as “no through roads” to cars.
Resource a 'walking bus' and/or 'bike train' to every school.
Accept that fuel prices will only go up and there needs to be planning for the end of cheap motoring.
Plan to use road space more efficiently by reallocating it from private motor vehicles, whose levels have been falling for 10 years.
Plan a bus system for the 21st century, so people have a real alternative to the car – this would include better stops with cycle facilities, better interchange between different bus routes and bus and other modes, clear mapping of bus routes and interchanges, better frequency, dedicated lanes and smart ticketing.
Re-open suburban rail stations – investigate funding for immediate start to work on Camp Hill and Sutton Park lines with connected infrastructure. Also, lobby nationally for more local train services to create a 'Birmingham Overground'.
Review whether new Metro lines will be good value for money.
Develop a freight strategy to remove the need for large lorries to travel through high streets at peak times by the creation of 'bulk break' depots on outskirts of city.
Make space for car clubs to park vehicles so that they are within reasonable distance from the majority of citizens in the city

Energy Efficiency and Generation

Energy conservation should be the major priority, especially on council-owned buildings, as it is deliverable much more quickly and the returns on investment are higher than any other measure.
Birmingham Energy Savers should be expanded in a way that maximises the potential for local job creation, the development of local manufacturing, training up young people and dealing with the most acute cases of fuel poverty first.
Birmingham should look for ways of piloting a “smart grid” and new technology to help make more efficient use of our energy.
Birmingham should look to develop a municipal power company and support local community energy cooperatives to regain control over local generation and sale of energy.
Ensure new development is constructed to high standards to minimise energy use – this should be zero carbon or “passive house” as soon as possible http://www.passivhaus.org.uk/.
Ensure that all new developments are connected to a CHP (Combined Heat and Power) system and develop a strategy to ensure that this is retrofitted where possible.
Work with experts in local universities to develop innovation in urban energy generation and get investment into turning research into product development and manufacturing.
Work to develop wind energy projects in suitable locations, including working together with LEP partners around Birmingham.
Many of the the suggestions in the Places for the Future Supplementary Planning Document are excellent, so we would refer candidates to these: http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/placesforthefuture

Food

Local procurement should be a major part of the council's strategy to create jobs and also drive sustainable practices amongst local companies by building in expectations on environmental standards to contracts.
There should be more recognition of local independent food retailers and restaurants and support for community initiatives.
Recognition of the damage caused by large national/multinational retailers to local communities should be included in planning guidance.
Spaces for growing food should be an integral part of every neighbourhood and access to these spaces a right of every citizen. This should be part of local planning policy on new developments.
Parks should plant community orchards and plants to encourage pollinators to thrive, thereby helping food growers.

Green and Blue Infrastructure

Recognition of the importance of Green Infrastructure needs to be core to planning every area of the city because of the benefits it provides.
Waterways also have a vital role to play in providing places not only for leisure, but also for transport and providing a habitat for wildlife – a plan needs to be made to ensure all these are balanced and the benefits maximised.