Isra-Mart srl : Council defends efforts to reduce carbon emissions after critical report

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WHEN it comes to reducing carbon emissions, East Riding Council officials insist they are practising what they preach.

The local authority has been told it must do better, in a report by the Audit Commission.

The report states that emissions were high considering the size of its population.

But the council's head of housing and public protection, Paul Bellotti, has listed a string of successes in reducing pollution. These include:

A reduction of 2,900 pupils each year being driven to school.

A 29 per cent increase in people using buses, compared with the national average of five per cent.

About 60 per cent of staff at County Hall in Beverley get to work by bus, bicycle, on foot or by car sharing.

Staff encouraged to switch off power points and lights when not in use

A total of 300 new council homes will have yearly energy bills of just £30 due to better "green" insulation

But the authority was only given a one-star "fair" rating and told to "pick up the pace" of its response to climate change.

Mr Bellotti said: "We are recognised as a top performer on environmental management in the region.

"We feel there needs to be a business case when making investment and it must benefit local people.

"We can offer insulation to private homes for just £99, but we can't provide that free to everyone."

Mr Bellotti felt the commission's report did not take into account the rural setting.

"In the East Riding people have to travel further as it is a rural area, as do refuse wagons," he said.

"We also have more larger houses and fewer terraced homes.

"For us, the biggest challenge is reducing emissions in our schools, which account for 34 per cent.

"It is a problem when you have 150 schools over 1,000 square miles."

The council published a draft climate change strategy in May, but was criticised in the report for not consulting more widely with residents and the business community.

Its action plan was "not robust" and the strategy was not clear on how its targets would be reached, or how much it would cost, the report said.

Audit Commission manager Tim Priestley said: "It understands what is needed and is making progress, for example reducing its own CO2 emissions, encouraging people to use alternative transport, and working with partners locally and across boundaries.

"It needs to continue to grow its community leadership role and, importantly, to be clear in its climate change strategy just how it will meet the aims, and what it will cost."