‘Don’t pay for airport expansion’
GREENS LEADER SAYS PLAN WILL INCREASE CARBON EMISSIONS
KIRKLEES Council has been accused of “unwillingness” to properly engage with green issues – despite declaring a climate emergency almost a year ago.
That accusation has been strongly rejected by a senior Labour councillor.
Kirklees Greens leader Clr Andrew Cooper fears the Labour Cabinet’s support for the £100m expansion at Leeds Bradford Airport could scupper plans in Kirklees to drive down carbon emissions.
He said a call from the Greens asking Kirklees to withdraw that support and back investment in activities promoting carbon reduction was rejected last week.
And in September a request to move the same motion to an earlier place on an agenda was also voted down and the motion was not heard.
Now Clr Cooper says the council should be debating how West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), a group of leading councillors and officers from West Yorkshire councils, plus York, that works on major infrastructure projects, is allocating public funds.
“Facilitating the expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport comes with a £100m price tag,” he says.
“That is public money allocated through WYCA that Kirklees Council has a say on.
“A study by Leeds University says all the action we are taking to reduce emissions could be blown by Leeds Bradford Airport’s expansion plans.”
He claims Labour “has frustrated my attempts” to get what he described as “this crucially important subject” discussed.
His concerns come as the council prepares the publication of a report by the all-party Climate Emergency Working Group (CEWG).
The CEWG is chaired by Clr Richard Murgatroyd (Lab, Golcar), who secured support in January for a motion that will see the authority carry out a full environmental audit and to measure its carbon footprint.
But Clr Cooper says: “Whatever recommendations [the CAWG report] reveals to reduce carbon emissions could be made worthless if we facilitate through the WYCA an expanded airport at Leeds Bradford.”
Clr Peter McBride, the council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said the authority took its responsibility for environmental issues “incredibly seriously” and that it would launch its “ambitious” plan to tackle climate change next month.
He said Clr Cooper, as a member of the CEWG, would be “fully aware” of the work that had gone into the report.
He added: “We unfortunately only have a certain amount of time at full council to debate items.On October 16 we ran out of time to debate on any motions at all so I strongly object to accusations of manoeuvring.
“The plans around Leeds Bradford Airport are not to expand it but to improve travel to and from it for the four million passengers it serves every year.
“This number is continuing to grow and that is why the plans focus primarily on a park and ride train facility to provide those passengers with a greener way to travel to the airport.”