We should be green with envy over city’s approach to energy...
COUNCILLOR SAYS KIRKLEES COUNCIL IS BEING ‘PUT TO SHAME’ BY LEEDS
KIRKLEES Council is being put to shame by Leeds’ shining example in its approach to green energy, a leading campaigner has said.
Andrew Cooper who has led the calls for a green revolution for over two decades now, spoke out as the government revealed new cars and vans powered wholly by petrol and diesel will not be sold in the UK from 2030.
The veteran leader of the Green group on Kirklees Council said Leeds put “Kirklees to shame” in its wholehearted embrace of the green agenda.
Leeds City Council has over 330 electric vehicles in its fleet – the largest electric fleet of any local authority in the country.
And it is working with Engie, a leading service, business energy and regeneration company, and West Yorkshire Combined Authority to create a network of electric vehicle rapid chargepoints.
There are already 16 of these charge points up and running in Leeds, with a network of over 30 planned to be delivered by March 2021. They use renewable energy, are free to use until October 2021 and can charge compatible vehicles in as little as 30 minutes.
Clr Cooper who is looking forward to buying an electric bike, said: “Our electrical charging points could be the petrol pumps of the future.
“It’s frustrating for me but Kirklees Council is beginning to move now after a very slow start but we are way behind authorities such as Leeds which puts us to shame, really.”
Engie is installing 88 charge points in West Yorkshire. By March 2021 Bradford will have 20, Calderdale eight, Kirklees 17, Leeds 30 and Wakefield 13.
Clr Cooper said: “There’s a £1m fund allocated by Kirklees Council towards that.”
And he said there was a chance for the council to do big, innovative things by making all its refuse trucks run on renewable energy as soon as possible.
As for supermarkets, he challenged them to do more by providing charge points, saying they were currently “missing a trick” by failing to do so.
In neighbouring Calderdale, the council is keen to ramp up its green agenda.
Clr Scott Patient, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Resilience, said: “We’re ambitious about tackling climate change, especially given the unique threat of flooding in the borough.
“Following the declaration of a Climate Emergency in the borough in January 2019, we’ve made good progress to develop schemes to both protect the environment and limit our boroughwide carbon outputs.
“During the pandemic, we have seen how changes to our lifestyle and fewer cars on the roads can have a positive impact on the environment. We now have a real opportunity to build on that and switch to more sustainable ways of living.
“As part of a joint project with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds-based energy and services company, Engie, we’ve recently installed 10 rapid charge points in car parks across Calderdale.
“We hope this will encourage greater use of electric vehicles as an alternative to petrol and diesel cars.
“We’ve also recently welcomed the first of 35 electric and hybrid vehicles for our council fleet, which will replace old petrol and diesel ones.
“The new vans will be used by a number of council services, including transport, highways, parking, community safety, waste management and adult health and social care teams.
“As a borough, we’ve set a target of becoming carbon neutral by 2038, with significant progress by 2030. Although reducing vehicle emissions is just part of our response, it’s one of the ways we’re supporting this ambition, helping to create a cleaner, greener and healthier Calderdale.”