A campaigning town council are hoping to create a ‘ground swell of pressure’ as they fight to protect green spaces, reduce climate change and protect our planet for generations to come.
Woodbridge Town Council fear that while many district and borough councils across Suffolk have declared a 'climate emergency', few are actually using it as a drive for change.
They will now be putting forth suggestions to create an ecological specification system in an effort to thwart further destruction of our green spaces.
East Suffolk Council declared their climate change emergency in July but even in the few weeks since then there have been planning applications approved without any additional thought for green issues, say Woodbridge Town Council.
They were particularly concerned when plans to chop down the century-old Coronation Wood to make way for Sizewell C - even though the proposed new twin reactor nuclear power station has not been given the go-ahead yet.
Theberton and Eastbridge Parish Council, supported by a number of other parish and town councils, will now ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to "call in" the application and consider it for a planning inquiry.
Supporting the, Woodbridge mayor Eamonn O'Nolan said: "This is a perfect example of a district council that has declared a climate emergency and just going dead against it."
The town council wants to see guidelines put in place that apply to all new applications - for instance Councillor Sharon Miller suggested that when an application be made to fell a tree there should be a condition that it is only approved if an assurance is given that a replacement will be planted.
This suggestion came about after an application was made to destroy an oak tree in Ipswich Road, Woodbridge.
Meanwhile, Mr O'Nolan said: "The climate emergency committee would like the planning committee to start to insist on the highest level of insulation and the use of renewable energies in every planning application for new houses."
Mr O'Nolan said: "There's an appetite for this. And I think we can potentially create a ground swell of pressure that we can impose on the planning department in Melton."
And their plans could then be rolled out to other areas.
"The kind of feedback I'm getting from councils around the county is of interest, including one in West Suffolk who would like to come and have a chat with us about some of the things we are proposing."
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