emissions, but preparing for the effects of climate change is just as important. It is
important whether you believe the scientific evidence or not as the changes in the
weather, climate change or not, are definitely with us.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report of
November 2011, Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance
Climate Change Adaptation (see http://ipcc-g2.gov/SREX), explains the impact that
effective land use planning for adaptation can have in preparing economies and
societies for the effects of climate change. The UK’s Adaptation Sub-Committee also
identifies the importance of the land use planning system in adaptation.
Local planning authorities, like Broadland District Council and the other members
of the GNDP, should consider the likely impacts of climate change and, using
the available evidence, positively and proactively plan for these impacts when
considering new development as they propose in the Joint Core Strategy (JCS) and
develop adaptation options for existing areas like the North East Growth Triangle
(NEGT).
Overview of climate impacts and risks for the East of England
Risk involves a vulnerable element (a person, place or thing) being in contact with (or
exposed to) a particular hazard (a climate-related event) to such an extent that harm
or damage will occur.
Much of the East of England is low-lying and at risk of flooding, especially after
heavy rainfall in winter as evidenced by any local residents of the NEGT as they
drive around after a downpour! We need to understand what these risks are locally
and anticipate the impacts through the local planning process. Climate impacts at
the countywide and local levels have been identified most commonly through Local
Climate Impact Profiles (LCLIPs). For example, the Hertfordshire LCLIP identifies
possible impacts, specifically flooding, on local areas in terms of the following risks:
- Health: Increased road accidents and associated injuries; and injuries to individuals.
- Social: Displacement of residents, including the elderly from care homes; disruption to access; and school closures and subsequent disruption toeducation.
- Economic: Disruption to business; damage to rail infrastructure, community properties and homes; strain on council resources; and extra demand onemergency services resources.
- Environmental: Flooding of parkland and fields; raw sewage leakages; and detrimental impacts on water quality.
We would contend that a LCLIP for the JCS would find the following:
- Health: Major increase in road accidents as locals use the 11 roundabouts onthe NDR through the NEGT area. Individuals suffer more injuries as they try and cross the NDR or cycle on the inadequate or missing cycle lanes.
- Social: Local residents displace from their place of birth and forced to moveto a new town that has no facilities despite the promises of the developers.Local village schools at Salhouse and Rackheath closed as pupils forced totravel to a large new foundation primary school in the middle of nowhere.
- Economic: Local SME businesses close as large multi national businesses(Tesco, Weatherspoons etc) move in to the NEGT area. The Bittern Linecannot cope with the additional passengers causing severe rail disruption. BDC resources cannot cope with the additional requirement for traditionalcouncil provided services and the already under strain East of England Ambulance service continues to fail to meet its 19 minute target forresponding to 999 calls.
- Environmental: Parks and common leisure ground floods, as surface rainwater is unable to drain naturally. Raw sewage floods back intoresidential properties as Anglian Water have not found the innovative solutionto water stress as promised and the quality of water deteriorates even furtherfrom the current poor level of quality.
Just saying……..
There was a very good letter by D. Smith of Salhouse in the EDP of the 19th November, centred around the closure of the Green Man at Rackheath but moving out into the state of the economy, the environment, and the abundance of existing brownfield sites already given planning permission.
ReplyDeleteD. Smith may think he or she is "extreme", but what does that make me?! I am getting really worried now, not just about climate change and habitat loss, but about the state of the Ozone layer. When CFCs were phased out, it was thought the damage to the Ozone would repair itself - but this is not happening because a new Ozone depleter has emerged, Nitrous Oxide. This is emitted in increasing amounts worldwide due to intensive agriculture in places like Brazil; it is also emitted by catalytic converters which of course are much more common now that they were in the 1970s.
Thinning Ozone disrupts the immune system of animals and plants - including trees - and reduces their ability to resist infection by viruses, fungi, and bacteria. It also sometimes sends the immune system into overdrive, causing it to attack itself as in many autoimmune diseases like asthma, eczema, rheumatoid arthritis, MS, etc. No doubt plants and trees can develop autoimmune diseases too.
I think we have reached a tipping point where any more Development is not only not Sustainable, but actively toxic.
There are many of us who agree with the West Norfolk comment.
ReplyDeleteWe must stop burying our heads in the sand and making our future challenges even greater than they are now. We need to halt our population growth and development now.
What is all the point of these consultations as the Councillors who we elected to SERVE US and who we PAY for are just not interested in the residents and live in a different world. They proved how out of touch they are with reality when in a time when the rest of us are struggling in austerity they slip away for a 7 day "jolly" in a five star hotel in Dubai and then more of them when our roads need repairing and they are cutting back on essential services such as care for the elderly are quite happy to waste Millions on buying RAF Coltishall when the private sector would have bought the site at NO COST to the taxpayer. There must be a hidden agenda to produce this utter madness.
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