TAVISTOCK Town Council voted against a motion to declare a climate emergency last week, deferring the declaration until ‘more substance’ could be put behind it.

Councillors debated the declaration of a ‘climate emergency’ — following in the footsteps of Devon County Council and West Devon Borough Council — with mixed feelings. Some believed making the declaration would send a political message that the council was supporting the need for change, while others thought it would be making a ‘bland’ statement with no meaning, instead proposing that it be researched at committee level to assess implications to the council and its taxpayers and to come up with an achievable strategy to sit alongside the declaration.

The motion to declare a climate emergency was accompanied by a number of pledges the council could take, including committing to make Tavistock carbon neutral by 2030.

Cllr James Ellis agreed that the council could do more in reducing its environmental impact but did not believe that setting a carbon neutral target for Tavistock of 2030 was ‘realistic’.

‘2030 is much earlier than the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has suggested,’ he said. ‘We should be more realistic and not set ourselves up to fail.

‘Other councils have set aside thousands of pounds just for discussions.

‘I agree there is more we can do as a council and as a town but declaring “emergency” means we have to change right now, and that will be costing taxpayers right now.’

Cllr Ellis highlighted that the majority of the council-owned buildings were old and in order to comply would need new windows, roofing, lightbulbs, insulation and many other modifications as well as trying to find a sustainable energy source to power and heat them. ‘How much more would we need to raise the precept to fund this?’ he asked.

Cllr Paul Williamson agreed: ‘We have no idea what our emissions are currently. I think the target is a bit over ambitious. There needs to be a very considered, costed strategy and we need to know what it will put upon our council and our residents.’

Questions were raised in reference to the town being carbon neutral as to whether barbecues would still be allowed on Bedford Square or whether the annual Robey Trust Steam Fair would still be able to take place.

It was suggested that the council could declare a climate emergency, without the proposed pledges, and then refer the issue to the budget and policy committee to further explore options and come up with a strategy.

Cllr Ursula Mann said: ‘The reason we brought this motion forward was to bring conversations like this to all council meetings and when we make decisions, we think about the implications on the environment. This isn’t about spending thousands of pounds, it’s about being creative.

‘Declaring a climate emergency is being part of the solution. It will enable us to ask for funding from the Government and it aligns us with all levels of local government but I support the motion for it to be further considered at committee.’

Cllr Parker said: ‘Declaring a climate emergency is a political statement. We’re not alone if we do this. Devon County Council was encouraging all local councils to roll in behind it. West Devon Borough Council has gone down this road and the Government has gone down this road. There’s a whole range of options that could be covered by those words.’

Cllr Paul Ward said he felt ‘uncomfortable’ declaring an emergency before they fully understood the implications on the council and felt if there was further exploration into the motion, they would be in a better position to make the declaration.

Cllr Mandy Ewings agreed: ‘I also feel uncomfortable with making a bland statement with nothing behind it. I would rather wait so we can come back with something more substantial.’

Cllr Harry Smith highlighted that some councils had fallen into financial trouble after declaring a climate emergency. He said: ‘Many other areas have found declaring the emergency to be the easy part — funding the change is more difficult. We can do whatever is possible locally but we cannot do it individually or unfunded. Some local authorities and parish councils have been hit with spiralling revenue costs from it — we don’t want to fall into that trap.

‘If you’re going to do something, you should do it properly and thoroughly researched.’

The council voted against declaring a climate emergency nine votes to seven, but voted unanimously for the proposal to be put to the budget and policy committee for further research and discussion.