Parliament has recently been working on a Levelling up and Regeneration Bill.

One section of special importance to all of us, and to our grandchildren, was voted down, though. This clause would have required that the Secretary of State and relevant planning authorities “must have special regard to, and aim to ensure consistency with, achieving the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change; the target for 2050 set out in the Climate Change Act 2008.” This good sense would have applied to decisions made about the development and use of land and about planning choices, national and local.

The government majority in the House of Commons, however, voted NOT to require that we have regard to climate change when making planning decisions, and Robert Courts voted this way, with his party.

Had this clause passed, local and national government would have been required to take climate change seriously. By voting it down, however, we’re allowing ourselves to continue to look the other way. Changes made to our own Salt Cross Village plan spring to mind as a local example of a decision to do exactly that.