Lib Dems urge energy savings on City Council

2.06.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 11th Dec 2007

Hereward Cooke

Norwich Liberal Democrats will next week urge Norwich City Council to lead by example in tackling Climate Change.

The group will call on the Labour administration to do more to improve energy efficiency in council buildings. With the council currently spending £138,000 a year to run its three office buildings, the Lib Dems are asking the Council to use all available resources to save money, fuel and the climate.

The Lib Dems will call upon the council to follow the example of other Local authorities and businesses and work with experts to reduce energy use in Council buildings. It would amount to a change of culture within the Council whereby every member of staff would be seen as an activist in the battle to save energy.

Councillor Hereward Cooke, leader of the Liberal Democrats, says: "Every organisation in the City has a duty to play its part in reducing its carbon foot-print. The City Council has its duty to give a lead to this movement. By putting energy saving on everybody's agenda and by importing ideas from elsewhere, we should be able to save tax-payers money and set an example to others. Daily office and Council life will become an experiment in how to meet the needs of the planet in the course of routine activities. We need to start that process at City Hall now."

The future of City Hall is presently under review as a result of its expected unitary status. This will also give the Council the chance to show the way by coming up with innovative and environmentally friendly solutions. But perceived wisdom says that present practice has to be as good as possible before major capital commitments are made. "That is what gives the Liberal Democrats the impetus to ask for changes to be made now," says Councillor Cooke.

The Lib Dems will put the following motion to council:

'This Council requests that the Service Plan for 2008/09 includes action on reducing energy use in City Council buildings especially City Hall. We therefore ask that the use of consultants, (whether external or from local authorities) be considered to advise on this essential work, under the "spend to save" initiative.'