A local authority says it has unveiled “realistic” proposals to tackle the climate emergency.

Dover District Council has prioritised upgrading homes to make them more energy efficient and to reduce reliance on fossil fuel power.

The administration has revealed that about 460,000 tonnes of C02 were emitted from its own estate in 2018, which includes road transport, gas and electric power.

It is the rough equivalent of 90,000 cars on the road driven for a 12-month period. One of the main sources relates to council bin collection vehicles.

Dover’s seven Tory cabinet members are expected to approve the authority’s first ever climate action plan during a virtual public meeting next Monday from 11am.

Cllr Trevor Bartlett (Con), who has put the environment on his agenda since taking over as council leader in October 2019, said he was “serious” about protecting the climate.

He said: “It’s difficult what we can physically do, but we will try and influence where we can.”

Dover council, along with the majority of Kent’s 13 councils, is identifying the resources it will need to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Under its plans, Dover council has vowed to “decarbonise” its building stock, including its main offices at White Cliffs Business Park in Whitfield.

As the local planning authority, it has also imposed a range of eco-friendly conditions on applications to build homes.

It has asked developers to build homes with low-carbon materials and to increase the number of electric car charging points near people’s houses.

More green spaces will also be created, with some disused garages of former East Kent Housing stock in Dover being replaced with trees and shrubbery.

'The sad reality is that improving the climate will cost money...'

Cllr Bartlett said: “I think the 2030 target is realistic. We are looking to carbon offset our own buildings.”

Dover councillors have agreed to set aside £475,000 to finance future schemes.

But Cllr Kevin Mills (Lab), the authority’s opposition leader, questioned whether enough cash was available to properly invest in the environment programme.

The Buckland councillor said: “The sad reality is that improving the climate will cost money.”

This comes less than a week after Canterbury City Council pledged to spend more than £200million towards an “ambitious” climate change plan. Under this, all council-owned fossil fuel cars and vans would be replaced by electric vehicles.

In response, Cllr Bartlett admitted that funding is “very tight” for the authority, which has forecast a £5m budget pressure due to Covid by April this year, but remains confident that more government cash support will be made available.

The Conservative council leader pointed to a £3billion ‘Green Homes’ grant unveiled four months ago by Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Cash will be used to upgrade England’s buildings and improve the energy efficiency of more than 600,000 homes, saving up to £600 a year on bills.

At the time, Mr Sunak said: “We’re giving homeowners, landlords and local authorities the funding they need to hire local tradespeople and make our homes more energy efficient.

“By supporting the green van men and women, we’ll save money, save jobs and save the planet.”

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