Greens Volunteer Bus Service celebrates 30 year Anniversary

Cllrs Andrew Cooper, Sue Lee-Richards &  Karen Allison 

A bus service started by the Green Party in Huddersfield over the festive period in 1992 is marking its 30th Anniversary in service.

 The Green Party in the Newsome Ward commenced the service as a response to bus service cuts in the 1990s and used to cover Boxing Day and New Years Day before Boxing Day Services were restored a few years ago. The New Year’s Day service has run on every New Year’s Day for 30 years with the exception of 2020 due to Covid restrictions.

 Councillor Andrew Cooper who is one of the drivers on the service said,

 “I remember the first one we ran in 1992 which started  as a protest against the removal of services over the holiday period. Since then some services have been resumed in some areas in recent years on Boxing Day. In recent years the minibus has been donated by Kirklees Council for which we are very grateful”

 The Bus service links Berry Brow, Newsome, the Town Centre and goes up to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and is used by people visiting relatives in hospital.

Newsome Green Party Councillor Sue Lee-Richards who is also a volunteer on the bus service said

 “I really enjoy doing the bus service each year and it is now very much part of our Christmas holiday routine. At this time of year when there are limited public transport services taxi journeys can be expensive so people who use the minibus really do value it. We put timetables on bus stops, in local shops and on newsletters that go to thousands of homes, so people are aware of our schedule. The service is free to use but donations towards fuel costs are always welcome. A copy of our timetable is below.”

Cllr Andrew Cooper's Speech on Kirklees Climate Change Action Plan - Kirklees Full Council 7/12/22

 Just to be clear and to avoid accusations by Cllr Simpson, that I am making up my own facts, I'll only quote from the report that is in front of us today.

When is a Climate Change Action Plan NOT a Climate Change Action Plan? I guess the answer to this question is when it says it isn’t. The report on the Climate Change Action Plan says,

“The CCAP is not a list of firm commitments, investment proposals or instructions at this point in the process. But it does set out detailed actions that can be taken by the Council, key partners, and members of the wider community to help deliver the district's net zero and climate ready target.”

Now I don’t know about you but that doesn’t sound anything like an action plan to me.

And  what consequences flow from “the plan”. For instance costs, risks, legal implications. The report says 

2.15. As this version of the CCAP is not a list of commitments and instructions at this stage in the process, there are no costs associated with its approval. 

Furthermore it says,

2.23. There are minimal risks associated with the publication of this plan, due to the non-committal nature of the CCAP”.

And on legal implications

5.2. As the CCAP shown in Appendix 1 of this report is not a list of commitments and instructions, there are no broader legal implications in the approval of this plan. 

I am disappointed that there are no implications from this report. I want the report to be consequential, important and substantial.

I do the report a slight misservice as there is a risk identified. It says:

 2.24. The core risks with this CCAP comes primarily from potential communication and publication of the documentation. Specifically associated with the positive and negative response expected from the public, partner organisations such as the Kirklees Climate Commission. 

When you are expecting a possible poor response from your principal partner the Kirklees Climate Commission you’ve got to be asking yourself some serious questions as to why we are in this space.

It further goes on to say

5.14. A core focus of this criticism is expected around the non-committal nature of this CCAP at this stage in the process. To combat this, we are striving to clearly communicate how the next steps in our action plan process will result in firm commitments, once we have developed and identified – through extensive resident and stakeholder engagement, a refined number of high-priority actions by place, which will be accompanied by a business case providing indicative costs and carbon figures. 

So in a strange way I am reassured by this report. Reassured because I have heard certain Cabinet Members saying how we are one of the best Councils in the country on addressing climate change. I tell you now, we are not and recognising that is the first step towards improving so I commend officers for their candour in this report and all the good work they are doing but I’d like a clear understanding from Cabinet Members of when we will have a real Climate Change Action Plan given that we are nearly 4 years since the Council declared a Climate Emergency.

I was a bit bemused by this statement in the report

3.11., Kirklees Council have and will continue to deliver a Young Persons Climate Festival helping educate, inform, and give young people a chance to get involved with the various environmental initiatives taking place across Kirklees.

If there’s something I’m really clear about, it is that young people, ( with one or two exceptions), get climate change almost instinctively, as the future that we are just beginning to see is getting worse and the consequences of our actions are ones that they will experience acutely. Many are well informed, and educate themselves, you do that, when it is a threat to your future and your very survival.

I think we need another “Festival'' to inform and educate Councillors, Directors, Heads of Service. Why not ensure we all go through a Carbon Literacy course so they properly understand the implications of  decisions on future generations. 

 

In some ways the most shocking part of the report was this statement,

“6.3. Review by portfolio holders: Cllr Simpson (Green and Clean), Cllr Davies (Environment) and Cllr Mather (Corporate) were consulted and had no comments on the options or recommendations put forward in this report.”

What nothing? Zilch? Nada? Arguably the most important document about what we are doing locally to address climate change and our Kirklees Cabinet members had nothing to say?

Utterly shocking!