Council to scrap climate emergency declaration

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s newly elected administration will put forward a motion at the next Full Council in July, formally cancelling the original declaration, which was passed in 2019.

And Council Leader Jonathan Gullis has also announced that the Sustainable Environment Strategy, which commits the authority to be carbon neutral by 2030, has been ended with immediate effect.

Jonathan Gullis, Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Cabinet member for Planning and Town Centres, said:

The people of Newcastle-under-Lyme voted for change, and they voted for a council that puts their priorities first. That is exactly what we are doing.
 

We have immediately axed ‘Net Zero Newcastle 2030’, and at the next Full Council meeting we will bring forward a motion to undeclare the so-called climate emergency imposed in 2019. This declaration was little more than political virtue signalling. It has not cut council tax, improved a local service, or made life easier for working people.
 

The move to achieve Net Zero has become the worst kind of ‘groupthink’; often expensive and detached from reality while we pay more at home and at work for decisions that make no meaningful difference.
 

“Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council should be focused on clean streets, safer communities, better services and value for money, not gimmicks. That is why every pound of spending linked to Net Zero is now under review. Where money has not been spent or legally committed, we will look to stop it, save it, or reprioritise it for the things residents actually care about.
 

As a Reform UK-led administration, we make no apology for putting residents before ideology, value for money before virtue signalling, and the priorities people voted for back at the heart of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council.”

If passed by Full Council, all spending associated with that programme, as well as spending linked to the wider central government Net Zero agenda, will be reviewed.

Officers are being asked to assess what money has already been spent, what commitments the Council is contractually or legally bound to deliver, and what funding remains uncommitted.

Ben Simpson, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council Cabinet member for Waste, Recycling and Green Spaces, said:

“Newcastle-under-Lyme is a beautiful borough, with proud communities, valued green spaces and countryside that we should all want to protect.
 

My focus will be on the things residents see and rely on every day: household bins collected on time, cleaner streets, and working with residents to improve access to local tips.
 

We will also take a firm line against those who litter and fly-tip their filth in our communities. People who dump rubbish and spoil our towns, villages and countryside should expect hefty fines and to be publicly named and shamed where we are able to do so.
 

We will protect Newcastle-under-Lyme by keeping it clean, green and safe, not by wasting residents’ money on empty gestures.”