Council rescinds 2019 climate emergency declaration as Net Zero savings reach £6.2 million
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has voted to rescind the climate emergency declaration made by the previous administration in 2019.
The move formally ends the borough's commitment to "Net Zero Newcastle 2030" and has already identified £6.2 million of related savings.
The formal decision follows the new administration's move to scrap the Council's Sustainable Environment Strategy and prioritise core services and value for money over what Cabinet members described as costly and ideological climate targets.
The Council has already cancelled plans by the previous administration to replace its waste collection fleet with electric vehicles.
That alone has saved more than £2 million in direct costs, plus a further £4.2 million on the required charging infrastructure, money that had not yet been budgeted for.
Officers have been asked to review all remaining spending linked to the previous climate change and Net Zero programme. Where money has not been legally committed, or does not provide value for money, it will be stopped, saved, or redirected to frontline services.
Cllr Jonathan Gullis, Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, said:
We promised residents we'd put their priorities first, and that's exactly what we're doing.
The previous administration wanted electric bin lorries. What they didn't budget for was the £4.2 million needed to charge them. That's the difference between political posturing and common sense.
This Council will not spend residents' money on Net Zero virtue signalling when bins need collecting, streets need cleaning and communities need keeping safe.
Rescinding this declaration doesn't mean we stop caring about our environment. We'll meet our legal obligations and protecting our valued parks and green spaces, because that's what residents actually asked for."
Cllr Ben Simpson, Cabinet Member for Waste, Recycling & Green Spaces, said:
Residents judge us on whether their bin gets collected, whether the streets are clean, and whether fly-tipping gets dealt with.
Scrapping the electric bin lorry plans means £6.2 million that can go towards the services people rely on, instead of an expensive experiment we couldn't afford to run.
We'll keep investing sensibly in recycling, litter enforcement and our parks and green spaces. That's common sense, not a slogan."