A climate emergency has been declared tonight (Tuesday, 6 August) by Tendring District Council (TDC).

A motion submitted by TDC Leader Neil Stock OBE was backed by councillors from all parties during a full council meeting.

The motion commits the council to preparing an action plan for consideration by councillors with the aim of making its activities carbon neutral by 2030.

As well as looking at what it can do to reduce its environmental impact, the action plan will also examine how the council can act as a community leader to encourage the rest of Tendring to join it in its mission.

TDC’s Cabinet had already agreed £150,000 of funding to pay for specialist advice for the action plan to be drawn up.

The motion noted that a cross-party working party will be set up to oversee the preparation of the action plan.

Cllr Stock said: “This is not party political, this is an issue that affects all of us.

“We want to make our buildings and vehicles as environmentally friendly as possible – we are probably not doing as much as is possible at the moment. I do believe there is a lot we could do, but it’s not about beating ourselves up.

“One of the things I think we could do is set up a business seminar to involve our very many small and entrepreneurial businesses to come up with ideas for being more efficient and less polluting.

“We need to lead the way and bring others with us to protect Tendring for future generations. This motion is not the end of it, this is the beginning.”

More than 80 councils in the UK have already declared a climate emergency, with the Local Government Association passing a motion at its annual conference last month too.