Letter to Rochdale Observer and all party leaders 11th August 2010
Dear Gerry Sammon
We at Earth Café & Environmental Sustainability Action Forum recently sent an open letter to Irene Davidson, Head of Rochdale Council, [“Green Message To Leader”, Rochdale Observer Letters Page 7 July 2010], requesting Rochdale Council to publicly reaffirm its commitment to its own Environmental Strategy [January 2010], The Nottingham Declaration & 10:10.
As tax payers & constituents we’d like to see Irene Davidson at least give us the courtesy of a reply or at least acknowledgement, since we were under the impression that we still have a system of local democracy and public accountability?
In Rochdale as in the rest of the country don’t voters deserve a reply from their elected politicians when they participate as we have in the local democratic process?
Since Rochdale Council seem to be struggling for a response to our letter. Earth Café & Environmental Sustainability Action Forum shall be delivering another copy of our letter to Irene Davidson at Rochdale Town Hall, in case our original letter has been lost under a pile of redundancy letters or dusty Local Election promises.
In the mean time while we are waiting for Irene Davidson to reply to our letter from the end of June, we’d like to ask Readers who do care about the issues of Rochdale Borough Sustainability to sign our online petition to Rochdale Council at:
http://democracy.rochdale.gov.
We believe the proposed decimation of RMBC’s Sustainable Development team- an area where Rochdale has a distinct advantage for once over surrounding towns - is in direct contradiction to RMBC’s existing commitments to The Nottingham Declaration, 10:10 and RMBC’s own Environmental Strategy Document [January 2010].
The Liberal Democrats own website stated last week (Tuesday 27th July 2010);
“Chris Huhne, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, has set out ambitious plans to tackle climate change and give the UK the secure, low carbon energy it needs. In his first Annual Energy Statement to the House of Commons, Chris laid out "a clear strategy for creating the 21st century energy system that this country urgently needs for an affordable, secure, low-carbon future." [1]
This included a series of measures to improve energy efficiency and boost renewables, protect vulnerable consumers, as well as pledging to push for ambitious action on climate change at home and abroad.
Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Committee for Energy and Climate Change, Andrew George said, “Climate change is the greatest threat we face as a society and a planet. I am proud that Liberal Democrats in Government are taking this seriously and proposing radical steps to tackle it.” “The Coalition has set out the most ambitious programme to create a secure, low carbon economy of any British Government in history.”[1]
We’d also like to extend a warm welcome to Rochdale Observer Readers who are interested in the issues of Climate Change and developing practical local responses to embed low carbon transition town alternatives into Rochdale’s economic infrastructure to attend our Summer Harvest Picnic on Sunday 22 August 2010, at Partnership House Garden, Sparrow Hill, between 1.00pm and 4.00 pm.
Yours faithfully
Helen McCarthy & Andrew Wastling
