Christina Jamieson, a resident in Ross-on-Wye, stood up at the Annual Review Meeting on Monday, April 29th to ask Ross Town Councillors what they intend to do to hold Herefordshire Council to account, regarding their pledge to recognise a climate emergency last month.

In light of Melvin Reynolds’ explanation of the Neighbourhood Development Plan, and discussion of housing developments in Ross, Christina said: “All of Herefordshire Council’s decisions now are not just about the economy, but also based on carbon emissions and what we can do to reduce them.

“All of these developments need to be carbon neutral, and need to ensure that people who live and work there don’t have to be dependent on fossil fuels. This is really important.”

Harry Bramer spoke on behalf of the County Council. He said: “The last full Council voted to accept the climate change proposals unanimously, however right now the conditions that apply are not very clear. The new Town Council may wish to provide information to Herefordshire Council in detail; I don’t believe there are set proposals currently.”

Melvin warned that with a view to housing developments being environmentally friendly, it is hard to change the way houses are built, and described the situation as ‘not easy’.See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.