Don't negelect this golden opportunity (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Don't negelect this golden opportunity

12:29pm Monday 30th April 2007

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So, we just have to wait to see how big the airport bonanza pie will be as the final negotiations with the preferred bidder continue.

From £30 to £70 million, the estimate of Bradford Council’s share varies wildly but whatever the figure it is certainly a substantial one.

As I’ve said before, this money should be invested in reducing the district’s carbon footprint to mitigate the effects of the increase in air travel which the sale of Leeds-Bradford Airport would cause.

It is a golden opportunity to take the city and its surroundings to the forefront of tackling climate change and kick off a Carbon Neutral Bradford campaign.

And Woking Council provides the template for what could be done with this windfall.

The London borough now boasts a tenth of the UK photovoltaic solar panels, it has refuse lorries running on liquified natural gas and is operating Britain’s first big fuel cell combined heat and power scheme which provides the power, heating and lighting for a leisure centre among its many accomplishments.

The town is set to reach The Royal Commission on Environmental pollution targets of 60 per cent reductions of CO2 equivalent emissions by 2050 and 80 per cent by 2100. Here in Bradford, the Council is just starting on the process by assessing the efficiency of its buildings and looking at best practice around the country for its climate change policy.

Over the last 17 years, Woking has worked to reduce its carbon footprint across a whole spectrum of areas it is responsible for from planning to transport, waste to natural habitats.

One of its major initiatives which could be copied is the energy conservation report it compiled in 1996 under provisions of the Home Energy Conservation Act. It estimated its energy use then as 3.4 million gigaJoules and expected to cut this by a third over ten years, saving 65,000 tonnes of CO2 a year and £5.5 million, at an overall cost of £47 million.

As part of this £256,000 was provided to lift 3,026 properties out of fuel poverty through energy conservation grants. The borough is endeavouring to limit heating costs to it tenants to 10 per cent of the state pension.

A similar capital investment by Bradford Council could have the same effect - enabling people to heat their homes better, cut deaths from the cold, improve the district’s housing stock and make savings in cash and carbon emissions. 65,000 tonnes of CO2 represents 5 per cent of the 1.25 million tonne produced by the residents of the district so it’s a good start.

We are looking at a gift horse in the mouth. Will Bradford ever have a better chance to commit so much in capital projects for the long-term future benefit of the district again?