Nature emergency declared by Havant Borough Council amid net zero ambitions
Councillors passed a motion to declare a nature emergency and said it recognised "the local, national and international pressures placed on flora, fauna and habitats".
The motion was raised by the Cabinet Lead for Climate Emergency, Environment & Water Quality, Councillor Grainne Rason.
It follows the launch of the borough council's biodiversity strategy earlier this year, to create opportunities for nature recovery, enhancement and protection.
The council has pledged to support nature recovery, support habitat restoration and improve river health.
Councillor Grainne Rason said: "I'm delighted to see Councillors recognise the importance of our natural landscape and the role we must play to protect and improve it.
"The council is already working hard in a number of ways to support, manage and enhance the borough's natural assets – be it through the implementation of our Biodiversity strategy, or through best practices for planning reflected in our emerging Local Plan.
"Cherishing the natural assets we have and ensuring their value is recognised throughout future decisions, policies and strategies made by the council is a further – and most welcome - sign of commitment."
The council says it's striving to become net zero by 2035 and is working towards becoming a net zero borough by 2045.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
The all-natural trick to protect your garden from drought and flood
I wanted to demonstrate with my plant choices that several of our herbaceous border favourites are very much at home in this low-fertile, free-draining environment. When growing plants in sand or any free-draining, inert soil, they need to be tolerant of dry conditions, but this extra drainage also has the benefit of helping plants through particularly wet periods during the winter. Ultimately, that's what we're trying to do: find a group of plants that will not only cope with the prolonged periods of hot and dry weather, but will also show some strength and resilience during excessively wet winters, or even warm, wet summers. One year on A year on from planting, we have not had to water any of the plants whatsoever. More interestingly, many plants that have struggled to get through wet winters in other parts of the garden have come through unscathed when planted in the sand. Of the many hundreds of plants that we grew in this area, almost 100 per cent have come through successfully. Although plants generally grow slower, and I've had to resist the temptation to throw some fertiliser down to move things along a little bit, they've grown in a more robust way. The thyme lawn that replaced the grass on the lower level has started to knit together, and as I write this article it is flowering beautifully, providing a food source for pollinators as well as a feast for the eyes. Tom's top 10 plants to grow in sand Achillea 'Moonshine' Kniphofia 'Mango Popsicle' Salvia sclarea var. turkestanica Salvia 'Caradonna' Echinacea 'Big Kahuna' Nepeta grandiflora 'Dusk to Dawn Agastache 'Blackadder' Berkheya purpurea Agastache 'Mango Tango' Eryngium bourgatii 'Picos Blue' Six top tips for growing in sand If you fancy having a go at this technique yourself, I'd advise you to start off with a small area as an experiment before you commit your time and money to a larger project. If your appetite has been whetted, then here are a few of my top tips to creating your own sand garden: Carry out any groundwork to allow plenty of time for the area to be ready to plant in the spring. Plants that have had a growing season to establish a strong root system are better placed to survive their first winter, especially more tender plants. Ensure that the sand you use is clean and free from contamination or salt. If you are unsure of any perennial weed, either deal with that first, or allow the sand to remain fallow until a time that you're confident that your garden is free from perennial weed before planting. Water well for the first few weeks to establish plants to a point that they can start fending for themselves. Avoid excessively walking over thyme lawns, as compaction and footfall will slow down growth and damage plants.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- The Guardian
You be the judge: my mum says our family should share towels, but I think it's gross. Am I right to protest?
I have firm boundaries around personal hygiene – and bacteria thrive on wet towels Towels should be for personal use only, but my mum thinks they should be shared in our household of four. That might have been OK when I was a baby, but now I'm 21 I think it's weird. Mum has this thing about washing and the environment. She has been trying to wash clothes less, and uses these washing bags that capture microplastic fibres to prevent them from going out into the water supply. I support this, but not at the expense of my personal hygiene. She wants our family to only use one or two towels a week, which means the four of us sharing them – my younger brother, Lewis, who is five, my parents and me. I think this is totally gross. Mum says 'towels dry, it's fine' but that's not true. Bacteria thrives on towels and the idea that a towel is clean just because it has dried misses a crucial point: moisture breeds bacteria, especially in damp, warm environments like bathrooms. I don't want everyone else's germs on my body. A towel that's been used even once can carry a lot of bacteria. Lewis is a messy child. Sharing a towel with him will increase my risk of fungal infections, as he towels after his swimming club. The idea of using his towel is disgusting to me. Like most young women, I have firm boundaries around hygiene. Growing up, I didn't think much about my mum making us share towels, but I began to notice it when I got older. At 16 I said I didn't want to do it any more and started using a fresh towel every time I showered – and got told off for it. I then compromised and started using the same towel for a week, thinking it was just for me. But what I didn't know was that Mum was using the same towel to dry herself and Lewis. When I found out, I freaked out. Now I've started hiding my towel in my room so no one else uses it. Mum thinks I'm being a diva, but everyone having their own towel isn't an indulgence – it keeps us all clean. Using someone else's dirty towel, even if they are family, is gross. I always shared towels with my family growing up – older generations don't worry about this stuff From a mother's perspective, insisting everyone use a different towel every single day is wasteful. It means more laundry, more water, more electricity, and more mental load. When you're juggling work, meals, school runs and everything else, having the kids share a clean, dry towel is a simple way to reduce the chaos. It's not unhygienic if the towel is used on clean, just-showered bodies and hung up to dry between uses. Ava wanted a new towel after every single shower and I told her that was contributing to the destruction of the planet, and not good for my mental health. She said she would wash her own towels but I have yet to see that happen. She always just adds her laundry to my pile and then hopes I won't notice. Ava's obsession with personal space is relatively new. She has become more demanding since returning home from university a month ago. I think she's ready to move out. She's taken to hiding her towel, but I just think we should share them. If one starts to smell or look questionable I'd wash it sooner, but if it's dry and clean, it's fine. I do a regular weekly wash of the towels. I always shared towels with my family growing up. Older generations didn't think about this stuff – we didn't have time. There was often only one or two towels to go round, and nobody keeled over from it. My husband and I were sharing towels with Lewis and Ava until she was old enough to start protesting. Teaching kids to share and not get precious over tiny things builds resilience and cooperation. It instills the idea that comfort doesn't always have to come with individual ownership. Ava isn't a germaphobe with other things, like sharing my headphones or cleaning up after herself, so I find it funny she has become so obsessive about sharing towels. She needs to remember there's a difference between good hygiene and becoming germ-obsessed over things that pose little risk. Should Lynsey give Ava her own towel? Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion Ava has already said she'll use one towel for the whole week so that lessens the laundry load a lot. The guilt‑tripping about the planet and mental health seems a bit excessive over this one 32 It's completely reasonable to ask for a towel for sole use. I understand washing can get overwhelming, but an additional towel for the sake of Ava feeling comfortable and clean is really not a 30 It's perfectly reasonable for Ava to draw the line at towel-sharing. After all, they don't just dry you off, they double as exfoliators for dead skin – hardly something you'd want to inherit from anyone, even family. Lynsey should respect that boundary, and, in return, Ava could help with the 50 I am absolutely with Ava on this one. You dry intimate areas with a towel, the last thing I would want to do is share it with anyone else – even family. I sympathise with Lynsey's environmental concerns, but surely Ava can have one towel a week for her own personal 45 I am an acknowledged towel thief in my family. I think it's fine to save the environment and the water bill by sharing towels – you're already clean when you use one, after all. Anyway, a few shared germs will keep your immune system on its toes. Kitty, 33 In our online poll, tell us: who is in the right? The poll closes on Wednesday 16 July at 10am BST We asked whether Cleo should stop filling her shared flat with plant clippings.93% of you said yes – Cleo is guilty 7% of you said no – Cleo is not guilty
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Fleetwood campaign welcomes decision to 'mothball' landfill
Campaigners have welcomed a decision not to renew the lease on a controversial landfill site in tip on Jameson Road in Fleetwood has faced complaints from neighbouring residents about the stench of "rotten eggs", and some have also said they believed their health had suffered as a result of living close to the a recent Environment Agency (EA) monitoring report found the site to meet safety standards for levels of hydrogen sulphide, sulphur dioxide and Dr Barbara Kneale said the lease not being renewed was "good news", but added that "the fight goes on". The site's operator Transwaste, had its licence suspended in March after the EA said it had failed to take "appropriate measures to collect and manage landfill gas".That ban was lifted in April after it took the required Wyre Council leader Michael Vincent has now said the lease will not be extended beyond December 2027 and that the site would be "mothballed". 'Good news' Dr Kneale, of the Close Jameson Road Landfill campaign, said people remained concerned about the ongoing impact of the site as there was still two-and-a-half years on the lease. Blackpool North and Fleetwood MP Lorraine Beavers, who has campaigned alongside residents to close the site said: "Obviously it's really good news, the community has been amazing on this."I can't tell you how proud I am of how hard they've worked and how much work they've done to bring us to this day."She and some of her Labour colleagues have now formed a committee to try and change legislation around landfill sites like said: "We're working to see how we can change legislation, so we can empower the Environment Agency to be more forceful and shut these places down immediately when we see there is a problem."Transwaste said it intended to honour its lease until 2027. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
