West Northants Council's scrapping of net-zero goals put on hold
Durham County Council, which is also run by Reform UK, became the first in England to scrap net-zero targets, hours before West Northamptonshire's decision. The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the call-in will be led by Rosie Humphreys, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, who said the decision deserved "proper scrutiny". She said: "The Climate Act requires councils to take a leadership role in reducing emissions and collaborating with stakeholders."By removing the targets, that really makes this collaboration difficult. The administration also asserts it's unaffordable, but has given no costings."
While the committee can request the council to revisit the decision and consider alternative actions, it does not have power to overrule it.Ms Humphreys said it would appeal to the group to look into the feasibility of a cross-party group on council sustainability and "fully explore" the targets.Reform UK previously said ridding the council of its net-zero goals would enable the authority to prioritise sustainability projects.Leader Mr Arnull said: "The Reform UK administration are fully committed to creating a more sustainable West Northamptonshire and being responsible custodians of our local environment."We want to further prioritise our focus on delivering practical, high-impact projects that make a real difference to people's lives."
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