Latest news with #KateMammolotti
BBC News
2 days ago
- Climate
- BBC News
Darlington trees die 'due to underwatering' amid heatwaves
Hundreds of trees planted by a council have died because they were not watered enough during this summer's heatwaves, a councillor has Borough Council said its team watered the saplings when they were planted in Merrybent and opposite Hummersknott Party representative Kate Mammolotti said she was told the team which waters them was stretched too thin during summer.A spokesperson for the Labour-led authority blamed the tree deaths on "exceptionally dry and warm weather". Mammolotti praised the council for planting so many trees but criticised its lack of long-term planning."I emailed the team that planted them, and they said they have planted so many that with the hot weather they have had difficulty getting around watering them. "It's awful, absolutely heartbreaking," said the Hummersknott ward said the council should have considered if it had a "big enough team" to cope with the aftercare before planting."It's good to plant so many trees but I think that you can't just plant them and leave them," she said. 'Best endeavours' Resident Clive Rickaby accused the council for "tick box behaviour" and not caring about the long-term future of the trees."It is absolutely ridiculous, just a complete waste of taxpayers' money," he said."If they don't have a big enough team to water them then they should not plant them."A council spokesperson said: "The trees were planted earlier this year and were watered when they went in and whilst they were getting established. "Sadly, despite our best endeavours throughout the season, because of the exceptionally dry and warm weather we have had this year, a higher than normal number of saplings have failed."The council committed to removing the dead trees and trying to replace them next planting season. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Darlington Borough Council called 'woke' for green spaces plan
A council's plans to protect and restore green spaces has been approved despite being labelled "woke" by opposition Borough Council has declared a Nature Restoration Emergency to improve the area's depleted wildlife over the next 15 Party councillor Kate Mammolotti said developing the plan would be a "win for nature".But local Conservative leader Jonathan Dulston said the council should focus on improving people's lives and criticised the local authority for using its stretched resources on "areas that will make very little difference". Under the council's plans, it will develop a Nature Restoration Action Plan, which will aim to improve the borough's green spaces by will mean areas of depleted wildlife will receive extra protection through the council's proposals and decisions, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. A 'crucial time' Labour councillor Chris McEwan said the council should "lead by example" by including targeted and site-appropriate measures on council-owned land and communal Dulston described the motion as "daft" and said he was concerned it showed the local authority was not aligned with the public."We are a small council, a relatively small town, but we have lots of people facing inequalities," he said. "The full resources of the council need to be focused on that, not pie-in-the-sky green and woke agendas."Labour's Mary Layton said the plans were not "woke" but would underpin everything the council did for the future of the Green Party leader Matthew Snedker said the motion had been made at a crucial time."We need to strengthen the protection for wildlife and restore our precious natural environment," he said. "Right now, there is significant pressure from house builders and landowners to water down the protections for our natural world." Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
