Sustainable Living - The Evesham Observer

Sustainable Living

Evesham Editorial 13th Dec, 2020   0

Mike Parker, Chairman of SeSaME, writes…

IT’S WELCOME the Prime Minister has now produced his 10 year Green Revolution Plan. Like most plans, there is room for improvement. The most important of course you may not have explored, namely it’s the Prime Ministers plan.

Not because it’s him but because it should be ours, the whole nation’s plan.

A plan like the highly successful approach to a national emergency by the new wartime 1940s Prime Minister, who formed a cross party coalition cabinet. They coped with the death of 40,000 civilians over the first nine months of the blitz, imposing drastic restrictions, yet managing national harmony. Domestic political fighting went on hold and all political parties worked together with a common aim.




The 20 strong coalition sought intelligence from community representatives, taking joint responsibility with the Prime Minister, working towards a common aim.

Though a different time and challenge, it’s possible the 60.000 deaths of 2020s civilians from the global pandemic would have been better served by a national coalition plan from the start.


No doubts though from my village’s past decade of experience in responding to the global heating crisis. It showed how important an unbroken green coalition of all parties, over at least the next decade, will be. Consistency will be critical to countering a threat that could make WW11 and Covid a mere footnote in our history.

Why? Our village began a new Green Deal ten years ago. By 2016 we had insulated our village hall: installed air source heating; added solar panels to both the hall and school in a joint venture; with grant aid helped 18 owners install external wall insulation; and achieved planning application stage for a medium sized onshore wind turbine. It all ground to a halt by 2017.

Onshore wind was rejected: financial support was drastically reduced, critical local firms went out of business; housing standards were lowered; and we are still building houses in the village with high carbon LPG gas boilers installed.

Experience has taught us that any 10 year green plan needs to be the product of a continuous, 10 year cross party coalition.

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