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OUR ON-GOING COMMITMENT WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED OUR NEXT STEPS

Continuing The Work - Our Next Steps

Reducing our carbon footprint

We are determined that Suffolk should lead the way in reducing our carbon footprint, with a county-wide target of reducing carbon emissions by 60% in the next 15 years. We will provide support to low-carbon communities and, with our - Green Innovation Fund - provide financial help for people trying to develop new environmentally friendly ideas.

Renewable energy

We are strongly committed to the development of the renewable energy sector, including OrbisEnergy, woodfuel boilers and biomass fuels. We will encourage more investment in these areas to ensure that Suffolk is the location of choice for businesses looking to develop low carbon solutions.

'Green' buildings

We will look to encourage the development of environmentally friendly buildings. The new university campus in Suffolk, with its solar-panel roof is a good example of this. The new university campuses being built in Bury St Edmunds and Lowestoft will follow this example.

The new lighting system for Ipswich Library will save enough energy to power the equivalent of 52 homes, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 100 tonnes. It will also save £22,000 a year.

A virtual end to landfill

Over the next four years we will press ahead with the building of a waste treatment facility. This is planned to be up and running by 2014.

If we don't press ahead with this project, not only would we lose over £100 million in investment, it would also cost the County, on average, an additional £20 million in landfill tax - equivalent to a 7.5% increase in council tax - every year for a generation

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This is because, no matter how much we recycle or re-use, there will always be some waste left over. Without a waste treatment facility, this waste would have to go to landfill, and the tax we pay on landfill is going to increase dramatically over the coming years.

Stansted Airport

We do not believe that a convincing case has yet been put for a second runway at Stansted Airport, while the carbon cost is unacceptable. As a result, we will continue to oppose its development.

We also share people's concerns over the increase in air traffic across the county and, in particular, the current NATS proposals for aircraft stacking arrangements over our towns and villages.

Together with other Conservatives in Suffolk, we are playing a full role in the campaign for a change in the plans, and happily progress is now being made. We will continue to fight the proposals at the highest level.

On-Demand Community Transport

Conservatives are determined to keep the people of Suffolk connected. We want to provide a new life-line for people in our towns and villages. We will therefore introduce a new - on demand - community transport scheme to help people travel around the county.

Development of real-time transport information systems

Following the introduction of a new real-time transport information system in Lowestoft, as mentioned above, we will now roll this out across the whole county. This will give the people of Suffolk up-to-the-minute travel information, enabling people to plan their journeys with the maximum of convenience.

So What Have We Achieved In Our First Four Years?

1. Household recycling and composting rates have improved from 37.5% when we took over in 2005, to nearly 46% by March 2008, the last full year for which figures are available. (Source: Joint Minucipal Waste Strategy Report 2007/08)
2. Among our investments is a re-use and recycling grant scheme. This has funded £175,000 worth of projects in its first year - helping voluntary and not-for-profit groups to run waste reduction and re-use projects.
   
   One example of this is the Ipswich charity - Orwell Mencap Genesis. This charity strives to improve the lives of disabled people in the area. Their furniture workshop produces furniture for sale to the public. They were awarded a grant of around £15,000 through the scheme. This was used to buy equipment to help them reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.
3. We have secured over £100 million of special funding to help us build a waste treatment facilipty for any waste that can't be recycled. Our preferred technology for this facility is called - energy from waste -, which lipterally means that the waste that goes in will be burned to create electricity for the county. As a result, we not only make new use of nearly all the waste created in Suffolk (after recycling to our best endeavours), but we avoid sending it to landfill sites - which pollute the atmosphere through methane emissions, and are increasingly expensive (see - Our next steps - for more information).
4. The County Council owns the OrbisEnergy Centre in Lowestoft - the new, iconic, off-shore renewable energy centre. This will spearhead the eastern region's fast-growing renewable offshore energy sector. It also provides flexible office and conference facilities for more than 30 small or medium-sized companies. As well as the boost this will provide to the local economy, it will put Suffolk firmly on the renewable energy map - by making a significant contribution to the UK's renewable energy target.
5. Suffolk Conservatives have led the development of a Flood Plan for Suffolk, to respond to the increasing risks of flooding.
6. We have worked with Ipswich Borough Council and the Environment Agency on new flood defences for our county town.
7. We have campaigned vigorously against the government's plans to abandon our coastline to the sea. Working with other Conservative Councils in Suffolk, we have successfully forced the Government to look again at their plans and will continue to keep up the fight for our coastline.
We are now using innovative techniques to recycle road materials.


8. For example, on the A1094 between Snape and Aldeburgh, we recycled the Tarmac to produce asphalt with which to re­surface the road. This avoided having to bring in materials from other areas, saving a total of 34,000 lorry miles, as well as creating enough left-overs to build a new pavement in Framlingham.
9. We have invested £100,000 (matched by another £100,000 of external funding) in a Green Suffolk Fund, to support new community led projects which help us lower our carbon footprint.
   
   For example, Wenhaston Energy Support Group received £22,000 from the Green Suffolk Fund. This is being used to refurbish their village hall in an energy efficient way. The hall is a vital facility for this rural community.
10. We have developed the use of woodfuel. This is a low-carbon renewable energy source. The County Council has carried out surveys to find suitable sites for woodfuel.
11. One such site is Stradbroke Business and Enterprise College a secondary school near Eye. The previous oil-fired boilers have been replaced with a new woodchip boiler. This new boiler has stopped the school from burning 45,000 litres of oil a year and has reduced carbon emissions by 120 tonnes annually.
12. We have promoted and encouraged the creation of - Eco­schools. Schools that register to be eco schools become involved in a range of environmental actions, such as saving energy and making the school grounds more environmentally friendly. So far, Suffolk has 153 schools registered with the programme, with over 100 of them having received awards for the work they've done.
    
    In one case, Mendham Primary School, the children actually acquired some chicken eggs and have watched them hatch and grow up, learning about nature and science along the way. This was in addition to creating an - eco-code - for the school, and a kitchen garden, with the produce being used in school meals.
13. These, and other projects like them, educate the children in the need to be greener, and how to do it.
14. We have worked closely with ramblers, farmers and landowners to help encourage responsible access to Suffolk's beautiful countryside.
15. Our work to open up the countryside, provide effective mapping and protect under-threat rights of way has been commended by the Suffolk Local Access Forum - the independent group that advises the County Council on Rights of Way and countryside access issues.
16. Protecting the environment also means protecting the built environment. We are determined, wherever possible, to take heavy traffic away from our town and village centres. Suffolk County Council has already completed work on a relief road in Lowestoft and is currently building another in Stowmarket (see - Our Next Steps - for more information).
17. We have successfully campaigned for the dualling of the A11. Planning for this is now underway.
18. In order to ensure access for pedestrians and horse riders under the newly-dualled A11, Suffolk County Council has agreed to contribute a significant percentage of the cost of building an underpass.
19. We have won the first stage in the battle for a third crossing over Lake Lothing in Lowestoft. The government agreed to a study into a possible location. We will keep up the fight on behalf of the people of Lowestoft.
20. We have fought hard for improvements to the county's rail services. Among our successes is the planned development of the Beccles Loop - an additional line of track which will enable an hourly service running through from Lowestoft to the rest of Suffolk - providing a vital economic lifeline to Lowestoft and the surrounding area.
21. We have launched a new real time, passenger information system - Information 4 U - in Lowestoft. This can be seen on the streets, with the display of bus times, counting down until the bus arrives. Buses are also more likely to arrive on time now that they have priority at certain traffic lights. There is also a supporting text message service, with up-to-the-minute bus information sent by text directly to people's phones (see - Our Next Steps - for more information).
22. We have re-launched the Explore Card, giving discounted travel on public transport for young people. The cards are now being used by over 76,000 young people across the county.

Suffolk Conservatives - Our On-Going Commitment

We believe passionately in the need to reduce our carbon footprint, and came to power in 2005 determined to deliver a strong green agenda.

This runs right to the heart of Conservative beliefs in careful use of resources, and avoiding the waste of materials.

This is not only essential from an environmental point of view, but also from an economic perspective. Businesses are looking increasingly to develop green solutions. By leading the way on this issue, and making Suffolk the greenest county, we will be well placed to become the location of choice for these businesses, putting us ahead of the wave and boosting the local economy.

With our support for the renewable energy sector, we have seen the opening of the OrbisEnergy centre in Lowestoft, making it the regional capital for renewable energy, as well as creating many new jobs.

We are supporting low-carbon communities and parish initiatives that reduce our carbon footprint. To help with this, we have created a special - Green Suffolk Fund - designed to encourage and foster new ways of helping our environment.

Transport is a key area in the battle to cut carbon emissions. Through our support for relief roads, we are looking to take cars and lorries out of towns and villages. With the investment in innovative new public transport schemes and help for local bus services, we are encouraging a less polluted atmosphere, and a better quality of life.

Following a green agenda is not just an optional extra, but a central strand of our work. It is about protecting the environment, developing our economy and improving everyone.s quality of life. And we will continue with this work over the next four years.