An official at a Northern Ireland council has told elected members they have to establish a fund to deal with climate change targets whether they believe they are achievable or not.
Ards and North Down Borough Councillors were told at a meeting this week “adapting to climate impacts is not really optional” and were advised to make a fund to protect ratepayers.
At the special monthly meeting of Ards and North Down Borough Council on Wednesday (January 28) at Bangor Castle timetabled to set the district rate, elected members were told they were obliged to work towards targets they may not feel can be reached, due to “national and regional” pressures. As a result councillors agreed to a recommendation that the council establish a strategic waste fund.
At the meeting Alderman Philip Smith asked for clarification from officers on a section of a report forwarded to the full council stating: “The council is not resourced financially or operationally to deal with the challenges of the Climate Change Act and moving to net zero.”
The report also states: “The council’s low reserves and high capital appetite leaves the rate payer exposed to interest rate fluctuation” and recommends an earmarked fund.
A council officer explained to the chamber: “There are a number of aspects to this, in respect of whether or not this is a contentious issue in the council. We are under an obligation under the Climate Change Act to make certain changes and amendments.
“Those are being driven by national and regional policy, and therefore the council is under an obligation to address these, irrespective of whether we believe they are achievable or not.”
He said: “Transitioning our fleet is going to be a significant aspect of that, and will require a substantial investment. We are not able to establish exactly what that investment is, as technology is still developing in this regard. But there is an expectation that in due course diesel and petrol HGVs will no longer be able to be purchased in a similar way as normal private cars.”
He added: “The council also does not have control of the wider energy system decisions. These are national strategies, and therefore (we) need to be responsive and ready for decisions being made by others and imposed on local authorities throughout the country.
“In the past 18 months Ards and North Down has experienced significant storm related damage to council assets, leading to unplanned repair costs and service disruption. Adapting to climate impacts is not really optional, the physical effects of a changing climate are already affecting our infrastructure and service continuity.”
He said: “Being climate-ready means investing in safeguarding our existing assets to minimise future damage. A number of plans are in place, and there are a number of items in this year’s rate that seek to build on other actions we have already taken.
“We just need to be mindful that this is a pressure, the full magnitude of which we are not aware of yet. We need to be mindful of that as we set our financial plans for the future.”
Also at the meeting, elected representatives announced a 4.74 percent rise for both domestic and non-domestic properties in the borough for 2025/26. It is a rise over the level of inflation, and an increase on last year’s hike by over a full percentage point. The UK inflation rate in December was 3.4 percent.