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November 2020 November 2020

POETRY CORNER
DORSET COUNCIL- WEST PURBECK REPORT
Shoe Laces
Climate Change

It has been a slavish struggle and slog,
Dorset Council has prepared its action
And you would not believe the faces,
plan for how the local authority will help
A frustrated little lad will pull, tackle climate change over the next
As he learns how to tie his laces. few decades. The draft plan contains
187 actions for how the Council will

It is a thing we take for granted. tackle climate change over the next 20-
There are no airs and graces, 30 years. Around 97 of these will require
As the penny drops, when we know, additional funding, totaling in the region
We have to learn to tie our laces. of £127m over that period. Examples of
actions proposed include: –

Sometimes we look so hard at the lines,
 Make the most of renewable energy opportunities of all Council-owned
We somehow miss the spaces,
buildings; convert all buildings without gas/electricity to heat pumps or
But it’s a big day in the life of a boy, biomass, convert heating of all other buildings to hydrogen-ready hybrid
When he learns how to tie his laces. heat pumps, install solar panels on every roof

Paul J Openshaw (September 2020)  Construct or buy into large renewable energy installation/s (solar panels or
wind turbines) on Council-owned land to meet demand
 Produce a supplementary planning policy to encourage renewable
A Turn Up for The Buck
energy being integrated into all new buildings

She fluttered her eyes. He'd followed her scent,  Use Council buildings in trial projects to test the use of hydrogen heating
She pouted her lips. From where bracken grew thick. 
She walked through the woods, Now, this was the moment, Reduce use of fertilisers on council land by increased use of locally
produced compost
With her head to one side. For poignant pluck,
She knew he was watching. As the doe moved towards him,  Develop plan to transition County Farms to low carbon production – Work
with County Farm tenants to encourage the adoption of more climate and
She felt his presence. No words were uttered,
ecological friendly practice
She maintained her distance, But, every fibre and sinew,
And kept it wide. Turned up for the buck.  Councillors to lobby government for additional resources and the national
policy framework to support climate action in Dorset

For him, a false move,
 Establish a policy to ensure all new buildings that Dorset Council has direct
Could only be wrong.
influence over (as landowners, clients, or designers) are zero carbon
He'd learned the hard way.

And it was to his cost. Creation of suitable high ecological value areas on council land (incl. bee-
friendly, wildflower, hedge and woodland planting zones) and areas for
That is why now,
carbon sequestration and climate resilience
He was taking his time, Paul J Openshaw (October 2020)
In recognition,  Ensure access to sustainable transport is considered in planning
Of the ladies he'd lost. applications

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