Your Labour City Council will continue to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergencies in a socially and economically just manner as we strive to become a sustainable, low carbon city. We will continue to protect and invest in our local environment, parks, and trees responsibly and encourage increased use of our green spaces. We will ensure that everyone can enjoy Norwich, now and for generations to come.

A Labour City Council will:

1. Develop and deliver a renewed Environmental Action Programme, encompassing the council’s strategies for reaching operational net zero by 2030, and citywide net zero by 2045, and its approach to climate adaptation.

2. Continue to support the Norwich Climate Commission, which was set up by Norwich City Council in 2021, and to seek input from its expert members on how we accelerate Norwich’s journey to net zero.

3. Continue progress towards the council becoming operationally net zero by 2030, using our estate and operations as a living laboratory to demonstrate and innovate approaches to cutting carbon.

4. Ensure the council uses its position to lead and coordinate a citywide retrofit of homes and buildings, including setting up a digital retrofit hub and convening a retrofit taskforce.

5. Build on our track record of making successful funding bids and continue exploring other finance mechanisms such as municipal loan schemes, to ensure the council can continue delivering retrofit measures to buildings and homes across tenures.

6. Ensure that retrofit and other actions to cut emissions in no way exacerbate fuel poverty or other social and economic challenges residents face, by continuing to deliver against the council’s Sustainable Warmth Strategy.

7. Help residents access affordable renewable energy, including by continuing to run Solar Together, our solar panel collective buying scheme, and the Collective Big Switch and Save, which only offers renewable energy options.

8. Continue work towards a sustainable circular economy for Norwich, including by promoting community sharing platforms such as the council’s Lumi website, our commitment to recycling, our support for redistribution of surplus food and through examination of the council’s procurement processes.

9. Make sure our own investments contribute to decarbonisation and, through membership of the Norfolk Pension Fund, push for further progress to divest our public pension investments from fossil fuels to free up more sustainable investment in our regional economy.

10. Work constructively with Norfolk County Council, as the highways authority, towards developing sustainable and active transport schemes for the city – while still holding them to account when they are failing against these aims.

11. Push for the return of a highways arrangement which gives Norwich City Council a strengthened say over transport matters affecting the city, and greater ability to deliver our vision for sustainable transport, with meetings held in public and meaningful opportunities for residents to have their say on schemes.

12. Promote schemes to increase cycling uptake, and work with partners to continue delivery of the Cycle City Ambition programme.

13. Continue campaigning for an area-wide 20mph speed limit, excluding arterial roads and ring roads, to make streets safer and cut carbon emissions.

14. Push for bus companies, Norfolk County Council and other relevant partners to further expand the provision of electric buses operating in Norwich, and to improve the affordability, reliability and accessibility of services.

15. Develop a new strategy for the council’s car parks, including to enhance their safety and explore opportunities for renewable energy generation and improved electric vehicle structure.

16. Investigate ways to reduce diesel and petrol vehicle movements by encouraging the use of electric vehicles in our fleet, working with partners to deliver more rapid chargers across the city.

17. Continue to invest in practical improvements to enhance and protect parks and green spaces across the city.

18. Encourage more businesses to support the Refill Norwich scheme to provide free drinking water refills and reduce plastic waste.

19. Explore long-term alternatives to glyphosate for hard surface weed management and continue not to use this on soft landscaping.

20. Work with partners to promote sustainable and just food systems to reduce emissions, tackle food inequalities and improve resilience. Continue to help support the city’s residents to benefit from the significant number of allotments within the city.

21. Continue to offer Go4Less access to allotment rent levels for those with less financial means.

22. Help residents form community gardens and consider more temporary ‘meanwhile’ growing spaces.

23. Continue to implement our Biodiversity Strategy and Development Plan, to create a city where biodiversity can recover, halt species decline, and increase species diversity and abundance by 2030.

24. Continue to maintain and enhance Mousehold Heath and support the Norwich Fringe Project in managing our nature reserves and County Wildlife Sites.

25. Continue to operate our own in-house Nutrient Neutrality scheme which will be bought into by private developers seeking to secure planning permission and will fund the installation of water filters to Council Housing stock.

26. Deliver four further park Green Flag awards and a Green Flag Community award, in addition to retaining our current three Green Flag awards and two Green Flag Heritage awards.

27. Plant 2000 further trees across the city, while protecting our large stock of irreplaceable veteran and ancient trees in the Wooded Ridge Biodiversity Character Area.

28. Coordinate management plans for our network of marshes and fens along River Yare valley, making use of Biodiversity Net Gain income.

29. Invest just under £10 million in parks and open spaces implementing our emerging Parks and Open Spaces Strategy as we believe parks and the natural environment are important to everyone. Increase access to our open spaces, including parks, which will reduce anti-social behaviour and ensure they continue to be used as intended.

30. Work with partners to improve access to, and enjoyment of, the rivers. Lead on the delivery of the River Wensum Strategy, working in partnership, to manage it and the surrounding area better, for the benefit of the city and its residents, while also increasing access to, and use of, the river itself. Protect and enhance the critical biodiversity in the River Wensum Special Area of Conservation using BNG and Nutrient Neutrality income and promote the use of our waterways for recreation and exercise. We will continue to apply pressure upon the privatised water companies who continue to pollute the river.