The environment is central to the Liberal Democrat vision of a vibrant, thriving Britain, says Dundee LibDem councillor. (Dundee Liberal Democrats)

Dundee Liberal Democrats <info@dundeelibdems.org.uk>

The environment is central to the Liberal Democrat vision of a vibrant, thriving Britain, says Dundee LibDem councillor.

January 24, 2006 9:05 PM

Liberal Democrats emphasise the importance of environmental issues.

Cllr Helen Dick, Dundee City Council's Liberal Democrat Vice Convener of Environmental Services and Sustainability, has today (24th January 2006) reinforced the importance of environmental issues to core Liberal Democrat policies.

Helen said, "Liberal Democrats want to see a Britain in which sustainable living is a reality so that we minimise the impact of the way we live on the world around us; a Britain that champions the environment on the international stage.

"Its vital that government acts not at the expense of competitive business, but together with business to encourage the development of new products and processes and to put Britain at the forefront of the new green revolution."

Helen has produced a short paper on global climate change, carbon emissions and planning reform, that you can download below.

Dundee's other Liberal Democrat Councillor (Cllr Fraser Macpherson, Tay Bridges Ward) has emphasised the importance of air quality issues locally. At the City Council's Development Quality Committee earlier this week, Fraser attempted to move refusal of a planning application to convert a non-domestic property to a flat, citing, amongst other reasons, the poor air quality at Victoria Road/Meadowside (which, according to 2005 Dundee Environmental Health surveys, has the highest Nitrogen Dioxide concentration levels in the City).

Although the planning application was refused, a successful amendment removed all reference to air quality, which Fraser described as a "highly unfortunate decision." Whilst emphasising that the City Council's Development Quality Committee is a non-party political committee, Fraser says - "It is vital that the issue of air quality "hotspots" are taken very seriously and tackled effectively and this is, I feel, of real importance to the City."