Derbyshire Conservatives: a Cleaner, Greener and Stronger Economy

Going Green needs to work for residents and businesses in Derbyshire so we can all share in the benefits of the new Green Industrial Revolution.  Already Derbyshire Conservatives have led the field nationally with innovative schemes like leading on the production of hydrogen fuel, we have local expertise thanks to our manufacturing and engineering base in and around the county but we’ve been going further, thinking out of the box, something we’ve been doing since the 1700s, when Sir Richard Arkwright and Jedediah Strutt harnessed the waterpower of the River Derwent to power their cotton mills in the (first Green) Industrial Revolution.

We’ve developed a new concept of Green Energy Entrepreneurs backed by a £2million grant scheme recently approved by the County Council’s Cabinet. As well as providing grants for businesses to make their operations greener, there is also our innovative community energy component.  The green energy revolution needs to be a game-changer for our communities, and we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shift the energy market from being dominated by large national corporations to one that is primarily local in nature and capable of better supporting our local economies.  

We believe this will incentivise take up in our communities and be better for our countryside by avoiding ugly solar park developments. 

We’re also encouraging planners and planning authorities throughout Derbyshire to rethink their policies on retrofitting small wind turbines and solar panels and encouraging them to use paragraph 154 of the Nation Planning Policy Framework to prioritise low carbon development.

Our manifesto commitments for the next four years show just how ambitious we are, and we will:

• Reaffirm the commitments made in our 2019 Climate Change and Carbon Reduction Manifesto to be Net Zero as an authority by 2032, or sooner.
• Develop with the Government and other organisations like the Peak District National Park Innovative Sustainable Transport systems to reduce traffic within the National Park and our countryside.
• Develop a £100 million capital scheme to improve Derbyshire’s environment investing in the Green economy, promoting cleaner air schemes in our towns and investing in cycling and walking greenways in the County.
• Invest in a Green Revolution for Derbyshire, create Community Green Energy Entrepreneurs, to develop green and cheaper, cleaner energy for residents and businesses and create local jobs and skills.
• Expand our Green Entrepreneur Grant Scheme and Community Energy Grants to provide £10million of funding to help businesses and communities to become greener.
• Facilitate the planting of up to 1,000,000 new trees in Derbyshire by 2030, including by providing planting grant schemes. 
• Commit to flood alleviation schemes in particular working with communities to find some real meaningful solutions to those areas regularly affected.  
• Implementing 20mph zone trials in two towns in Derbyshire to promote clean air and cycling, making them “Green Towns.”
• Continue to invest in electric vehicle (EV) charging point infrastructure in Derbyshire with partners in the public and private sector to deliver an ambitious target of 1000 EV charging points by the end of 2025.
• Work with Keep Britain Tidy and the Campaign for Protection of Rural England to educate countryside visitors and schools about the Countryside Code and keeping our beautiful county tidy.
• Make Derbyshire the centre of excellence in future fuels for transport, industry and domestic energy.
• Prioritise completing key cycling routes in Derbyshire such as the White Peak Loop and support the delivery of our unique Key Cycle Network Strategy to deliver the country’s most ambitious off-road cycle network for work and recreation.
• Work with walking groups throughout Derbyshire to improve access and the quality of our thousands of miles of footpaths.
• Work with partners in the public and private sectors to deliver 2 hydrogen fuel stations in Derbyshire and 30 hydrogen powered buses and refuse collection vehicles by 2025.
• Use our abundant natural capital, such as our extensive countryside, moors and woodlands to help deliver carbon reduction measures and invest in Derbyshire.
• Explore ways to use our abundant rivers in the new Green Industrial Revolution to generate power for our communities and industries.
• Work with the Government and Peak District National Park Authority on the restoration of the peat moors.
• Create an initial £250,000 Electric Bicycle subsidy scheme to make eBikes accessible and encourage greener ways of getting about in Derbyshire.

By being ambitious and by planning for this cleaner greener future and aspiring for our communities,  supporting green entrepreneurs to provide 100% clean energy and creating high quality jobs and skills, we will build the cornerstone of Green, aspirational Conservatism here in Derbyshire. 

Back Derbyshire Conservatives on Thursday May 6th for an Ambitious, Cleaner, Greener and more prosperous Derbyshire.

Barry