ENVIRONMENT

Planning needs to be made meaningful again and its processes more transparent. Conflicting policies in the Island Plan argued to support flexibility also support inconsistency and uncertainty.

A decision by elected States Members on the Planning Committee regarding the Wayside restaurant was overturned by the former Minister for the Environment on the advice of a single planning officer from the UK.

Planning inspectors who came to the Island to review the recent revision of planning policies did not regard the many concerns raised by Islanders regarding the revision process as within their remit.

The How Proposition list includes proposals to reform the planning process, to enhance tree protection and to improve sustainability and environmental safeguarding in farming methods. These include the following:

Bring the planning back into planning with Code to replace conflicting policy in Island Plan format. Parishes to consult with Parishioners for supporting areas development visions
Resourcing the Planning Committee with independent planning inspector presence or legal adviser
Making the Planning Committee the ultimate planning appeal body consistent with democratic principles, with Omsbudsman or courts able to review decision reasoning.
Creation of an independent planning commission to oversee Planning Department.

Support tree planting and the new tree strategy by changing Planning Law to require Minister to exercise tree replanting order powers under current Planning Law with ability to approve adequate substitution of trees taken down without planning permission unless Minister provides reasoned retrospective approval.

An independent environmental strategic delivery panel to
- co-produce a new Rural Economy Strategy with emphasis on contribution to
  - crops/produce supporting local food security/diversity
  - environmental protection/climate change measures with grants/subsidies reorganised accordingly
Technology Fund funding restoration of greenhouse areas to help produce crops as efficiently as in the Netherlands.

Environmental strategic delivery panel to consider support for local fish processing plant and oyster beds in St Aubin’s Bay
Continue moratorium on grants of licences for hemp farming while Rural Economic Strategy being revised.

The How Proposition list also includes the following measures to encourage adoption of sustainable energy sources to move away from fossil fuel use.

Additional Fuel duty from price increase to be diverted to subsidise short-term fuel needs and support conversion to electric boilers of low-income households along with insulation schemes.
Climate change fund to be applied to fund draft exclusion and insulation for low-income households and conversion to electric boilers (in that order)

Encourage early adoption of solar energy by those who can afford it and address conflict of JEC being a commercial entity by:
- Creating right for Islanders to receive a fair deal for locally generated power from Jersey Electricity Company
- legally imposing a legal requirement on JEC to
  - prioritise supply from locally generated power and to pay a ‘buy-rate’ at least higher than wholesale price for locally generated energy (alternatively rates to be lowered for those providing locally generated energy?);
  - paying a higher rate than that for the first 3 years to the first 5,000 adopters of solar energy
  - collaborate with local renewable energy hardware suppliers with use of independent facilitator to agree roadmap for increased energy security (bearing in mind French political threats) and transition to meet Island energy demand supply from locally generated renewable energy, including target dates and performance measures, in line with government’s net zero plans
Compulsory carbon negative schemes with offsetting at local level to be phased in (starting with government itself).

ENVIRONMENT

Planning needs to be made meaningful again and its processes more transparent. Conflicting policies in the Island Plan argued to support flexibility also support inconsistency and uncertainty.

Bring the planning back into planning with Code to replace conflicting policy in Island Plan format. Parishes to consult with Parishioners for supporting areas development visions
Resourcing the Planning Committee with independent planning inspector presence or legal adviser
Making the Planning Committee the ultimate planning appeal body consistent with democratic principles, with Omsbudsman or courts able to review decision reasoning.
Creation of an independent planning commission to oversee Planning Department.

Support tree planting and the new tree strategy by changing Planning Law to require Minister to exercise tree replanting order powers under current Planning Law with ability to approve adequate substitution of trees taken down without planning permission unless Minister provides reasoned retrospective approval.

An independent environmental strategic delivery panel to
- co-produce a new Rural Economy Strategy with emphasis on contribution to
  - crops/produce supporting local food security/diversity
  - environmental protection/climate change measures with grants/subsidies reorganised accordingly
Technology Fund funding restoration of greenhouse areas to help produce crops as efficiently as in the Netherlands.

Environmental strategic delivery panel to consider support for local fish processing plant and oyster beds in St Aubin’s Bay
Continue moratorium on grants of licences for hemp farming while Rural Economic Strategy being revised.

The How Proposition list also includes the following measures to encourage adoption of sustainable energy sources to move away from fossil fuel use.

Additional Fuel duty from price increase to be diverted to subsidise short-term fuel needs and support conversion to electric boilers of low-income households along with insulation schemes.
Climate change fund to be applied to fund draft exclusion and insulation for low-income households and conversion to electric boilers (in that order)

Encourage early adoption of solar energy by those who can afford it and address conflict of JEC being a commercial entity by:
- Creating right for Islanders to receive a fair deal for locally generated power from Jersey Electricity Company
- legally imposing a legal requirement on JEC to
  - prioritise supply from locally generated power and to pay a ‘buy-rate’ at least higher than wholesale price for locally generated energy (alternatively rates to be lowered for those providing locally generated energy?);
  - paying a higher rate than that for the first 3 years to the first 5,000 adopters of solar energy
  - collaborate with local renewable energy hardware suppliers with use of independent facilitator to agree roadmap for increased energy security (bearing in mind French political threats) and transition to meet Island energy demand supply from locally generated renewable energy, including target dates and performance measures, in line with government’s net zero plans
Compulsory carbon negative schemes with offsetting at local level to be phased in (starting with government itself).