BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL OFFICERS IGNORE THEIR "SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN"

This is the second week running that I have been eating breakfast on Saturday and remembered "Friday was Blog writing day". It is good that my life has changed from talking and writing about tackling climate change, to busy activity delivering a project that will contribute to reducing CO₂ in Birmingham.

I was shocked to discover this week that Council Officers, whose job is to work in accordance with City Council and Government policies, have produced a report that ignores their "Sustainability Strategy and Action Plan" and the Government's Planning Policy Statement 1: Delivering Sustainable Development, despite having both drawn to their attention.

A major part of SusMo's British Gas Green Streets award is to part fund a project of St Mary's Church to install Photo-Voltaic panels on the roof. This would deliver around 8,000 kWh of renewable electricity each year, most of which would be fed back into the grid, generating income. The recommendation, of the Planning Officer to the Planning Committee, is to refuse the planning application.

As well as ignoring key policies in the "Policy Context" area of the report, the report fails to mention a letter from the City Council Head of Climate Change and Sustainability, Sandy Taylor. His support of the application has been withheld from members of the Planning Committee.

Another misleading piece of information in the report is that the "Sustainability" of the application is neutral, omitting to mention the contribution of 8,000 kWh of renewable electricity each year.

The National Trust recognises that there will be no heritage to conserve if climate change is not tackled. The NT first installed solar panels on the roof of one of its Grade I listed buildings in early 2008, and recommended that other owners of Grade 1 listed buildings would follow suit. The installation of solar panels is a simple and easily reversible procedure, causing no "damage" to the roof that they are placed on.

The panels will not be visible from the busy pavements of St Mary's Row, they will be hidden by the parapet - see photo 1. Some panels will be visible from the end of Oxford Road but most will be hidden by trees when they are in full leaf - see photo 2.

The report records that 22 messages of support were received and 2 objections. No objections were received from residents of Oxford Road who are the people who will see the panels most frequently.

If the Planning Committee refuses this application on Thursday, there will be a strong case for a Judicial Review, due to an officer withholding evidence from the elected representatives who serve on the Planning Committee.

The planning application for the installation of Photo-Voltaic panels on the roof of St Mary's Church will be considered on Thursday, 4 February 2010 at 1100 hours in Committee Rooms 3 and 4, Council House, Item 15 on the agenda.

If you wish to observe the elected members acting in the best interests of Birmingham, in accordance with City Council and Government policies, you may wish to attend. If you are unable to attend you may wish to send your comments to the Chair of the Planning Committee - Peter.DouglasOsborn@birmingham.gov.uk - who will forward them to the Planning Officer.

The church has a short entry in Pevsner's "Buildings of England", which describes the oldest part of the church (the tower, early 16th century) and the rebuilding and reconstructions of the rest of the church in the 19th and 20th centuries. He concludes "The result is efficient...". I hope that future descriptions of the church will praise not only its efficiency but also its sustainability, thanks to its Parish Church Council in 2010.