Last Monday’s meeting of the B&NES Climate Emergency and Sustainability Policy Development & Scrutiny Panel, Paulton’s Labour Councillor Grant Johnson described the Council’s delivery of plans for solar energy in Council-run buildings as “underwhelming”.

In response to a report from Sarah Warren, the Liberal Democrat Council’s Deputy Leader, he expressed concern that the Council is “not being ambitious enough”, is being too slow, and asked Cllr Warren what specific blocks were preventing her delivering promises of renewable energy in properties owned by the Council.

Referring to a three-year delay, Cllr Warren said the Council “should be able to move a lot faster”, it had “taken some time to get the right officers in the right posts”. She said B&NES needed to “do the planning and create the links with Western Power Distribution” and put its policy framework in place.

But after the meeting, Councillor Johnson said: “Taking three years to recruit an officer to a critical post is an embarrassing example of this administration’s failure to tackle the climate emergency.

“Putting solar panels onto the roofs of Council-run buildings isn’t rocket science – but these delays fly in the face of urgent climate science. On top of that, we’re in an energy crisis, but still nothing is happening. They’ve only identified two BANES-maintained schools, and overlooked others, like the one I am a Governor of in Paulton.

“We don’t have the luxury of time when it comes to the climate – but Labour will give the Lib Dems all the help it can, and just hope that what they can do is good enough.”