Environment & Animal Welfare

Flintshire People’s Voice takes the council’s role as a steward of the local environment seriously. We have already succeeded in toughening up rules on giving live animals as prizes, and on using animals likely to become distressed in public events. We support a ban on hunting and shooting on council land, in recognition of the damaging impact this has on our environment and animal welfare.

We will use council land to protect and improve biodiversity and store carbon in the most effective manner. Rather than simply planting trees everywhere, we will consider whether restoring peatland or creating meadows may be of greater benefit. We will ensure that, when the council proposes to change what it uses any land it owns or manages for, an assessment of the impact on the local environment and animal welfare is carried out. We will consult with communities on whether some areas currently subjected to intensive mowing might be better used as wildflower meadows or other uses, and we back the current council policy of restricting usage of cancer-causing weed killer and pesticide on council land.

FPV proudly supports the provision of allotments, and will seek to expand space given to allotments in power, considering the high demand and waiting lists at many associations in the county. We will also support planting of community orchards, community allotments and food forests.

We know that many residents are keen to support wildlife in their own gardens, but doing this can be tricky with conflicting advice available and the lack of space can make it feel like any difference will be insignificant. We will work to connect residents who are interested in creating habitats and havens, forming local gardening groups and making available clear, professional advice from Flintshire’s experts in the countryside service. With a number of participating residents, the impact is magnified, creating bee and butterfly havens across villages and towns, and for native mammals like hedgehogs. We will seek external funding to deliver improvements to main roads by installing tunnels for wildlife to cross where there have been a number of previous deaths.

Flintshire People’s Voice councillors have been raising concerns about sewer outflows into local rivers since before this became a national issue. We will continue to take up this matter, and will push for the resources of Flintshire Council to be used to hold Welsh Water to account for this. We will also press for planning laws to be changed, enabling the council to reject applications for developments where sewers are discharging into rivers.

FPV firmly supports Flintshire farmers and their contribution to our food security. In line with our commitment to strengthen local ownership of our economy, we will work with farmers to ensure they are able to sell effectively into the local public sector supply chain. In our Rebuilding Communities section, we set out further ways in which we will support local agriculture to meet local demand, protecting Flintshire food security. Not only are we reliant on farmers for food production, but also as guardians of the majority of our county’s land. We will work constructively with landowners to deliver maximum public benefit from this land, supporting wildlife, biodiversity and public access. We will also protect and expand county farms in Flintshire, which provide a way into farming for young people at an affordable rent.

FPV in power will create an animal welfare charter for Flintshire, collecting all the council’s policies on animal welfare in one place. This will make it clear that the welfare of animals should be an important consideration in delivering services, from land management to ensuring people’s pets are protected when they move into care homes. Our animal charter will also reflect the brilliant work done by volunteers and animal charities in the county, and commit the council to working in partnership with them. For example, we will work with local groups to develop and make available a programme to local schools on animal welfare and rescue.

We will promote the use of the council’s pest control service by residents as a more effective and humane method to self-implemented alternatives, ensuring effective control of pests while minimising risks to non-targeted species such as owls.

An FPV administration will also engage with the UK and Welsh Government to promote animal welfare more broadly. We will press the Welsh Government to catch up with England in requiring chipping of cats, we believe the Welsh Government should move forward and match Scotland in updating animal business licensing legislation, and when this has been achieved, FPV will press for a working group at Flintshire Council to ensure a proactive approach to updating policies and practices to meet the new rules. We will also ensure the council takes a strong public stance against trail hunting and lamping.

Access to green space should be a right for everyone. We support the extension of the right to roam over uncultivated land, as established in Scotland, to Wales.