Amongst the varied group were Bristol Green Party; Friends of the Earth and People and Planet, Sumatran Orang-Utan Society, Lush, Down to Earth and prospective Bristol candidates from the Green Party, Lib-Dem, Labour and Conservative, as well as the leader of the Council. This demonstrates that there is a growing political consensus over the madness of promoting deforestation diesel over true renewables, which is keeping up with the people whilst Whitehall policy lags unforgivably behind. If DECC removed ROCs for biofuels this latest threat to our carbon sinks and biodiversity would be halted.

The packed public gallery heard speeches from16 of the 67 registered statements. 3 members of the public were gently removed as they tried to raise questions they felt the Councillors were not asking on air quality and planning law. I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. The vote was 6 against, 2 for and 1 abstention. Another victory for decency, the planet and in particular, the global South.

This next bit on planning might seem boring, but is crucial. The Planning Officer had advised that source of the fuel, sustainability and carbon emissions were immaterial… A councillor was able to quote different areas of planning law which suggested they were very material. And the councils legal advisor stated that if one area of planning law was interpreted then greater weight would need to apply to global issues and it was up to Councillors to interpret planning law. This is important as W4B are appealing the decision. Finally one Councillor said he could not ignore the 1190 objections and the local petition with 451 signatures he had received.

Ian, Biofuelwatch