Richmond upon Thames wins Green Council of the Year Award . .

2.00.02pm GMT Mon 5th Mar 2007

Cllr Serge Lourie and colleagues receiving the award.

Liberal Democrat members of Richmond upon Thames Council are celebrating their success in winning the Green Council of the Year 2007 award from the Local Government Association Liberal Democrat Group.

The award was made because of the Council's performance in a number of fields including the review of the planning criteria to make them greener; revising the refuse collection service to increase radically levels of recycling and to add plastic bottles and cardboard to doorstep collection; the foundation of the 2M group campaigning against the expansion of Heathrow; and for the appointment of an energy team to reduce the carbon footprint of the borough. The judging panel was also impressed by the innovative revision to the method of charging in Controlled Parking Zones so that cars producing less CO2 will pay less and the more profligate cars putting out a great deal of CO2 will pay significantly more.

Speaking after the award was presented by Andrew Stunnell MP, the Liberal Democrat Local Government Shadow Minister, council leader, Serge Lourie, said:

"We are thrilled to have received this award. We have put the environment at the heart of our decision making and this is a great honour for the borough. The previous administration banished the use of the word "sustainability" from all council documents. One of our first acts was to sign the Nottingham Declaration that has committed us to producing an action plan to reduce carbon emissions in the borough. Richmond upon Thames is at the forefront of councils committed to working to prevent climate change and this award recognises the contribution of all our councillors to this project. We have a responsibility to try and tackle the menace of global warming and climate change. In a local way, we are making an honest attempt to deal with a global problem"