Extinction Rebellion brings halt to council meeting in Bromley
A town hall meeting was suspended when climate campaigners unfurled a banner and started shouting slogans.
The meeting of Bromley council’s executive was suspended on Wednesday after it was interrupted by Extinction Rebellion protesters.
Roughly 10 minutes into the meeting, a band of six activists sitting in the public chamber unfurled a banner and began chanting: “What do we want? Climate action”.
Council leader Colin Smith suspended the meeting immediately, with councillors briskly leaving the room.
Their absence was short-lived, with the still-chanting band of protesters swiftly moved on and the meeting resuming within minutes.
Extinction Rebellion’s high-profile exploits have captured worldwide attention in recent years, with their actions in London including blockading bridges and delaying public transport with protests in a bid to draw attention to the world’s climate change plight and government policies.
It’s not the first time they’ve courted controversy in Bromley’s council halls.
The group staged a peaceful protest at a meeting of the authority’s environment and community services committee in August.
The group’s most recent Bromley action was done in a bid to hasten the council establishing more details, including terms of reference and a benchmark around its Net Zero Carbon Emissions scheme.
The council voted in July last year to pursue the 10-year plan which would see the council achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2029.
Its target of the net zero emission target will be reached by tree planting, an energy efficiency programme, expanding renewable energy and LED street lighting.
Bromley’s first Carbon Management Programme operated from 2008/09 – 2012/13 and resulted in a 14 per cent reduction in the council’s greenhouse gas emissions.
A second carbon management plan, running from 2013/14 to 2017/18, achieved a 33 per cent reduction against a 2013 baseline.
Once the meeting resumed, the executive voted unanimously on two items:
- an extra £115k to replace a cracked and bulging retaining wall at the council’s Central Depo
- granting of the landlords consent for a new hotel and aviation college at Biggin Hill Airport
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