10 Questions: Carla Denyer – ‘We need to make sure that the majority of our trees are protected’

Carla Denyer is a Green Party councillor for Clifton Down ward, the co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and the Greens’ MP candidate for Bristol West.

Before entering politics, Denyer worked as an engineer in the renewable energy industry, specialising in offshore and onshore wind energy.

In 2018 she proposed the first Climate Emergency declaration in Europe, committing Bristol to go carbon neutral by 2030.

In the latest edition of Bristol247’s quarterly magazine, Denyer agreed to answer questions submitted by our readers, with no topic off limits.

1. How and where will the Green Party deliver the much-needed family homes for Bristol?

“The Green councillors are working as part of a cross-party working group to produce an updated Local Plan to identify how and where homes will be delivered in Bristol over the next 15 to 20 years. There is no doubt that Bristol needs more homes – and these must be the right kind of homes (good quality, energy efficient, the sizes people need), in the right places (brownfield wherever possible, near local services), at the right price (affordable to rent and to buy, including a lot more social housing). A Green Party motion to Full Council gained unanimous backing from all parties to support the working group’s stance that the number and type of homes planned should be clearly based on factual evidence of demand.

“This is key because the government’s top down housing targets, which apply an arbitrary 35 per cent uplift for all big cities, does not match need, nor is it achievable. But worst of all, it makes it easier for developers to ride roughshod over local policies. Bad planning applications – whether for poor quality housing, unaffordable luxury flats, or ecologically damaging green-belt developments – are likely to be refused by Bristol’s planning system because they go against our local policies.

“But if Bristol falls behind on nationally set housing targets, it becomes easier for unscrupulous developers to overturn those refusals on appeal. In short, the unattainably high Tory housing targets are a politically motivated move – an underhand way of government ministers removing what they would call ‘red tape’ and the rest of us call essential regulation to ensure the city delivers affordable, good homes.

“The Green Party’s approach also includes bringing long-term empty homes back into use as quickly as possible, and, where appropriate, encourage reuse of existing buildings. There’s also a role for community-led housing.

“We see Bristol’s council-owned housing company, Goram, as having a vital role to play in the delivery of new homes, especially genuinely affordable homes. Whilst cross-party work on the Housing Revenue Account will allow us to deliver many more council homes with secure long-term tenancies than Bristol has before. We also need to recognise that there is a climate emergency and that all new (and existing) homes need to fit into our pathway to net zero.

“All this said, planning proposals ultimately need to be agreed by cross party planning committees, whose job is to test applications on whether they are in line with existing council policies. Planning committee members must not be swayed by party politics in this setting – this is a vital part of the democratic process. And is all the more reason why we need to get strong policies agreed in the Local Plan.”

2. Will Greens make all trees TPO trees?

“Greens know how important it is for climate change, wildlife, human health and wellbeing to protect trees and improve biodiversity, especially in cities. Green politicians in Bristol, Sheffield (where their actions were rewarded by being elected into the administration at the next election), Plymouth and all over the country have led campaigns to save vital city trees.

“Much as I’d love to, trying to get a Tree Preservation Order on every single tree in the city is probably neither the best way to protect them, nor actually feasible in law, however.

“When my colleague, councillor Martin Fodor, initiated an in-depth scrutiny inquiry into what’s going wrong with the management of trees in the city, it was made clear that TPOs can only be applied to selected trees and even then the protection is limited. Trees can still be felled if they are on private land out of sight of roads, or diseased and a risk to public safety.

“Developers should be designing around existing mature trees. Although I think even the greatest tree lover would agree that there are some limited circumstances where cutting down a small number of trees enables you to have a really big positive environmental impact overall, e.g. to build new railway stations at Ashley Down and Portway. (Disclaimer: I don’t know how many trees need to be cut down at those sites but I think it’s a fairly small number since the rail lines are already there.)

“What’s important is making sure that the majority of our trees are protected, especially ecologically important and veteran trees; that overall tree canopy increases in the city, especially in the more deprived areas of the city that suffer from air pollution and the ‘heat island’ effect – as I explained to the Metro last year; and that it’s all part of a wider project to improve biodiversity and tackle the Ecological Emergency.

3. How advantageous will it be to the UK as a whole if the Greens unseat sitting opposition MPs such as Thangam Debonnaire in Bristol West, thereby reducing the chances of progressives holding a majority in the House of Commons?

“The outcome of the next General Election looks set to be either an outright Labour government, or a Labour minority that needs one or more other party’s support to form government.

“As Greens, we have always been clear that we are open to working with other parties where we share common ground, just as our sister Green Parties do in the eight European countries where Greens are in Government: Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Montenegro, and Scotland.

“If we are in that position post-election, we will negotiate strongly and will have clear red lines – learning from the Scottish Greens who secured several key social and environmental policy commitments (such as rent controls) from the SNP in exchange for their support.

“So the choice for voters in Bristol West (soon to become Bristol Central) is simple: Would you rather see a Starmer government unchallenged and able to do whatever it wants? Or would you like to see a Labour-led government with a handful of Greens to drag them in a more progressive direction on the policy areas where Starmer’s Labour is lacking – climate action, worker’s rights, public ownership of public services, compassionate immigration policy, tuition fees, right to protest, proportional representation, progressive taxation, and so on?”

4. Why does the Green Party persevere with two co-leaders?

“Ha! It’s not a case of persevering, it’s a system that works well and helps make Green politics inclusive and diverse.

“Co-leadership is not mandatory, leadership candidates are free to stand solo or with a job-share partner. But in the last three leadership elections, Green members elected co-leaders. I think that’s because they see the advantages.

“By sharing the role, Adrian and I bring two different sets of skills and experiences – his experience as a manager, a charity CEO and a parent; my experience as an engineer, an LGBT+ woman, and my current role as a councillor. It also gives us more geographical spread (he is based in Norfolk) and therefore a greater ability to represent the whole of the country – rural and urban, east and west.

“It’s also a matter of practising our Green principles. Excessive working hours contribute to ill health, stress, lower productivity, lower quality of life and a reduction in quality childcare. And long working hours make some jobs inaccessible to many people – e.g. those with caring responsibilities or long-term health issues. A recent shorter working week trial found that working a four-day week (without loss of pay) reduces stress, lowers levels of burnout, and prevents employees quitting. And the companies involved reported no decline in company revenue.

“The Green Party believes that a better work-life balance is both possible and desirable, so we live our principles by supporting staff (and elected representatives, where allowed by national laws) to job-share or work part-time or flexibly.”

5. As co-leader and prospective MP, are you able to devote sufficient time and focus to your role as a Bristol councillor?

“I certainly have a full diary, but I find that the three roles are complementary, and residents in my council ward and in the Bristol West constituency appreciate the fact that I am able to raise issues that matter to them at a national as well as local level.

“This demonstrates another benefit of co-leadership – by sharing the leadership role it gives me enough time to dedicate to my responsibilities in Bristol too.”

6. In Bristol we still struggle with too much car-based commuting. What carrots and sticks will the Green Party implement locally and nationally? Should I get an electric car?

“Greens believe that getting around your city easily, affordably and safely is a right, and an essential part of building fairer, greener communities.

“Bristol’s transport system is infamous: congestion, unreliable buses, parking nightmares. We’re routinely cited as one of the worst cities in the UK for congestion and poor air quality.

“Surveys frequently show that a significant proportion of people who currently drive would rather not have to rely on their car, and would switch if local walking, cycling and public transport options were better. All of these options are better for the environment, more equitable and reduce traffic overall by taking cars off the road.

“And of course many people don’t have access to a car at all – 20 per cent nationally but rising to over 50 per cent in many inner city areas like Lawrence Hill – which unfairly are often the areas most affected by air pollution.

“So to tackle carbon emissions, air pollution and congestion, the solutions are a mixture of carrot and stick. Green transport priorities in Bristol are to create joined up, safe and accessible cycle lanes and walking routes through the city; and to improve the city’s bus services by pursuing bus franchising via the West of England Combined Authority to ensure that local councils have more control over the frequency, reliability and routes served by Bristol’s buses. (Greens ultimately want to see publicly owned public transport, which is unlikely under the current government but something we will continue to lobby for, especially after the next General Election.)

“As for sticks, we have long pushed for Bristol to follow Nottingham’s lead and introduce a Workplace Parking Levy, which would charge larger businesses (not individuals) for car parking spaces for employees. This addresses the injustice that many employers provide free city centre parking for their staff but no equivalent subsidy for staff who walk, cycle or use public transport. In Nottingham the Workplace Parking Levy has nudged commuters towards more sustainable transport, and raised funds that the council invested in their tram system – so it is carrot and stick in one package.

“As for electric cars, while they are part of the solution they are not the main one, because if every petrol and diesel car in the city were just swapped for electric, we would still have congestion, air pollution and transport inequality. Electric vehicles definitely have an important role though, e.g. for those who need to drive for work or due to disability.

More than 50 per cent of people in Lawrence Hill do not have access to a car, but it is also one of the areas of Bristol most affected by air pollution – photo: Martin Booth

7. What is your honest opinion on Marvin Rees’ plans for a Bristol underground?

“As an engineer, and someone without a car, I would love if Bristol had a shiny new underground. But we are in a Climate Emergency, and the science is clear that we need to have dramatically reduced UK carbon emissions within the next ten years. This means we need to filter every proposal through the question: ‘will it be up and running, reducing carbon emissions in ten years or less?’

“Even casual observers of big UK infrastructure projects will know that the answer for a brand new underground system is ‘no’. London’s Crossrail project took 18 years from proposal to operation, and Edinburgh’s tram network took about 16.

“Given the mayor has made widely varying claims about the time and cost of his underground, he really needs to make all the reports publicly available – such a big and important decision must not be made by one man.

“We called for and won a council debate that a study is needed into the best ways of investing to improve and decarbonise the overall system. Given the urgency of the task at hand, I eagerly await the results of that study. I suspect it will say that Bristol needs to primarily focus on improving the infrastructure we already have – buses and local rail lines.

“I want a mass transit network in Bristol, but it must deliver timely carbon reduction and value for money.”

8. Do you support harnessing tidal energy in the Severn Estuary?

“Yes. Research commissioned by former South West Green MEP Molly Scott Cato nearly ten years ago demonstrated that the South West can provide 100%+ of its energy needs through renewable energy alone, and the Severn Estuary is an important part of that.

“A barrage across the whole estuary risks causing ecological damage to internationally important ecosystems. However, tidal lagoons, fences or tidal stream turbines have the potential to generate large amounts of clean, reliable electricity with lower impact on nature.

“The government’s energy strategy is currently over-reliant on new nuclear and carbon capture and storage (CCS). To meet national and local carbon reduction targets, and help people in this cost of living crisis, the government must prioritise investment in home insulation and renewable energy. That includes strengthening the National Grid to make sure all new renewables projects including tidal energy can come online quickly – at the end of last year nearly 700 renewable energy projects were waiting to be connected to the grid.”

9. How will you deal with rogue landlords such as Thomas Flight?

“Protecting renters has long been one of my highest priorities, as a member of ACORN and a prospective Green MP.

“A few months ago Greens co-wrote a motion to Bristol City Council which made the news for its commitment to lobby for rent controls and investigate how they might work in Bristol. But behind the headlines, the motion also agreed to review the council’s enforcement policy for private lets, and extend the existing landlord licensing across the city. This will beef up the council’s ability to deal with rogue landlords. But national legislation on this is still long and slow, and hasn’t prevented Thomas Flight from moving into AirBnBs. So, as I told the Bristol Post last year, one of my top priorities in Parliament will be to give councils the powers to regulate short term lets like AirBnB better, and limit rent rises in areas where the local housing market is overheated.”

10. City or Rovers?

“I’ll be honest, dancing is more my thing. I’m not really a football fan. And I’m not the kind of politician who pretends to be for the street cred. However, one of my Green Party colleagues told me the other day that City is doing great stuff on sustainability – they came second in the EFL sustainability league. So kudos to City for that! And Bristol City women’s team just got promoted, so maybe I need to get onboard.”

This is an unedited version of the article that originally appeared in Bristol24/7’s quarterly magazine

Bristol24/7’s summer 2023 magazine is being distributed to pick up free across our city

Bristol West MP, Thangam Debbonaire, will be next in the 10 Questions hot seat. To submit your questions, please email editor@bristol247.com with the subject line ’10 Questions’.

Main photo: Green Party

Read next:

• 10 Questions: Marvin Rees – ‘I’m Bristol’s most transparent person’
• Marvin Rees says the way Carla Denyer does politics is ‘demoralising’
• Green co-leader Carla Denyer praised for Question Time responses

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: