CLAIMS that Dorset Council is dragging its feet on climate change have been denied by the authority – although its next formal meeting on the subject will not be until September.

Bridport Green Cllr Kelvin Clayton was critical of the council response saying that while an 'executive panel' had been set up it had no teeth to ensure the Conservative-run cabinet complied with its recommendations.

He told Thursday's full Dorset Council meeting he believed many of the panels set up by the council were just ways of pushing difficult items out into the long grass without making decisions.

“We just seem to be constantly kicking the can down the road...most people fully accept the need for change but Dorset Council seems to be doing very little. We should commit to radical action now. Our children and grandchildren will be pleased that we did.”

Dorchester resident Philip Jordan, said that so far, the council's actions seem to show a lack of urgency and engagement since the authority declared a climate emergency in May.

He told councillors during the public session that the authority was showing a lack of 'climate emergency application' when making decisions on a range of matters including neighbourhood plans, its own forward plan, and asking for and getting £150,000 of government funding for the Dorchester North housing scheme to be built on greenfield land.

Later in the meeting Cllr Beryl Ezzard (Lib Dem Wareham) said that the council's adoption of the county-wide waste plan had made a fundamental error in assuming an annual growth of 1.5 per cent needing to go to landfill each year, while what it should have done is aim for and find policies to bring about a reduction.

Cabinet member heading the climate panel, Cllr Ray Bryan, insisted the work was being dealt with as a 'pressing issue' and said the authority was also establishing a senior officers technical group with its members drawn from across the council.

He said panel members would meet with Extinction Rebellion and other groups to hear their suggestions and had already met with rail and bus operators to ask for their help. One of the water authorities has been asked to investigate having more public water stations across the county.

“We will be listening to as many people as possible so we can make the best decisions for the people of Dorset,” he said.

Climate change protestors draped themselves over the balcony of the chamber during part of the meeting.