A Somerset council has been slammed for its decision to hold its remaining meetings in public despite declaring a climate emergency.

South Somerset District Council declared a climate emergency in May 2019 and has been taking various steps to reduce its environmental impact, including the installation of solar panels on the roofs of council buildings and investing in its leisure centres to make them more energy efficient.

Like all local authorities, the council shifted to holding its meetings virtually with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, with full council meetings only recently beginning to be held in person again.

The council has now voted that all its committees will meet in public again until the new unitary Somerset Council takes over in April 2023 – a decision which one councillor described as “horrifying”.

Councillor Henry Hobhouse, who represents the Cary ward, lambasted this decision when the full council met in Yeovil on Thursday evening (July 21).

He said: “I am absolutely horrified by this council. Almost every single one you voted in favour of [declaring] a climate change emergency, and every single one of you is not thinking about what this is going to do to us and our fuel use over the next year.”

Mr Hobhouse was instrumental in the council’s recent investments in battery storage energy facilities, which have generated larger than expected returns for the funding of front-line services.

He added: “If you don’t like it, either say that you don’t believe in the climate emergency or you will have to seriously look at your consciences.

“I will be voting against every one of these options [to hold meetings in person].”

Councillor Nick Colbert – who represents Wincanton – agreed, stating: “It’s a bit like Greta Thunberg jetting around the world to tell us not to jet around the world.”

Despite this opposition, councillors ultimately endorsed plans (by a margin of 30 votes to two, with 10 abstentions) for all the council’s meetings to be held in person – meaning any councillor who attended via Zoom or over the phone would not be able to vote going forward.

However, discretion has been granted to allow the chairs of the area committees to allow their meetings to take place virtually if there were no planning applications on the agenda.

Meetings will continue to be live-streamed over the council’s official YouTube channel, allowing the public to observe if they cannot attend in person.

Councillor Tony Capozzoli, who represents Ilchester and the surrounding villages, said he had no issues with people travelling attend area committee meetings in Yeovil on a monthly basis, if other venues did not have the technology to accommodate them.

Councillor Tim Kerley – whose Wessex ward includes Somerton – said Mr Hobhouse’s concerns about the environmental impact should be secondary to democratic decisions being undertaken in a public and transparent manner.