The smoking ban plan for Dudley sparked by Stourbridge wildfires

A smoking ban in Dudley Council parks is among proposals to ease summer fire risks. 

A meeting of the full council on November 2 will discuss a lengthy Notice of Motion from Dudley Liberal Democrat leader, Cllr Ryan Priest, on fire prevention and resilience to extreme weather.

The motion was prompted by the wildfires which devastated homes in Stourbridge during the summer, which Cllr Priest says must be a wake-up call.

The motion for debate said: “The Stourbridge fires must be a turning point in how the council builds resilience to extreme weather while also going further to meet its duty to tackle the climate emergency. 

“Effective action must include practical measures which can be implemented locally, alongside continued work to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.”

Among the measures proposed to tackle the risk of wildfires creating firebreaks and buffer zones where risks are identified as well as displaying fire safety information in public spaces.

The motion also says the council should ‘bring forward a plan to permanently prohibit smoking and the use of disposable barbecues and other disposable open flame cooking devices on council-owned parks, nature reserves, woodlands and other public open spaces’.

The proposal suggests Public Space Protection orders could be used to enforce the ban.

Councillors are also asked to formally recognise the fires demonstrated the effect of climate change and have been asked to establish a cross-party working group to monitor the council’s performance in cutting its own environmental impact as detailed in its Climate Action Plan.

Among suggested actions to tackle climate change and introduce more shady spaces is to increase tree canopy cover to 17 percent in every borough ward and create accessible cool spaces in public buildings where ‘residents can find shade, drinking water, information and support during periods of extreme heat’.

Councillors are also asked to approve a joint scrutiny session to monitor how proposals are being implemented.

The document for discussion, signed by Dudley Council’s chief executive, Balvinder Heran, said: “There is growing frustration among elected members and the public that progress following the adoption of council motions can be slow and is not always formally monitored or reported.”