A WEYMOUTH Green councillor has failed in his bid to persuade Dorset Council not to sign up to all of an industrial strategy for the county.

Brian Heatley said that parts of the document were ‘woeful’ on climate change and could commit the council to policies it might later regret.

He said that the fact that Dorset Council was expected to align itself to the pan-Dorset industrial strategy, which is guided by big business, could mean not being able to make later decision relating to climate change when deciding the council's own economic plan in the spring.

But business brief holder on the Cabinet Cllr Gary Suttle said the county could adopt plans which tackled climate change head on and at the same time take advantage of Dorset’s ‘natural capital’ – its natural environment, tourism, agriculture and the creativity of local people.

“It’s important that we align with this, but it is a strategic document, it’s about headlines, and what you are talking about is the mechanics which we will see more specifics on in the economic document in the spring,” he said.

Cllr Suttle said he saw climate change not as a problem, but as an ‘enormous opportunity’ for the council.

“We can make savings and start ways of working in better ways which can be exported to others,” he said, claiming that it might also be an opportunity for industrial growth in the county.

The council’s cabinet, all Conservatives, voted unanimously for the industrial strategy plan.