East Suffolk Council passes motion but Conservatives say it offers "no new policies or initiatives".

East Suffolk Council have unanimously passed a motion to declare a biodiversity and ecological emergency.

The motion, which was proposed by Green councillor Rachel Smith-Lyte, was discussed by the council on Wednesday.

Ms Smith-Lyte said it was “a critical step in the right direction for our council and beyond”.

But the East Suffolk Conservatives (ESC) said: “The motion is just words with no new policies or initiatives.”

The council first declared a climate emergency in 2019, but Ms Smith-Lyte said: “We realised afterwards we had omitted to add the ecology and biodiversity emergency element, which is now rectified.”