District Dispatch - 14 May 2024

However, council emissions only equate to about 0.5% the district's emissions as a whole. This is why our new plan will focus on building on the work that we're already doing to help individuals and organisations reduce their emissions too.

We've helped some people to make their homes more energy efficient and generate their own energy through renewable energy measures, but there is an enormous amount still to do. We've worked with a range of businesses to help them become more sustainable and we've installed electric vehicle charge-points in our car parks. There are a number of other projects that are in progress, including work to reduce emissions from homes in the district, but we're now looking ahead to see what else we can do to help scale-up the effort to reduce carbon emissions.

The ideas and options that could potentially be included in the new plan have been put together after working with teams and services across the whole of the council, and soon it will be over to you to see what you think. This is a really important opportunity for residents and businesses across the district to help shape the plan and for us all to come together to help tackle a crisis that affects everyone.

Some actions require action at a national or international level, so the emphasis in our plan is on the areas where we believe we can have the most influence, directly or indirectly, and can make the biggest difference. The proposals cover options for cutting emissions across the district through projects on transport, housing and our natural environment.

Although we are asking people to help shape the plan and help prioritise the different actions, I would like to stress that many of the projects will depend on the availability of funding. We may have to seek external funding, so at this stage, we can't guarantee that they will go ahead, even with public support. Even so, it's important that residents know what the potential options are and can feed into the strategy. It will help focus the council on what we should be trying to achieve through partnership working across the district. It's also important to us that the plan has the support of our local communities.

When the consultation goes live in July, the easiest way to complete our survey will be online where we will also publish videos that explain the projects we're proposing. However, we recognise that not everyone has access to a computer and so a pull-out paper version will also be included as part of the council's residents' magazine, Initiatives, which people will be able to fill out and post to the council.

As we get closer to the consultation starting, keep an eye on our website and our social media channels. If you want to be notified as soon as our consultation starts, why not join our Let's Talk Panel? We'll contact you by email when the consultation goes live. There's no commitment — you can choose which of our consultations you wish to take part in. To sign up, visit our Chichester District 'let's talk panel' page.

Once the results have been examined and the proposals written up, they will be discussed by Cabinet and Full Council for approval in summer 2025, when the current plan ends. The new plan would run until 2030.

You can find out more about our work in this area — which includes introducing two new electric vehicles to our refuse collection fleet, reducing the carbon footprint of our buildings, and launching a ground breaking project to safeguard and enhance strategic wildlife corridors — on our website on our Chichester District Council 'climate change' page.

Best Wishes

Cllr Jonathan Brown

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environmental Strategy at Chichester District Council