District Dispatch - 20 August 2024

I'm pleased to say that after just two weeks of launching this consultation, it was already one of the biggest responses we have seen — and since then, the number of people responding has continued to rise! I am greatly reassured that this reflects just how much people care about this important topic. This is an important opportunity for us all to come together to help tackle a crisis that affects everyone.

I'd like to thank all of those who have already had their say — and would encourage anyone who has yet to respond to visit our Climate Change consultation 'participate' page (opens new window) before 30 September when the consultation closes. This information will be used to help inform our new climate emergency action plan. Those who participate will be entered into a draw to win a sustainable living prize, worth up to £500.

We've also held in-person drop-in events and online sessions to help people find out more about the consultation. Thank you to everyone who has met with us to ask questions and discuss the proposals with our staff. We have one final online event, which will take place online between 7pm and 8.30pm on 12 September. To access the link for this, please visit our Climate Change consultation hub (opens new window) and then click on the consultation events page to find the link.

As a council it's vital that we help to lead the fight against climate change. The council's emissions are only around 0.5% of emissions in the whole district, but since we declared a Climate Emergency in 2019, we have been working extremely hard to cut our own emissions, for example in our buildings and in our vehicle fleet. We have a clear idea of what we need to do, so this consultation focuses on helping individuals and organisations in the district to cut their carbon emissions.

So far, we've helped some people to make their homes more energy efficient and generate their own energy through renewable energy measures. We've worked with a range of businesses to help them become more sustainable and our popular Tree Chichester District scheme has helped to boost tree cover in rural and urban areas, with over 50,000 trees planted in the district since 2021. In addition, we've installed electric vehicle charge-points in our car parks and we successfully bid for £1.3 million to help reduce carbon emissions at our Westgate Leisure Centre. Many projects are still in progress, including work to reduce emissions from homes in the district. We've produced a video on our consultation hub where you can find out more. We're now looking ahead to see what else we can do to cut carbon emissions.

The ideas that could potentially be included in the new action plan have been put together after working with teams across the whole council, and now it's over to you to see what you think. Some carbon reductions can only be successfully accomplished at a national or international level, so the emphasis is on the areas where we believe we have the most influence and can make the biggest difference in our district.

Although we are asking people to help shape the plan, I would like to stress that many of the projects will depend on council resources and external funding, so at this stage, we can't guarantee that they will go ahead, even with public support. However, it's important that residents know about the potential projects and can feed into the strategy.

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

Best Wishes

Cllr Jonathan Brown

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for the Environment at Chichester District Council