Wiltshire Council Updates on Progress towards Carbon Neutrality Goal

The report was presented at the Cabinet meeting on 2 May, detailing the council’s progress and leading initiatives to inspire individuals and organisations to take positive action to tackle the global climate problem.

Wiltshire Council committed to acknowledging the climate emergency and making the county of Wiltshire carbon-neutral by 2030 after Full Council's meeting on 26 February 2019. The council subsequently resolved to make itself carbon-neutral by 2030. The report discussed various projects, including funding to retrofit homes and promote tree planting, waste services, educating young people, making council buildings greener, supporting residents to install solar panels, and investing in electric vehicle charging technology. Additionally, the council has been certified as a Bronze Carbon Literate organisation by the Carbon Literacy Project.

Wiltshire Council has received praise for its work to address climate change from an independent Corporate Peer Challenge, which highlighted the council’s commitment to the climate cause, stating: “The council’s work to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change is impressive, with many activities that would be considered exceptional in other organisations being seen very much as the ‘day job’.”

Cllr Nick Holder, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, emphasised the council’s desire for Wiltshire to be a place where people take responsibility for the environment and are on the path to carbon neutrality. He stated that the council is leading by example and inspiring others to make a difference. He also emphasised that the climate emergency is a shared global issue that demands everyone’s attention and action, both individually and collectively.

The council has secured funding of over £3.6m from the government to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon footprint in up to 210 Wiltshire homes. The council has also retrofitted 90 council homes to be more energy efficient, secured £294,800 in funding from the government to support tree planting, and is on track to deliver over 700 installations as part of the Solar Together scheme, equating to more than 5,000 solar panels. Additionally, the council has launched a leisure items recycling scheme and a pop-up reuse shop in Devizes, which has prevented 2.1 tonnes of waste from going to landfill.

Wiltshire Council has installed 74 cycle parking spaces and an e-bike docking station at Salisbury Train Station, and over 1,200 pupils have attended Bikeability training since the start of the 2022/23 school year. The council has allocated £878k for further active travel schemes in the county and received applications for 35 sites to have electric vehicle charging point feasibility studies. The council is investing an additional £1m between 2022/23 and 2024/25 to empty gullies and help prevent flooding. The Warm and Safe advice service has also been extended for a further three years, and the library service has secured funding to produce talks and book collections on climate change and sustainable living. The Salisbury River Park project is also making progress, being the council’s flagship project to improve resilience to climate impacts.

Furthermore, the council has taken steps towards becoming a carbon-neutral organisation. Over 60 members of staff have completed carbon literacy training to help them become more energy efficient, and the council has been awarded a Bronze Carbon Literate Organisation award. The council’s case studies were featured at the UN Climate Change conference COP27 in Egypt, and air source heat pumps have been installed at three leisure sites, reducing gas usage by approximately 6,200 MWh per annum.