Wiltshire Council has not been the most helpful of local authorities to date. Whereas Bristol and Bath and Swindon have set up local renewable energy initiatives (Public Power Solutions, Bristol Energy) Wiltshire has done little except to put up significant barriers to renewable energy generation and conservation.
But this may be about to change. In February, after a proposal from Cllr Brian Mathew, the Council agreed to implement a Climate Emergency Strategy and committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
Deputy Leader Cllr Richard Clewer spoke at the Salisbury Community Energy AGM this month and said that achieving this will require significant action both by the council and with partners in the County. He said that the Council will ensure:
All energy procured by Wiltshire Council will be renewable from April 2020.
There will be a capital investment of £5m in renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Council’s own buildings.
They are looking at replacing Council-owned vehicles with electric vehicles.
The Local Plan is being refreshed and a draft will be available early next year.
He explained that ensuring that Wiltshire is carbon neutral by 2030 will require significant action from a wide range of people and that Wiltshire Council does not have the legal ability to compel it to happen.
We can all agree with that.
At our own AGM this month we discussed the possibility of becoming more widely involved in spreading knowledge and initiatives about reducing Carbon in Wiltshire. We hope to work closely involved with the Councils, local organisations and – most importantly, local people to raise awareness of the issues, suggest solutions and generally helping to help solve the climate emergency we are all encountering.
We welcome support and suggestions from our members.