Newbury Town Council has reduced carbon footprint by 44 per cent since 2019

Newbury Town Council has announced that it has reduced its carbon footprint by 44 per cent since 2019, writes Harry Craig.

Consequently, it is well ahead of its target to be carbon-neutral by 2030, set when the council declared a climate emergency in 2019.

These results have been independently verified by Carbon Footprint Ltd.

This follows a variety of environmental measures implemented by the town council, including providing grant aid for Newbury Cricket Club to install solar panels.

These has provided enormous benefit not just to the club itself, but also to homelessness charity Loose Ends, which runs a drop-in centre at the site.

The council has also made a series of further environmental commitments to further reduce its carbon emissions, including installing solar panels on the Town Hall roof.

Chairman of the council’s climate emergency working group David Harman said at a council meeting on October 23: “I am delighted with our progress towards our aim to be carbon-neutral by 2030.

“We have further plans in our fight against the climate emergency, including a meeting with Greenfest to explore collaboration and carrying out a plastics audits for the council.”

The full report on Newbury Town Council’s carbon footprint is available at https://rebrand.ly/tjlf4y7

The town council has also pledged its support for other local groups in their own campaigns to combat the climate emergency.

David Marsh (Green, Wash Common) said: “The council is committed to our climate emergency campaign.

“As well as the great work of our working group, we actively support local organisations through our climate emergency grant fund, which this year totals £10,000.”

Mr Marsh urged anyone with an eligible project or campaign to contact the town council, with further information on the climate emergency grant fund available on the town council’s website.