Over £1 million on at least 100 homes in east Cambridgeshire is to be spent by district councillors over the next 12 months in a bid to tackle climate change.
The commitment is one of 20 points that East Cambridgeshire District Council (ECDC) has outlined in its second annual Environmental and Climate Change Strategy Action Plan, which was approved on June 17.
As well as over £1m on energy efficiency improvements in 100 homes, other measures such as tree planting, reducing emissions from waste vehicles and adopting a new cycling and walking strategy have been stated.
Councillor Anna Bailey, leader of ECDC, said the council has made “tremendous strides to protect the environment.
“Despite the pandemic, the council has continued to work tirelessly to deliver the actions set out in last year’s Action Plan and I am thrilled to have made valuable progress over the past year.
“However, we must not rest on our laurels and now is the time to step up our approach, go further and achieve more.”
The Action Plan focuses on what ECDC can do to mitigate climate change and seek to boost the natural environment within the district.
Councillor Julia Huffer, member champion for waste and recycling, climate change and the natural environment, said the approval of a second Action Plan is a testament to councillors’ “hard work that has been undertaken so far.
“We have carried out a great amount of work over the past year and I am looking forward to continuing our efforts and making tangible changes in the next twelve months.”
Some of the other 20 commitments made by ECDC include:
- £100,000 to improve the energy efficiency of ECDC’s main office building at The Grange
- Implement new grass cutting and wildflower management arrangements in suitable locations to help support greater biodiversity
- Set up an orchard planting programme, whereby ECDC will offer free fruit trees to community groups, schools or parish councils
- Develop a preliminary ‘nature recovery strategy’ for East Cambridgeshire, to feed into Cambridgeshire wide nature recovery actions and frameworks
You can find the full list of commitments on the ECDC website here: https://bit.ly/3qc8Lsr.
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