We will take on the climate emergency by moving Wiltshire towards carbon neutrality and reducing the costs of energy for local people.
1. We will make Wiltshire’s homes more energy-efficient by:
- Creating a new framework to help homeowners improve their home’s energy efficiency (insulation, heat pumps) and retrofit renewable energy installations (solar panels, batteries). It will feature technical advice, increased access to Labour's £6.6B fund and a trusted trader scheme for local companies.
- Making Wiltshire’s council homes and properties the most energy efficient in the country.
- Supporting community buying schemes like Solar Together.
- Requiring all new homes to be net zero operational carbon, using the planning framework.
- Setting up skills training with Wiltshire College and local companies to ensure vital courses and apprenticeships are in place.
2. We will boost the development of renewable energy by:
- Developing small-scale renewable generation on council-owned sitesg. solar panels installed in car parks and leisure centres.
- Delivering a threefold increase in renewable energy generation capacity, in the right places to minimise visual impact and the use of good quality farmland.
- Collaborating on new schemes with GB Energy, the National Grid and landowners, including the MoD.
- Encouraging community energy initiatives.
3. We will step up decarbonising transport in Wiltshire by:
- Focussing on public transport to make it a real alternative to car use.
- Helping bus and taxi operators make the transition to electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
- Investing in better pavements and safe routes for walkers and cyclists to encourage active travel.
- Delivering access to electric vehicle charging infrastructure. We will drive this by:
- Ensuring every public carpark has charging points.
- Helping village halls and pubs to install electric vehicle chargers in their carparks.
- Piloting solutions for on-street parking such as installing kerbside charging points or cable gullies (covered cable channels).3
- Supporting petrol stations in installing rapid charging forecourts.
- Requiring all new homes to provide EV charging points.
- Working with the National Grid to ensure they address limitations in the electricity distribution network.
- Using local contractors and UK products where possible to reduce carbon footprint.
4. We will support the natural environment by:
- Working with farmers and the NFU help them make the transition to Net Zero by 2040: dedicating one of Wiltshire’s County Farms to demonstrate best practice.
- Promoting tree-planting at scale across the county, by supporting landowners in accessing grant-funding and working with organisations such as the Great Western Forest, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, Avon Needs Trees and town and parish councils.
- Encouraging healthy eating in schools and other Council premises, particularly focussing on fresh and local produce.
- Creating plans for more biodiversity for the Council’s main sites and highway verges, and encouraging schools, town and parish councils to do the same, targeting a 20% increase in biodiversity.
- Finding solutions to water pollution in partnership with the Environment Agency, Wessex Water, farmers, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and the Rivers Trusts.
- Including environmental solutions in plans for flood protection.
5. We will make Wiltshire more resilient to climate change by:
- Providing better flood protection to at-risk locations in partnership with the Environment Agency.
- Helping residents to access grants to improve property resilience.
- Making sure that town and parish councils have the resources to meet extreme weather events - emergency plans, emergency hubs, trained volunteers, etc.
- Supporting upland flood management such as tree planting, hedgerow restoration and river re-wiggling.
