Tackling the climate emergency at the heart of Winchester City Council’s draft five year plan
Tackling the climate emergency and providing excellent services are at the core of Winchester City Council’s draft five year plan for 2020 to 2025.
The draft plan sets out Winchester City Council’s key ambitions and focuses on five priority outcomes which are:
- Tackling the climate emergency and creating a greener district
- Homes for all
- Vibrant local economy
- Living well
- Your services, your voice
Over the next month the council is inviting residents, stakeholders and businesses to have their say about what matters to them.
The draft plan recognises that the council will face some very significant challenges over the next five years including tackling the district’s carbon footprint, ensuring that resources are available to support an ageing population, responding to the potential impacts of Brexit on the economy along with maintaining high quality services, while balancing a council budget which will be reducing as Central Government grants diminish.
The draft plan places the climate emergency as the overarching priority, focussing on the council becoming carbon neutral by 2024 and the wider district carbon neutral by 2030, along with reducing levels of waste and increasing recycling rates. It also puts health and wellbeing high on the agenda and aims to address health inequalities and improve participation rates for physical and cultural activities, underpinned by the opening of Winchester’s new Sport and Leisure Park in 2021.
The proposed new plan also focuses on ensuring the Winchester district economy remains vibrant by finding increased opportunities for high quality, well paid employment across the district. The need to attract younger people to live and work in the district and to improve energy efficiency in homes as well as address homelessness is also highlighted.
The plan goes on to set out ways in which the authority will be open and transparent, with better services for residents that are more accessible and usable.
Cabinet Member for Built Environment and Wellbeing, Cllr Jackie Porter said:
“The five priorities are underpinned by the need to look at everything we do in the context of our impact on the carbon footprint to create a greener district and providing excellent and easy to use services for everyone.
"This plan sets the agenda for the way the City Council spends the Council Tax Budgets and how Winchester City Council invests in our community - so we really do want to hear your views! How will this work for other members of your family? We want to hear the from them too.”
Residents, stakeholders and businesses can comment on the proposed new plan by visiting the consultation pages on https://winchester.citizenspace.com/policy/council-plan-2020-2025/
The consultation will close on November 29 and the plan, incorporating feedback from the consultation, will be presented back to cabinet in December and then formally adopted next year.