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Developing the Plan together

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The Council is committed to working with all our residents and stakeholders to make sure the Council’s commitments reflect the best available data and evidence, alongside our stakeholders’ priorities. As part of the review of our Climate Emergency Response Plan we have worked in partnership with our communities and stakeholders, to develop a vision for what impact we can make on climate change in the borough by 2030.

January - June 2024 – Early engagement with key stakeholders

The starting point for the themes and priorities included in the plan were developed through engagement with internal and external stakeholders before being put forward for wider engagement with residents. This took place in early 2024.

The aim of this engagement was to review the existing Climate Emergency Response Plan, identify areas for development, and begin considering the range of data requirements and best practice from others taking action to address the climate crisis.

The feedback from these sessions was that the Climate Emergency Response Plan’s themes aligned to the six action areas, were still broadly appropriate but required refinement and an update. This was a process led by the Council’s Climate Change Team, in partnership with colleagues from Housing, Transport, Waste, Economic Growth, Biodiversity, Environmental services, Public Health, and a range of other internal stakeholders.

This process has also been shaped by our Climate Emergency Taskforce, which includes representatives from a range of partner organisations, including the NHS, the University of Chester, local environmental groups, Chester Zoo, the Environment Agency, alongside our Councillors and other stakeholders.

July - September 2024 – Open public engagement

This engagement sought residents and stakeholders’ views on what the Council’s priorities should be in the second version of the Climate Emergency Response Plan.

People could take part by:

  • visiting the online Climate Emergency Response Plan webpage where they could complete a survey, submit ideas on how to tackle climate and nature emergencies, and pin where climate action is currently taking place on a map.
  • attending one of the five in-person drop-in sessions which were held in Northwich, Winsford, Ellesmere Port, Malpas and Chester.
  • responding via email, letter or telephone.

We also held two focus groups with the Council’s Citizen’s Panel, the Participate Panel, and one focus group with young people who attend Cheshire College West and South.

The findings and recommendations from the engagement process have helped to shape the proposed outcomes for the borough along the six sectors in the plan, which data shows drives most of our emissions within the borough. The Council’s own organisational actions and commitments have also been shaped by these findings.

The six sectors in the plan include:

  • Energy
  • Industry and Commercial
  • Transport
  • Housing
  • Land Use and Adaptation
  • Waste and the Circular Economy

Across all comments received in response to the engagement the following were identified by respondents as the most important.

  1. The importance of a rapid transition to renewable energy for all forms of energy use.
  2. That businesses should be supported to become more environmentally sustainable, such as via using renewable energy. Suggestions on how to do this included monitoring their supply chains to use lower-carbon products and services, insulating their premises, and by improving the efficiency of their processes.
  3. That the Council should promote energy efficiency in new build homes by reviewing the elements of the local planning framework relating to this, by lobbying government, and by setting a positive example.
  4. The importance of conserving nature, by ensuring that nature is a factor in all decision making, by promoting biodiversity, and by planting and preserving trees (and other forms of nature based interventions that can capture carbon).
  5. The importance of planning, infrastructure and transport working together to create an environment where people can move around easily using low-carbon modes of travel, such as walking, cycling and public transport.

The Council is committed to working with all our residents and stakeholders to make sure the Council’s commitments reflect the best available data and evidence, alongside our stakeholders’ priorities. As part of the review of our Climate Emergency Response Plan we have worked in partnership with our communities and stakeholders, to develop a vision for what impact we can make on climate change in the borough by 2030.

January - June 2024 – Early engagement with key stakeholders

The starting point for the themes and priorities included in the plan were developed through engagement with internal and external stakeholders before being put forward for wider engagement with residents. This took place in early 2024.

The aim of this engagement was to review the existing Climate Emergency Response Plan, identify areas for development, and begin considering the range of data requirements and best practice from others taking action to address the climate crisis.

The feedback from these sessions was that the Climate Emergency Response Plan’s themes aligned to the six action areas, were still broadly appropriate but required refinement and an update. This was a process led by the Council’s Climate Change Team, in partnership with colleagues from Housing, Transport, Waste, Economic Growth, Biodiversity, Environmental services, Public Health, and a range of other internal stakeholders.

This process has also been shaped by our Climate Emergency Taskforce, which includes representatives from a range of partner organisations, including the NHS, the University of Chester, local environmental groups, Chester Zoo, the Environment Agency, alongside our Councillors and other stakeholders.

July - September 2024 – Open public engagement

This engagement sought residents and stakeholders’ views on what the Council’s priorities should be in the second version of the Climate Emergency Response Plan.

People could take part by:

  • visiting the online Climate Emergency Response Plan webpage where they could complete a survey, submit ideas on how to tackle climate and nature emergencies, and pin where climate action is currently taking place on a map.
  • attending one of the five in-person drop-in sessions which were held in Northwich, Winsford, Ellesmere Port, Malpas and Chester.
  • responding via email, letter or telephone.

We also held two focus groups with the Council’s Citizen’s Panel, the Participate Panel, and one focus group with young people who attend Cheshire College West and South.

The findings and recommendations from the engagement process have helped to shape the proposed outcomes for the borough along the six sectors in the plan, which data shows drives most of our emissions within the borough. The Council’s own organisational actions and commitments have also been shaped by these findings.

The six sectors in the plan include:

  • Energy
  • Industry and Commercial
  • Transport
  • Housing
  • Land Use and Adaptation
  • Waste and the Circular Economy

Across all comments received in response to the engagement the following were identified by respondents as the most important.

  1. The importance of a rapid transition to renewable energy for all forms of energy use.
  2. That businesses should be supported to become more environmentally sustainable, such as via using renewable energy. Suggestions on how to do this included monitoring their supply chains to use lower-carbon products and services, insulating their premises, and by improving the efficiency of their processes.
  3. That the Council should promote energy efficiency in new build homes by reviewing the elements of the local planning framework relating to this, by lobbying government, and by setting a positive example.
  4. The importance of conserving nature, by ensuring that nature is a factor in all decision making, by promoting biodiversity, and by planting and preserving trees (and other forms of nature based interventions that can capture carbon).
  5. The importance of planning, infrastructure and transport working together to create an environment where people can move around easily using low-carbon modes of travel, such as walking, cycling and public transport.