Your ideas for building a stronger future

You have declared climate change an emergency, so treat it like one.

We are running out of time to prevent warming of over 2 degrees. Some effects of this would include over 90% of corals bleaching and pacific islands such as the Maldives and Nauru rendered uninhabitable by rising sea levels. This council has a responsibility not only to take immediate action by helping make it possible for people in Cheshire West live more responsibly and sustainably but to promote this and, alongside the youth senate, get other local authorities on board. This pandemic has shown that councils are capable of responding to disasters quickly, the climate must be treated the same. Also, using solar panels to at least partially power schools is a brilliant idea and something the council should try to roll out as quickly as possible.

Become a #KeepItLocal council

Buy locally from local businesses and community organisations who will also spend locally keeping the local economy buoyant

We need to 'rewild' rather than build

It was wonderful to see nature thrive once people stayed off the roads and there was less pollution from other sources. We all saw the benefits to people's physical and mental health of local natural spaces too. We need to 'rewild' where we can, an example would be Knights Grange golf course, let it become a nature reserve with native flora and fauna.(see the amazing book 'Wilding' by Isabella Tree for how this works in practice to improve the environment)

Re-sign communities to help boost walking and cycling

Simple re-signing at key locations in communities can signpost walking routes(with distance+time). Many don’t know about the simple shortcuts for walking & cycling. Govt £ should be spent on the small things 1st and the bigger schemes once you’ve built demand

Pedestrianise Northgate Street

Climate change measures as a priority

In the link related to the question what is most important to build a stronger future, there are many ideas linked to climate and protecting the environment. Supporting local businesses, local food, invest on low energy public transport, review insulation standards for buildings to reduce energy, invest in rain water collection , invest in technologies that will allow safe use of grey water, enforce a motor off policy on car parks, all would help in reducing carbon emissions. Then it would be great to identify the future jobs needed to support these actions and review the education needs to achieve this.

Provide dedicated spaces in low income communities to bolster against the economic and health crises

These could be low-cost eco-builds that provide a base for communities to increase their knowledge and confidence in tackling the issues that directly affect them, inviting in expertise to help explore and implement solutions to the crisis that best meet the new and evolving needs of the community in relation to low income, climate, health, hunger, education, democratic voice, tackling anti-social behaviour and community safety etc. They could be managed by communities and be a home for resident-led, council and partner-supported community wealth-building, rather than part of an ‘outreach’ service.

Provide more cycle racks in parks, town centres and all car parks to increase cycle use..

Marbury Maid

Concentrate on environmental issues - look forward for future generations

Allow grass verges to grow and invest in wild flower seeds rather than mowing them down. This will encourage insect and birds to thrive. Rotherham Council have planted 8 miles of wild flower verges saving £25K in mowing costs!

Covid has shown we can take care of people. No more homeless on our streets invest in solutions that work for them and our community.

More supported volunteering

The Council needs to invest more in volunteer organisers, for example Green Space Rangers so that more volunteer hours can be effectively managed. This will have the added benefit of reducing demand on health and social care are members of the community will also have improved health and wellbeing

Just do something

One of the better aspects of the pandemic has been people looking out for neighbours and offering help. Sometimes we can all be too backwards at asking for, or offering help from friends and neighbours. So many things that sounds small add up to bigger things. We can't all do eveything, but we should all try to: support local shops, restaurants, cafes and pubs, vote, give blood, recycle, home compost, walk or cycle short journeys, pick up some roadside litter ocasionally, talk to people, join a local group or society and so on.