Introducing the Derbyshire Dales Climate Hub

Tue, 4 August 2020

Derbyshire Dales Climate Hub (the Hub) is a newly-established sub-group of the Derbyshire Climate Coalition and is made up of Dales residents who have come together specifically to offer help and support to Derbyshire Dales District Council (DDDC), who recently celebrated the first anniversary of their Declaration of a Climate Emergency. The declaration was passed unanimously and aims to commit the council to becoming carbon neutral by 2030. Despite the interruption of the coronavirus emergency, the council’s Climate Change Working Group has commissioned a report from consultants ClearLead, to assess how the authority can reduce its own carbon footprint.

The Hub wishes to support the council in its communications with the wider public about the Climate Emergency and ways in which people can help mitigate its impacts. They plan to hold online public meetings (and face to face ones as soon as it becomes possible), and further develop a survey, which has already been trailed in the Derbyshire Dales.

Objectives include:

  • Explore how we can support and collaborate with DDDC to progress the Climate Emergency Action Plan (whenever that is developed and operationalised).
  • Seek to improve the level of communication on the Climate Emergency Plan for wider public consumption.
  • Develop a survey methodology to seek the views of residents in the Derbyshire Dales (through local town councils and parishes).
  • Offer ideas and action to enhance the ambitions of the Plan (e.g. host a few public meetings).
  • Review periodically progress and report our views to the leaders of all political groups on the Council.

A Hub member, Wendy Bullar said, “we are not a campaign group, but an informed and responsive group of concerned citizens. We are able and willing to support the council and the wider community to fulfill this ambitious yet essential carbon target. We see this as a collaborative approach in response to what inevitably will be a complex and difficult process of change".

“We've had a preliminary and constructive (zoom) meeting with the Chair of the Council's Climate Change Working Group. He has suggested that once the Council have received the consultant's final report, we can anticipate a detailed discussion about gaining wider community participation (Covid-19 permitting) in Climate Change issues.

For more information, contact Wendy Bullar at w.bullar@btinternet.com or Mary Ann Hooper at m.hooper@w3z.co.uk.