Somerset West and Taunton Council

Somerset West and Taunton Council declared a Climate Emergency in February 2019 and an Ecological emergency in September 2020

Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience (CNCR) Action Plan

Their Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience (CNCR) Action Plan was approved at Full Council on 26th October 2020.

The CNCR Action Plan comprises of:

Ecological Emergency Vision and Action Plan in July 2022

Somerset West and Taunton District Council and Sedgemoor published a joint Ecological Emergency Vision and Action Plan in July 2022.

Some additional actions undertaken by the council included

  1. Declared its authority boundary a fracking-free zone in July 2019
  2. Began retrofitting council properties in Spring 2022 to improve their energy efficiency
  3. Rolled out electric vehicle charging points after receiving a grant of £136,000 and grants provided to parish and town councils for installations
  4. A full decarbonisation strategy for their main offices with phase 2 then focused on the council’s smaller buildings
  5. Over 60kg of wildflower seed was sown across open spaces to support local wildlife and had its own in-house tree nursery which is peat free.
  6. Approved two zero-carbon developments based on its Zero Carbon Affordable Homes Pilot. North Taunton Woolaway project delivering 227 social and affordable homes and Seaward Way, Minehead for 54 homes.
  7. Developed a series of climate-friendly planning guidance. Including:
  • Linkages between Climate and Ecological Emergencies have been improved
  • Commentary in relation to the national legislative and policy contexts has been updated with regards to the Environment Act, Building Regulations, Net Zero Strategy, Heat and Buildings Strategy, Levelling Up White Paper etc
  • Links to the Districtwide Design Guide SPD and Public Realm Design Guide SPD have been strengthened and explained better in terms of how they work with existing policy, building regulations and aspirations to go further (particularly regarding building standards).
  • Linkages have been added in relation to the Net Zero Carbon Toolkit in a similar vein. Originally published by Cotswold District Council in partnership with The Centre for Sustainable Energy.
  • Changes clarify that once in force, compliance with Part L 2021 of the Building Regulations will supersede the specific carbon reduction requirements of policy DM5, although other parts of DM5 will continue to be relevant. However, developers are strongly encouraged to aspire towards zero carbon and the higher aspirational standards set out in the Districtwide Design Guide SPD and the SWT Net Zero Carbon Toolkit
  • Changes note that in advance of national mandatory requirements coming into force, our existing planning policies do not explicitly require biodiversity net gain in all circumstances. However, the Council worked to secure a 10% net gain in biodiversity from development proposals through a combination of existing policies, the NPPF, the declaration of an Ecological Emergency and clear intent from the Environment Act including the incoming upgraded Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act duty for local authorities to conserve and enhance biodiversity
  • View the full consultation report

Newsletters

Somerset West and Taunton Council published a monthly climate newsletter all previous editions can be found in this folder.

Last reviewed: June 6, 2023 by Ian

Next review due: December 6, 2023

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