Arundel Town Council has approved a proposal from its Environment Working Group that the Council should declare a Climate Emergency, and engage with other organisations to reduce the causes of climate change.
Mayor Tony Hunt says that:
“By declaring a Climate Emergency the Council is acknowledging a real threat which affects Arundel as much as any other part of the world, and we will now engage with other groups in the community to try to reduce our carbon footprint. We are already taking some steps in Arundel which can help to combat the causes of climate change. Our tree sponsorship is one of them, as are the tree nurseries at our primary schools, and our Tree Warden’s initiative to create a larger community tree nursery in the town. Another is the Bee Project because pollinators ensure the continuation of plant populations that lock up carbon. The Arundel-Ford pathway is designed to encourage cycling and walking rather than car use for short trips, whilst our Farmers Market encourages more local shopping for local produce. Arundel gets over 500,000 visitors a year, and local Chamber of Commerce members are trialling different take-away coffee cups which are either recyclable or compostable.”
“Encouragingly when you speak to the children at our two primary schools they have a very good understanding of the need to do something now to protect the future world in which they will be living.”
“From now on all Council proposals and decisions will be reviewed against the criterion of their effect on Climate Change”
Arundel Town Council will be engaging with local organisations in the town, as well as with Arun District Council, West Sussex County Council and the South Downs National Park Authority to identify practical steps that can be taken. Tony Hunt adds: “We are not going to solve the global challenge of Climate Change here in Arundel. But as with Covid-19, we do have a local contribution to make”.
(Image above shows St Philip’s pupils in their tree nursery).
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