THERE is one week left to give your views on how West Berkshire should respond to the climate crisis.

Members of the public have until this Friday, February 21, to respond to the public consultation about the new environment strategy at West Berkshire Council.

The strategy sets out how to get to carbon neutral by 2030, by reducing annual emissions to 350 kilotonnes across the district, and offsetting 350 kilotonnes through things like tree planting and solar panel farms.

READ MORE: Plans to plant a £1.2 million 100-hectare forest

The views of the public will be taken on board, before the final strategy is approved on April 30.

Opposition councillors from the Green party and the Liberal Democrats have recently given their own detailed proposals about how to tackle the climate crisis.

Councillor Carolyne Culver (Green, Ridegway), leader of the Green group in the council, said: “The council’s draft strategy is uninspiring.

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“There is nothing that acknowledges the scale of the task, or the fact that our goal can only be achieved if there are radical changes in the way we all live and behave.

“It will take vision and imagination, but if we work together there are real practical benefits for our communities — in health, in wellbeing, and in the quality of our environment.”

The Greens are instead proposing a citizens’ assembly of people from all ages and social groups, across the district, to work with the council on delivering the environment strategy.

They are also calling for the London Road industrial estate, in Newbury, to be turned into West Berkshire’s first ‘green development zone’, meaning a fully sustainable area with houses, businesses, and sport areas.

As well, the Greens say tree cover in the district should double by 2030, a senior climate change officer should be appointed a the council, and a workplace parking levy should pay for an expanded bus service.

Meanwhile, Cllr Adrian Abbs (Lib Dem, Wash Common), the Liberal Democrats lead for the environment, said: “On reading the strategy in detail, we are struck by the repetitive nature of the document.

“It also embeds a general theme of ‘we can’t do it alone’ which in the end results in lots of get-out clauses for the council, if they fail to achieve the target set. The document throughout seems to put offsetting as a core strategy, rather than the last thing we should do.”

Cllr Abbs said there needs to be more detail on the numbers in the strategy. He questioned the amount of renewable energy the council is proposing to generate, as well as the estimated decrease in emissions over the next 10 years. 

He also called for a wider spread of electric vehicle charging points across the district, rather than just concentrated in Newbury; and more investment in bus services. 

Click here to give your views about the environment strategy.

Elsewhere, the council recently announced plans to invest £1.2 million in planting 100 hectares of new forests, and £3.5 million on two new solar farms; both to reduce carbon emissions. 

There will also be a £40,000 fund for urban tree planting, which will cover town centres across West Berkshire.