Town & parish
council actions

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Town and parish councils are in a unique position within their communities to both understand the needs of their residents and to communicate and affect change on climate issues.

This toolkit is designed to support you to take action.

Four first steps >

Step 1: Make a commitment

As a first step, you may consider declaring a climate emergency.

Use the words ‘climate emergency’ to demonstrate the serious nature of the issue and the commitment of your town or parish council to take action
Create a working group to develop an action plan and report on immediate and longer-term actions.
Plan to engage with a cross section of the community – this is a great way to get new voices into the mix.

Step 2: Understand your baseline

Understanding the breakdown of carbon emissions can allow your town or parish council to consider where action is most needed and where to concentrate your efforts.

The Impact Tool will calculate a carbon footprint for any UK parish. The data can be broken down in a number of ways either as a territorial footprint or a consumption footprint. You can switch on sub-categories which will show details such as heating source (oil/gas etc). You can also compare parishes.

Go to Impact Tool >

Step 3: Make an action plan

The Northumberland Town and Parish Council Climate Change Toolkit has lots of advice and ideas to support your town and parish council put together a climate action plan.

Take inspiration from others, both near (see our stories from across Northumberland) and far. For instance, have you seen Sunderland's Bee Bus Stops?'

Download action plan toolkit >

Step 4: Take your community with you

When creating a climate action plan, it is important to understand what is important to your community and the skills and knowledge that exist within it to make these changes. There are lots of environmental and climate action community groups already pioneering climate action in Northumberland. Consider reaching out to other groups to work collaboratively with a common objective for tackling climate change.

Funding >

Northumberland Environment and Climate Fund:

The Council has established the Northumberland Environment and Community Climate Fund to help you develop sustainable projects. Find out more about the funding.

External Funding

Key up to date with funding opportunities by signing up to the free Council run service: Northumberland County 4 Community

Resources for town and parish council’s on climate change >

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If you are unsure where to start, consider carbon literacy training to equip your town or parish council with the knowledge and skills they will need to start taking climate action.

The Carbon Literacy Trust has developed a ‘Local Authority Carbon Literacy Toolkit’ which includes education around scientific causes and impacts of climate change on a global, national and local level and explores potential solutions and mitigations.

There are two options for delivering this course within your town and parish council:

1. Internal delivery by someone who is already carbon literate

Town and parish councils can request the toolkit from the Carbon Literacy Trust for free.
If a member of your council is already carbon literate, they are able use the town and parish toolkit to train others if they choose.
You would also have to manage the submission of assessment forms plus the certification fee (£10 per person).

2. Delivery by a trainer:

The cost of which would cover the training sessions, assessment reviews, certification processing and any re-assessment required.
Find a trainer here: https://carbonliteracy.com/organisation/training-directory/ Training can be delivered in person or online depending on preference and trainers’ availability/ location.
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The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) has a dedicated community team that helps local councils create practical action on the climate emergency. It has open-source tools and in-depth, tailored services that can be used throughout your climate action planning process. These can be found here: https://www.cse.org.uk/support-for-town-and-parish-councils/

Neighbourhood Plan creation advice and support. CES can support your community in writing a neighbourhood plan to help meet the challenge of climate change.
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