Residents fined for failing to clear up rubbish dumped in their gardens
An Ashington man and Newbiggin woman who repeatedly failed to clear up large quantities of waste they had allowed to accumulate in their...
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Climate Change
Action Plan
The Council has a Climate Change Action Plan 2024-26 which sets the framework for achieving our ambitions.
The current plan sets out seven key action areas with strategic projects in each.
Navigate through the seven key action areas below to see key projects and development ongoing in these areas.
Priority area 1:
Council policy >
Policy underpins the way the Northumberland County Council approaches its decisions and acts. Here are the key areas where significant work is being done to ensure the Council makes decisions which reduce emissions both as an organisation and across the county.
Northumberland local plan >
The Northumberland Local Plan is the statutory development plan for the county.
It provides an up-to-date basis for making decisions on the thousands of applications submitted to the council each year. The plan takes a proactive approach to:
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Mitigating and adapting to climate change
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Considering the long-term implications for flood risk
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Coastal change
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Water supply
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Biodiversity and landscapes
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Risk of overheating from rising temperatures
There are several policies in the plan which highlight how the Council is supporting the future resilience of communities and infrastructure against climate change impacts.
Climate Change Policy Thematic Group
This group ensures carbon reduction is considered in all new Council policy developments. The group provides support and is a central point for reviewing key policy and procurement decisions that could impact climate change.
Climate change policy conference
The Council's Climate Change Team arranged a Climate Change Policy Conference, where elected members were able to see the extensive efforts being made to reduce greenhouse gases in the county. The conference helped Members align the Council’s climate change ambitions with the interests of their constituents.
Climate Change Policy Thematic Group
Our climate change policy thematic group ensures carbon reduction in all new policy development providing support and review for impactful decisions. It is a central point for reviewing key policy and procurement decisions that could impact climate change.
Cross-council collaboration
We continue to work with our neighbouring authorities and have partnerships with the North of Tyne Combined Authority, the Borderlands Partnership and Transport Northeast so that we can contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions at a regional level and share best practice.
Council staff training
89% of all staff have completed the Council's mandatory online training module on climate change. 128 Council staff have undertaken Carbon Literacy Training, which is available to all staff. It offers a more comprehensive understanding of the causes, impacts of climate change and potential solutions.
Carbon impact assessment >
All policies and projects presented at Cabinet and/or Full Council meetings must undergo a carbon impact assessment. This ensures that new policy developments are reviewed for their climate and carbon impacts, with the results contributing to the decision-making process.
The Climate Change Policy Thematic Group oversees the assessment scores and provides recommendations for improvement. The final assessment results, along with estimated carbon emissions figures, will be included in published meeting minutes for transparency.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) >
The council's procurement department has developed a CSR policy to minimise carbon emissions, waste, and negative environmental impacts in our commissioned services and the wider supply chain. The policy consists of six strategic pillars that must be considered in all procurement processes:
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Reduce waste
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Improve social value
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Enhance health & wellbeing
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Reduce CO2 & greenhouse emissions
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Combat modern slavery
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Increase use of SME and local suppliers
Some wider supply chain issues are outside council control, but we have an ethical and moral responsibility to reduce global emissions and environmental degradation in any way that we can.
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