BURY Council is set to launch "comprehensive, long-lasting and ambitious" plans to make Bury carbon neutral and tackle climate change.

Council leaders and officers have drawn up a wide-ranging strategy for generations to come, with action to be taken across the board – by businesses, residents, and public and private services.

It sets out the scale of the challenge facing the borough and the need to work together if Bury is to become carbon neutral by 2038.

The plans, which can be read in full detail at https://tinyurl.com/zyf4updz, are due to be approved by the council’s cabinet next Wednesday, May 26. If so, they will go out for a 10-week period of public consultation, starting on June 3.

Cllr Alan Quinn, cabinet member for the environment and climate change, said: “Climate change is a long-lasting and universal problem that will affect everyone, and those most affected will be our most vulnerable residents. It will be our young people who will have to deal with our legacy and we owe it to them to take the drastic action required now.

“This fluid strategy and accompanying action plan lay out the extent of the challenge ahead and the big changes needed to tackle it. One thing is certain – the council can’t work on this alone. We need more funding from government and we will need to work closely with our residents, businesses and other public sector organisations if we are to be effective. We need everyone to play their part and this Strategy and Action Plan will be the first step.

“From here we will work with the communities in each of our neighbourhoods and townships to ensure the Action Plan is implemented and we progress towards our 2038 target.

“The cost of not doing enough is high, but the challenge we face also brings a huge opportunity to improve our health, our environment and our economy via green jobs. We know that the people and businesses of Bury have the spirit and determination to face this challenge head on, and that by working together we can achieve the level of change we need to protect our future.”

The council's strategy breaks down the actions into 11 key areas: energy supply, homes, workplaces and public buildings, low-carbon travel, the things we buy and throw away, food, our natural environment, the green economy, environmental justice, climate resilience and adaptation, putting climate change at the heart of council action and carbon offsetting

Cllr Quinn added: “To tackle our climate emergency, we need to step up our actions to cut carbon emissions drastically. Failure to act will have huge costs to the health and wellbeing of our communities. The Boxing Day floods of 2015 and subsequent storms such as Ciara and Christoph and the long dry spells afterwards in our borough have shown the impacts that extreme weather events can have on residents and businesses.

“On the positive side – if we do the right things, we can reap the rewards that a pleasant, healthy environment and a growing green economy with highly skilled, well-paid jobs can bring.”

Details of of a public consultation will be issued in due course.