BASINGSTOKE and Deane Borough Council's climate change plan has ranked second in Hampshire, new figures reveal.

Figures published by Climate Emergency assessed the plan along with a total of 409 other local authorities in the country and scored it 54 per cent.

In Hampshire, only Fareham Borough Council’s plan scored more with 61 per cent.

The council's score was also above the national average, which is 46 per cent.

SEE MORE: 'It is the time for action and no more time for words' - council declares climate crisis

Cllr Mark Ruffell, cabinet member for the natural environment and climate improvement, said: “We are grateful to Climate Emergency UK for its hard work and pleased that our plan has scored well, with the assessment reflecting the balance of realistic and achievable actions in our ambitious plan while highlighting best practice examples for us to learn from and base future actions on.

“This plan is a good starting point but we are well aware that it is vital to back this up with action and the assessment does not capture all of the impressive work the council has done already to implement its strategy.

“This includes our recent launch of an interactive climate change toolkit to help local communities understand what they can do to make a difference, and the council itself is already taking steps to reduce its own carbon footprint, including making our buildings more energy efficient.

Each council was given a scorecard, with scores being based on plans for actions to address the climate emergency.

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At a full council meeting on Thursday, 18 July 2019, councillors voted unanimously to declare a climate emergency in the borough in a bid to reduce its carbon footprint and pledged to work towards making Basingstoke and Deane a zero-carbon area by 2030.

Cllr Ruffell, added: “We have also started work on reducing carbon emissions in the borough in the long term. Innovative new policies for sustainable development are being drafted as part of our work to update the Local Plan, and we are also considering other schemes, which could include installing additional public electric vehicle charging points to further support and encourage environmentally friendly travel choices, following the installation of chargers in Overton and Whitchurch and the creation of Hampshire’s first electric vehicle charging hub at Feathers Yard in Basingstoke.”

The progress of the climate plan will be discussed at the community, environment and partnerships committee in March.

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