AMT Public

Climate change is arguably the largest problem facing the world – now and into the future.  The need to achieve sustainable development through, for example, environmental technologies and solutions must begin at the local level.

A discussion group at the Small Towns for Tomorrow Conference focused on what small towns are doing, and can do, to contribute to the green agenda to secure a sustainable future for the long-term.

Key points

1. The policy framework is largely in place to support this – what is needed is more activism at the local level from individuals and groups.
2. Lots of examples of good practice – including Transition Towns – showing activism at community level, although there was a general feeling that many of these initiatives are currently disconnected from governance structures, such as town councils, regeneration partnerships, LSPs. Examples are also not limited to the UK – look internationally, particularly across EU.
3. If small towns are going to badge themselves as green and develop programmes to achieve this, then there needs to be awareness raising of key trends, for example, ageing population, peak oil, commuting – the effects of these upon town economies.
4. Critical here is the potential to see habits change in response to these trends – for example, less reliance on private cars, higher demand for services for the elderly, greater pool of “3^rd age” activists and skills.
5. Opportunities then exist for towns in a number of key areas:

• New working patterns – promoting home-working, hub-working and so on to reduce carbon footprint through travel.  This may involve, for example, investing in Next Generation Access, superfast Broadband hubs. Also developing hubs for remote workers.  The promotion of Green Business Parks will provide an opportunity edge of town, plus promoting retro-fitting of existing industrial estates.

• Local food – developing supply chains, outlets, markets, links between towns and producers in the locality to see what they need to enable local sourcing. Further to this ideas such as developed in Todmorden (Incredible Edible), community allotments, slow food – all with a view to making towns hubs for local food and thereby reducing the need to travel for consumers and for producers too.

• Energy generation – towns can re-invent themselves as renewable energy hubs – small scale microgeneration (see Settle, Coniston, Hawes) all provide models and many others too.  Hydro and wind generation plus potential for photovoltaics all provide opportunity for towns to develop schemes and sell-on via Feed-in tariff to the National Grid.

• Energy efficiency – promote the idea of carbon reduction through small scale schemes which can cumulatively have larger effects, for example, local loyalty schemes, bags for life, energy-doctor schemes for private households, and efficiency measures for public buildings.

• Localism agenda – provides small towns with a great opportunity to develop their own low carbon agendas and initiatives. But they need support to do so, particularly through disseminating good practice/toolkits – a “we did it, so can you” approach. This allied with a determined push at government level to see small towns as the natural home for promoting low carbon initiatives would surely see the present low level of activist led initiatives take off in the mainstream.

Do you agree with these key points? Add your comments below.