RESIDENTS will be given the chance to put environmental questions to leader of Basingstoke and Denae Borough Council and his cabinet.

Greener Basingstoke has arranged a public ‘Town Hall’ style event to put environmental questions to council leader Simon Bound and his cabinet colleague Cllr Hayley Eachus, who is responsible for responding to the climate emergency.

The event is on September 26 at 6.30pm on Zoom and anyone wishing to attend can email info@greenerbasingstoke.org for the link to join.

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This month sees the third anniversary of the council’s declaration of a climate emergency. They have since also declared an ecological emergency and promised to make Basingstoke carbon neutral by 2030.

Miranda Chubb, Greener Basingstoke chair, said: “This is a great opportunity to hear about to Cllr Bound’s vision for a carbon free borough. Becoming carbon free is a massive challenge and we have only just started on a long and hard journey. But it is vital. I hope the people of Basingstoke will join us in asking Cllr Bound just what he intends to do to stop dangerous levels of climate change. 

"Just two months ago we had 100 people demonstrating outside the council offices about the lack of progress on the climate emergency – so this is clearly an important issue for voters. Greener Basingstoke has organised this event to give us all a chance to challenge Cllr Bound.”

The council have set up a climate change team and produced a climate and air quality strategy. They have also created a climate change toolkit for residents and progress is being monitored via their climate emergency action plan. However, Greener Basingstoke believe that these actions are not enough, saying that the town’s greenhouse gas emissions are not falling anywhere near enough to prevent a climate and ecological disaster, and that more needs to be done if we are to get to net zero by 2030.

The group points out that it’s nigh-on impossible to reconcile the building of 17,000 new homes with becoming climate neutral, or to justify banning wind farms and solar farms whilst the national government wants to start fracking.

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Greener Basingstoke works for a greener, sustainable, renewable and carbon-neutral future for the borough. The group wants Basingstoke to take steps to protect nature, establish green corridors and nature recovery networks. They are asking the Council to support renewable energy generation, promote net-zero energy homes and easy access for all to zero emission transport, and facilitate the development of a circular economy and waste reduction.

Lucy Jones, Basingstoke resident and author of Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need The Wild, a Times and Telegraph Book of the Year, said:“It was great to see Chris Packham the other day when he was talking to us about how important it is that local people get involved to engaging with councils, councillors and MPs. This is a chance for us all to do just that. Please do join us.”