Dr D. Ellis (Chair)

B. Tolhurst – Business Declares
Cllr T. Higgins – Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Sustainability and the Environment
J. Melling – Cheshire Wildlife Trust
A. Moore – Culture Warrington
A. Jukes – Natural England
V. Mathur – University of Chester
H. Jones – Education lead and schools liaison 
S. Fitzsimons – Warrington Chamber of Commerce
D. Cowley – Warrington Community Energy
A. Ridge – Warrington NHS Integrated Care Board
M. Woodward – Warrington & Vale Royal College
L. Groarke – Warrington Youth Voice

Support/Secretariat
S. McNulty – Warrington Borough Council 
L. Pullan – Warrington Borough Council (communications support)
I. Lee - Warrington Borough Council
J. Percival – Warrington Borough Council 

Role of the commission

The commission’s main focus is on promoting activity in support of the climate strategy. Its role – set out in the strategy is:

Advisory

• To act as an advisory forum to help encourage and co-ordinate local action
• Advise Warrington Borough Council on its climate emergency response in support of the strategy

Promotion and engagement

• Promote the production of action plans in support of the strategy
• Provide a conduit to share information and signpost support via a website, social media channels and directly
• Encourage sharing of experience
• Help organise a public climate emergency forum to encourage wider participation and seek to engage with key stakeholder groups through existing or new forums and networks as appropriate
• Help arrange representative citizen assemblies or panels when needed to consider further development of the climate strategy particularly in areas where progress is slow or controversial

Reporting and planning

• Help gather and present data on progress and the barriers and risks to progress
• Produce annual progress reports, through which the strategy is reviewed and revised, and make these reports available publicly and via Warrington Borough Council

Membership

The commission is not an open membership forum, but its membership can be expanded in circumstances whereby the commission agrees it would be beneficial to advancing local climate action in line with the strategy. In such cases new members may be added by invitation from the Chair with agreement from commissioners.

Relationship with Warrington Borough Council

The commission is intended to provide an independent voice on climate matters in Warrington to assist and encourage an effective response to the climate emergency across the borough as a whole. 

It was established by the council in recognition that that the climate emergency requires much more than a council response. It continues to be supported to help fulfil its role, with the council providing a secretariat and assisting with communications. 

To fulfil its role to advise the council, the council regularly reports its activities and plans to the commission with senior councillor and officers attending commission meetings.

The commission’s activities are also reported periodically to council cabinet as part of a climate emergency update report.

Meetings

The commission aims to meets virtually once every two months.

Meetings are supported by a council officer secretariat.

Agendas are set through the Chair of the commission.

Reporting

In the interests of transparency notes from the commission’s meetings are shared publicly via the Commission’s website www.warringtonclimatecommission.org.uk.

To ensure feedback from commission meetings on council activities, notes are also shared with senior council officers.

To fulfil its anticipated role in the climate emergency strategy, the Commission will produce an annual progress report and make this available publicly and to inform Warrington Borough Council.

As of September 2022

On behalf of Warrington Climate Emergency Commission, I wanted to express our sincere thanks to the 17 young people who took part in the Warrington Community Conversation. We very much welcome the vision they created based on the 73 conversations held around what would make Warrington an even better place to live. Young people are the future of the town, and it is important that their voice continues to be heard so they can play an active part in building this positive future.

The vision presented complements our strategy published in 2022 which sets a course for the change we need to see locally in the context of the global climate emergency.  It further enhances this blueprint for our future by describing a positive ‘destination’ based on improvements in the actual lived environment of local people. It is a vision that is firmly rooted in improving people’s quality of life. 

The virtual reality visualisations in the report really helps to make these ideas come to life with features such as community cafes, cycle hire stands, and the planting of British wild flowering plants, shrubs and trees. Some ideas for funding this work will be explored further by the Commission. We’ll consider further ideas to develop more ways for local people play their part in making the town a more attractive and sustainable place.

It was great to see how the broader vision could translate into particular places in Warrington.  For example, the excellent idea of having a community farm and shop in Longford which could help reduce deprivation, improve health and wellbeing and help to reduce the expected impact of future food shortages which are already starting to affect the cost of residents’ food baskets. This idea is something which could be extended to many areas of the town. Even where there may not be sufficient space for a farm as such, there will be many places where community food gardens could be established. Another idea which could be looked at in more detail is the idea of installing different bins for recycling alongside general waste bins.

It was good to see the focus on small businesses and the opportunities for new jobs and the development of skills. The importance of buying local is both good for our local economy and helps to reduce environmental impact too.

The quality of the work undertaken through the Warrington Community Conversation underlines the importance of continuing to draw on the experience, ideas, and skills of young people as we move forwards. The Commission has now agreed to a number of actions to help ensure that this happens. We agree to:

1. Publish the full Warrington Community Conversation report on the Commission’s web pages, together with this response.
2. Promote this work more widely by sharing the ideas developed with the council and others so that it can influence the shape of other strategies and plans developed with an interest in our town’s future.
3. Establish a young people’s forum so that young people remain involved in the conversation, and others with an interest in shaping a sustainable future for Warrington, can come together share and develop their ideas so they can be translated into practical action.
4. Invite the young people’s forum to be represented on the Commission itself to ensure there remains a direct and ongoing conversation.

Dr. David Ellis – Chair of Warrington Climate Emergency Commission