Having pressed the Liberal Democrat administration on the issue for two years, last night local Conservative councillors were able to help secure additional funding for climate change initiatives across the Vale of White Horse.
A Conservative amendment, that also included more support with the cost of living and a lower Council Tax increase was voted against, but in a surprise move a new amendment was tabled just to increase climate change funding.
Supporting an amendment to the budget that saw an increase in climate emergency grant funding from £50,000 to £100,000 per year, local Conservatives helped deliver on a multi-year campaign to help ensure that more community projects could help lead the fight against climate change across the district.
Following the budget meeting, Cllr Nathan Boyd, Leader of the Vale Conservative Group said “Whilst we were disappointed to see our other proposals rejected, we were happy to be able to support an amendment that increased climate funding for the Vale. We’ve seen dozens of community projects already benefit from the first tranche of this funding and it’s great that more support is now going to be available.”
The Climate Action Fund is aimed at supporting community projects that help address climate change, including work on the natural environment, energy, waste, transport and travel. In 2022, the first round of funding allocated support for 13 projects, including things such as a Sustainability Community Hub in Shrivenham.
Speaking on the increased climate funding, Cllr Simon Howell, Deputy Leader of the Vale Conservative Group said "One of the communities I represent has already been able to use this funding to help build a new Sustainability Community Hub, which is already making a real difference to help raise awareness about climate change and how we can tackle it. I'm delighted we've been able to help increase this funding, so that more community projects may benefit."