Swindon Borough Council is preparing to take another step towards its long-term environmental goals with the release of a new Decarbonisation Framework, which goes before Cabinet this Wednesday. The document lays out how the authority intends to tackle emissions across several key areas, from energy use and buildings to transport, business, green spaces and public health.
Decarbonisation, in this context, is about far more than simply trimming back carbon output from council services. The aim is to build momentum across the town, helping residents, businesses and community groups move towards cleaner energy, better insulation, reduced waste and more sustainable travel habits. The framework forms a central part of the Council’s wider mission to Build a Greener Swindon, a strand of the broader Swindon Plan.
Tree planting remains a major feature of the programme. More than 50,000 trees have gone into the ground since 2020, with 10,000 added in the past year alone through the Government’s Trees for Climate scheme. Alongside this, the Council is working with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust on the Swindon Forest Meadows project, which is gradually restoring habitats and increasing biodiversity across the Borough.
Households have also been encouraged to embrace renewable energy. Through Solar Together, over 600 homes in Swindon have so far installed around 6,000 solar panels, generating clean power and helping residents reduce their bills. Meanwhile, the expansion of food waste collections to all 11,000 flats in the town continues, with the collected waste converted into green energy and fertiliser.
Public input is also playing a role in shaping future plans. A consultation is currently open on the updated Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan, which identifies 25 potential schemes to develop safer, more accessible active travel routes over the next decade. A separate consultation on the Country Parks Strategy has recently closed, with the final document expected early next year.
The new framework is partly built on feedback gathered during the Council’s ‘Let’s talk Swindon’ engagement events, where residents, businesses and partners discussed what a greener future for the Borough should look like.
Councillor Emma Bushell, the Council’s Deputy Leader and Ambassador for the Greener Swindon mission, said: “At its heart, our mission to ‘Build a Greener Swindon’ is about improving lives, making homes warmer and cheaper to run, protecting our green spaces for wellbeing and wildlife, and securing clean, reliable energy for the future.
“The new Decarbonisation Framework sets out the practical ways in which we will continue to reduce the Council’s environmental footprint and support Swindon residents and organisations to do likewise.”
