As we come to the end of Climate Change 2020 we’re launching a consultation which we’d love you to take part in.

It’s about our draft Decarbonisation Action Plan which outlines how we would become a carbon neutral organisation which we agreed to put together when we declared a climate emergency last year.

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The Plan concentrates on four areas:

• Buildings
• Transport and Mobility
• Land Use
• Procurement (how we get our goods and services)

As well as highlighting the works we have already done in these important areas it also gives details on what we propose to do in the coming months and years in each of the four areas:

Buildings:

• LED lighting upgrades
• Heat Pump technology for Large Buildings
• PV installations and battery storage across our schools, offices and community centres
• Sustainable and low carbon refurbishment of our offices and schools
• Incorporation of smart and innovative technologies within our building portfolio

Transport and Mobility

• Further expansion of our fleet of electric vehicles
• Continue the expansion of our charging network, and adapt to the growing demand from electric car drivers. Create more charging hubs across the County Borough.

Land Use

• Investigate sites for tree planting schemes across the County Borough
• Progress on large scale renewable installation, incorporating innovative technologies

Procurement

• A Procurement Platform. To ensure a robust, transparent and defendable solution for the evaluation of ‘social value’ offers made by bidders against key council priorities.
• Contract Management. A contract management tool used to manage the delivery of contracts and the associated social value commitments associated with them.
• A solution to reporting the delivery of Social Value at a project, department and overall Council level. This to include access to both non-financial data (e.g. number of carbon initiatives) and financial data (e.g. £ value generated from carbon reduction)

Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Transport and Environment, said: “We’ve already undertaken a huge amount of work to reduce our carbon emissions including opening a solar farm, installing electric chargers in car parks, installing solar panels on suitable housing stock and our own buildings and undertaking largescale environmental improvements by planting woodlands and wildflower meadows across the county borough.

“It’s clear we can do more and we’re encouraging residents, organisations and businesses about what we are planning in order to ensure we are working on the most achievable and sustainable options.”

You can take part in the consultation here.

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On Tuesday members of the Executive Board will be asked to approve our Welsh Language Annual Monitoring Report for 2019/20 before it goes on our website.

In Wrexham there are a total of 171 Standards identified by the Welsh Language Commissioner that we must comply with. The standards ensure that we treat Welsh and English languages equally and respect the rights of Welsh speakers.

They’re legally binding and have been in place since March 2016 and have been welcomed by the Council since they were introduced as they allow us to increase the delivery of services through the Welsh language and offer rights to the public and employees.

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The report identifies that over the last 12 months the Council has made good progress with successful recruitment into Welsh essential posts and the delivery of a comprehensive programme of Welsh language events such as Hwb as part of the FOCUS Wales events.

The contribution that Tŷ Pawb has made to the Welsh language is also acknowledged in the report following another very successful St. David’s Day event with the parade ending in Tŷ
Pawb and over 3,600 attended

Hundreds of people of all ages also flocked to Tŷ Pawb for a huge celebration of Welsh music. As well some brilliant live performances from some of the best Welsh acts the day also included live choirs, theatre, a film screening, arts and crafts for children and live rugby on the big screen.

All the events  demonstrate that there is a good interest in Welsh language and Culture in our community and we will continue to build on this.

However, the report also acknowledges that there are still challenges and instances of noncompliance in the form of investigations from the Welsh Language Commissioner as well as complaints from members of the public. All such instances are thoroughly investigated and remedial actions are put in place when required.

During the year there were 14 investigations into issues of non-compliance and we continue to make all staff aware of the importance of the Standards in order to provide a completely bilingual service.

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety, said: “We’ve made huge progress with improving the delivery of our services in the Welsh language and we will continue make sure this remains the case. We are always vigilant to monitor our performance and we welcome challenges from members of the public and the Commissioner because it means we can make further improvements. Staff and members of the public are actively encouraged to speak to us in Welsh and there’s also more opportunities for everyone to take part in Welsh events and activities.

“I hope colleagues on the Executive Board accept the report and are pleased with our performance against the standards.”

You can take a look at the full report here.

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As we approach Remembrance Sunday and prepare to remember in a different way we’ve added some very special road markings in the area around the RWF Memorial on Bodhyfryd.

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Cllr David Griffiths, Armed Forces Champion, said: “This year remembrance will be very different and many of us will visit the area to lay our own wreaths and crosses in the coming days and I hope they appreciate the additions.

“Please observe Remembrance Sunday from home this year and remember the many sacrifices that have been made by our armed forces community past and present. As recent events in Wrexham and across the UK show, their service is still very important for our safety and we know they will continue to serve their country in every possible way.”

Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “I’m sure everyone who sees them in the coming days and weeks will appreciate the markings.”

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The Climate Emergency is one of the most important topics of our time and one which we must address quickly.

We declared a climate emergency in Wrexham in September last year to target the decarbonisation of Council operations and promote the protection and enhancement of our natural environment.

To support this we’re now finalising a Decarbonisation Action Plan which will set out a clear programme of works to make us a “carbon positive” organisation. (We’ll be asking for your views on this very soon.)

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The Covid pandemic has also highlighted the huge importance of our natural environment, and how critical it is that we work extremely hard to protect our landscapes, ecology and biodiversity.

Cllr David A Bithell, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “Whilst we’ve already done a lot over the past ten years to reduce our carbon emissions it’s clear we have a lot more work to do.

“Help reduce the impact of Climate Change”

“We now need to focus on key areas where we can make a positive and sustainable difference which will further reduce our carbon emissions. This must be at the heart of any new developments and any investment in vehicles, goods and services we make in the coming months and years.

“We already have lots of plans and ideas and we all look forward to seeing these develop into projects, buildings and vehicles that will make a difference in the future to help reduce the impact of Climate Change.”

The Action Plan will set out four clear areas for us to focus on:

Buildings

We’ve already done a lot in this area including installing solar panels (PV) in our schools, LED lighting upgrades, heating control measures and monitoring energy consumption across our buildings.

Next we plan to continue with the LED lighting upgrades, use heat pump technology for our larger buildings, continue PV installations, refurbishment of offices and schools using sustainable and innovative, low carbon methods and technologies.

Transport and Mobility

Our large fleet of vehicles is our biggest source of our carbon emissions and this hasn’t changed much for the last ten years. During recent years though we’ve been using more vehicles and started to invest in electric charging points for use on our vehicles. We’ve also installed charging points for public use in our car parks and resource centres.

We now need to look at further reductions by continuing to install charging points to include more areas across the county borough. And increase our own fleet of electric vehicles and look in particular at our larger vehicles such as bin lorries and the potential for electric or hydrogen vehicles in this area.

Land Use

We’ve already developed our own solar farm and installed PV panels on our building roofs but we need to do more.

We’re now looking at new PV installations and look at the possibility more solar farms. We can also look to offset our carbon emissions by increasing the number of trees we plant.

Commissioning, Procurement and Contract Management

How we obtain our goods and services can play a huge role in reducing our emissions. We need to ensure our contractual conditions take this into account and put in place processes that contain an environmental award that will be taken into account when awarding contracts. These will also need transparent and strong management to make sure all the environmental benefits are achieved.

Cllr Bithell concluded: “At the end of this week we’ll be launching a consultation on the Action Plan and we really want to hear your views. What we do now is crucial to reducing our emissions but it also has to be achievable and sustainable. We have set out our ideas and plans in the consultation and we’ll be giving you plenty of time to take a look and respond.”

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Due to the current 2 week lockdown which will be in effect on Remembrance Sunday we’re all being asked to remember from home the many sacrifices made by past and present armed forces personnel and their families in order to protect us.

There will be no parade in Wrexham this year, and only a very small closed service at the RWF memorial at Bodhyfryd – limited to a handful of key people, including representatives from the Royal British Legion and armed services.

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We’re hoping to live stream this event so you can join in from home or you can tune into the service from the Cenotaph in London which will be broadcast by the BBC.

“The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the greatest peacetime challenges this country has ever faced, and the need to keep people safe and observe government guidelines means there won’t be an open public service or parade in Wrexham this year.

“However, that doesn’t mean we can’t remember those who’ve suffered and given their lives in conflict, and I’m asking everyone in the county borough to take part in a two-minute silence from their doorstep.

“Please don’t be tempted to just turn up at Bodhyfryd. The message from Welsh Government is clear…we all need to stay at home during the two-week lockdown if we want to help Wales get on top of the virus, reduce pressure on the NHS and save lives.

“We may not be able to come together this year…but together, we can still ‘remember them.”

Ant Metcalfe, Wales Area Manager for the Royal British Legion says:

“Whilst it is deeply disappointing that Remembrance events will be different this year, we understand that the decision has been taken to protect the health and well-being of all involved.

“The public can all still play a part in ensuring Remembrance Sunday is appropriately marked and the Royal British Legion are encouraging people to participate in their own personal moment of remembrance – whether that be watching the national Service of Remembrance on television or pausing for the two minute silence at home or on their doorsteps.”

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