The West Dorset Climate Change Strategy

West Dorset's Climate Change Strategy was published in 2009.

It aims to help residents, businesses and other organisations reduce their carbon emissions by 30% by 2020 from 2005 levels.

The strategy (pdf, 785kb) (opens in a new window) , which was produced by the West Dorset Partnership, sets out a number of actions for the partnership to implement. The 2011-12 monitoring report (pdf, 747kb) (opens in a new window) is now available which highlights progress on the strategy. These include:

New electric buses running between Dorchester town centre and Poundbury
NHS Dorset being voted as 'Best Green Office' in Public Sector Sustainability Awards 2011
Dorset Eco-schools including St Mary's First in Charminster
Dorset Wildlife Trust: Climate change mitigation and adaptation through the Living Landscapes project

Youngsters from Woodroffe School in Lyme Regis helped draw attention to the strategy's launch and the threat of climate change. They unveiled a sign on Lyme Regis beach warning that sea levels could rise by 80cms by 2080, as polar ice melts, which could put the town at increased risk of storm surges.

Oliver Letwin MP attended the launch of the Climate Change Strategy and is pictured with David Webb, Chairman of the West Dorset Partnership (2008-12).

Communities Living Sustainably

The West Dorset Partnership is a partner in a successful Lottery Bid called Communities Living Sustainable being led by Dorset Community Action. The project will bring in £960,000 over the next 4 years. The project will focus on Bridport and Dorchester and their surrounding parishes and will cover 7 aspects of climate change:

Greener Choices
Eco-Schools
Energy Efficiency and Warmth Work
Renewable Energy
Local Food
Community Led Climate Change Adaptation
Sector Specific Work: including an adaptation toolkit for farming and fishing communities; and looking at the risks affecting older people, in particular health impacts, will be investigated.

More information on the project can be found at Communities Living Sustainably (opens in a new window) .