WILTSHIRE Council is projected to have cut its carbon footprint by 80 per cent on 2014/15 emissions.

This would also represent a reduction of 68 per cent from 2018/19, it says.

It comes after the council declared a climate emergency and resolved to seek to make the county of Wiltshire carbon neutral by 2030.

The projection is based on a range of changes that services across the council have made in the way they operate.

The council will be able to fully assess its progress – and whether it has reached or indeed exceeded the projected 80 per cent reduction – in the summer.

On February 2, Cabinet will review and be asked to approve a report on the council’s climate change progress, which will detail many of the improvements it has made in its carbon neutral journey.

Deputy leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Richard Clewer said the council is "pleased to have made such good progress", but added that there is much more to do to reach its carbon neutral target.

He added: "We have a dedicated climate team in place to drive this forward, and they will be developing a Carbon Management Plan to plot the council’s pathway to zero carbon, including offsetting any residual emissions. They are also developing a Climate Strategy, which we will look to consult on later this year.

"There have been many challenges for the council during this past year, and while there are many more to come, addressing our climate ambitions is a priority for us."

Measures that the council has taken to reduce its carbon emissions, include he swittch to a green energy tariff, which ensures all energy the council uses comes from renewable sources and can now be classed as carbon neutral. It says this has resulted in "significant immediate progress".

To improve biodiversity in Wiltshire, the council has been carrying out wildflower trials on both highway verges and amenity land, and these will be extended if successful. In the trial areas, cuts have been reduced from nine annually to two, avoiding the main flowering period from mid-May through to the end of August. Over time this will help to develop a short, flower-rich turf that is valuable for bees and other insects. Clippings are collected after each cut to reduce the build-up of organic material, to keep nutrient levels low, and ensure plenty of room for plants to regenerate from seed.

It has also received a grant of £671,000 to improve existing bus services or bring back services that had end, and introduced a £12m programme to convert streetlights across Wiltshire to LEDs, with approximately 20,000 units replaced so far out of a total of 42,000.

The council is also bidding for government funding for several schemes that will help with reducing carbon emissions, including a £550,000 application to the Government’s Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme, which will enable improvements to 100 council homes with the poorest levels of insulation by September 2021.

For more information, go to wiltshire.gov.uk/green-economy-climate-emergency.