• Swindon & Wiltshire News
• Friday January 5 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Swindon businesses invited to give views on education, heritage buildings and net zero

Swindon businesses are being encouraged to give the borough council feedback on its 10-year plan for the town’s educational outcomes, heritage buildings, and the move towards net zero.

A series of consultations will take place around the town in January which will help set the council’s priorities for the next decade.

A new draft Swindon Plan, approved by the council’s cabinet in December, aims to deliver on the administration’s new three priority missions for the Borough: Combat Inequality, Build a Better Swindon, and Achieve Net Zero.

To progress the Combat Inequality mission, the council has committed to improving areas like educational outcomes, reducing falls in older people, tackling obesity and children’s oral health, improving public transport and active travel, as well as working with partners to make Swindon a safer place for adults and young people.

The Build a Better Swindon mission includes a focus on protecting the borough’s heritage, improving civic engagement and residents’ pride, supporting the growth of businesses and meeting the housing and infrastructure needs of the local population.

To inform the Achieve Net Zero mission, the council plans to produce a road map as well as a monitoring and reporting process to inform its organisational target to reach net zero emissions by 2030.

The council also plans to develop Swindon’s on-street electric vehicle charging infrastructure, as part of efforts to support the Borough to reach net zero by the UK-wide target date of 2050.

Throughout January, the Let’s Talk Swindon engagement exercise will feature a number of events held across the borough.

The feedback received will inform a final version of the Swindon Plan due to be reviewed by the council’s cabinet in March.

Councillor Emma Bushell, deputy leader of Swindon Borough Council, said: “Over 3,000 residents responded to our resident survey earlier this year and there was a very clear message that the council needs to do more to engage communities in its work.

“That’s why we are running this Let’s talk Swindon engagement exercise, to give everyone the chance to find out more and provide feedback on the council’s future priorities, working alongside communities.

“Despite the challenging financial constraints on all local authorities, we must still be ambitious for Swindon and tap into external funding opportunities where needed.

“It is really important to us that local residents feed into the new Swindon Plan so that it delivers on the priorities that matter most to them.

“We also want to be challenged on the items that are already in the draft plan so we get a good understanding of whether they resonate with local people.”

Details of the engagement events and how residents can book a place are available at www.swindon.gov.uk/letstalkswindon