Preston climate jury to 'hold council to account'

Ian Skerritt and Alex Conroy say they want to help tackle climate change in Preston

A group of residents in Preston have vowed to hold the city council to account over climate change targets.

The Preston People's Climate Jury was set up by the council earlier this year.

The group, made up of 27 local residents, has published a 21-point action plan of recommendations, with the main areas for action being housing, food and transport.

Jury member Ian Skerritt said it proved "we can all do something to improve our environment".

"I wanted to make a difference. I wanted my voice to be heard and my opinions to be valued," he said.

Reducing food miles was one area identified in the action plan

Fellow jury member, Alex Conroy, said joining the jury felt like "the absolute right thing to do".

"Climate change is such a huge issue, and you can feel totally powerless against it," he said.

The jury has listened to presentations from climate experts and, following 30 hours of deliberations, have created an action plan.

The main areas considered were how to make existing homes more energy efficient, how food supplies might become more sustainable and how to improve the local transport network.

The jury has called for a "safer, efficient and more joined-up" transport network

"In Preston, we've got a lot of new housing being built, and I think it's very important that those houses are getting built to a proper [energy-efficient] standard," said Mr Conroy.

"We also started to think about food miles and where our food actually comes from, and reducing our food miles."

He said one of the jury's recommendations was "harnessing the power of the community".

Councillor Carol Henshaw said she meets regularly with jury representatives

Mr Skerritt said the group also wants to see a "safer, efficient and more joined-up" transport network.

Preston City Council said it supported the aims outlined by the jury.

However, with the council held to be responsible for less than 2% of the city’s carbon emissions, they said they would need the public and the private sector to also get behind climate change targets.

Councillor Carol Henshaw, cabinet member for climate change at Preston City Council, said she would meet regularly with the jury representatives to ensure the council is held to account.

"We are doing this for the next generations of Prestonians," she said.