Climate emergency network appoints new co-chair

Cllr Tony Aslam of Wellingborough Town Council (Northamptonshire) and Cllr Sarah Barker of Kingshill Parish Council (Kent) were appointed as network co-chairs from January 2024. While Cllr Chris Church of Botley & North Hinksey Parish Council (Oxford), Cllr Katharine Keats-Rohan of Wallingford Town Council (Oxford) and Charmaine Keatley, chief executive officer of the Kent Association of Local Councils also agreed to monitor communications between network members.

The network was joined by Dr Daphne Du Cros, director and coordinator for the Shropshire Good Food Partnership, to discuss the Right to Grow initiative she has been involved in with Bishop's Castle Town Council. Andrew Maliphant, project manager for The Community Works, addressed the draft planning application and climate action guidance for smaller councils, where members commented it could do with a section on retrofitting heritage buildings. Cllr Keats-Rohan spoke about Heritage Declares, a group of heritage practitioners who have come together to urge the sector to react more quickly and effectively to the climate and ecological emergency.

Find out more about the climate emergency network and how to get involved