Content

To approve:

1. The Climate Delivery Plan 2025, and
2. The Climate Adaptation Delivery Plan 2025-29

Reasons for the decision

At its meeting held on 26 February 2019
Council debated the following notices of motion:

12b) Acknowledging a Climate Emergency and Proposing the Way
Forward;
12c) Environment and Global Warming.

The council resolved to acknowledge that there is a climate
emergency and to seek to make the county of Wiltshire carbon
neutral by 2030 – recognising that the council only has
direct control over 0.2% of carbon emissions in Wiltshire but can
use its democratic mandate and
other levers of influence to have an impact on wider emissions. The
minutes of the meeting are available online (see pages 21 to 24).
Cabinet has also pledged to make Wiltshire Council carbon neutral
by 2030.

The Wiltshire Climate Strategy 2022-2027 was adopted as part of the
council’s policy framework by Full Council resolution at a
meeting on 15 February 2022. It sets out a framework for the
council’s climate programme under seven delivery themes. Page
18 of the strategy document commits us to developing delivery plans
with more detail on actions and targets. At a meeting on 1 February
2022 Cabinet delegated permission to the Corporate Director for
Place, in consultation with the Cabinet Member with responsibility
for climate change, to approve delivery plans for the climate
strategy once developed.

A first set of climate delivery plans for 2022-2025 were developed
and approved in September 2022. In 2024 the council undertook a
review of the progress made, and this was reported to Cabinet and
Council via the annual Climate Update Report in September and
October 2024.

The review enabled a new Climate Delivery Plan to be produced, with
a decision to review and refresh annually. Instead of two separate
delivery plans for council-focussed activity and county-wide
activity, there is now one new ‘Climate Delivery Plan
2025’ that provides an overview of all of the council’s
climate-related delivery.

Subsequently, the draft Climate Delivery Plan was presented to
Cabinet in January 2025 where the Cabinet resolved:
• To note the conclusions of the review of the Climate
Strategy Delivery Plan 2022/24 and the Carbon Neutral Council Plan
2022-24, and
• To note and endorse the draft Climate Delivery Plan 2025, to
be approved by the Corporate Director, Place, in consultation with
the Cabinet Member for Waste and Environment.

In addition, a detailed plan has been prepared to focus on the
council’s preparedness for the impacts of climate change on
its service delivery. This ‘Climate Adaptation Delivery
Plan’ has been produced as a result of in-depth Climate
Change Risk Assessment with service areas screened for priority
attention, such as Highways, Adults and Children’s social
care
services and waste services. The draft Climate Adaptation Delivery
Plan was brought to Cabinet in March 2025, where it was
resolved:
• To endorse the Adaptation Delivery Plan, subject to any
comments, to be approved by the Corporate Director for Place in
consultation with the Cabinet Member for Waste and Environment, as
per delegated decision.

The Climate Strategy, which is adopted as part of the
council’s framework, constitution states as a priority
‘area of focus’ that “the council will produce
evidence-based delivery plans, identifying targets to delivery this
strategy. Priorities will be based on carbon savings, cost,
feasibility and co-benefits, in line with the principles of this
strategy.”

The council’s internal processes enable the Climate Delivery
Plan and Climate Adaptation Delivery Plan actions to be
incorporated into directorate service planning, or work planning
and strategies at other levels, and to be monitored and reported
both internally for progress
tracking, and externally for accountability.

As the Cabinet has noted and endorsed both plans, and there were no
further comments from Cabinet, the plans remain unchanged. In
accordance with the process, and in consultation with the Cabinet
Member, I approve both the Climate Delivery Plan 2025 and
the Climate Adaptation Delivery Plan 2025-29.

I confirm that in making this decision I have considered the
following in line with Wiltshire Council’s
Constitution:

Key decision requirements: Yes

Views of relevant cabinet member(s), committee chairman, area
board(s): Yes

Consultation with cabinet member(s), the Leader and Scrutiny (for
Executive decisions taken under Emergency Powers): Yes -The
delegated decision process requires only consultation with the
relevant cabinet member. The relevant cabinet member is Cllr Paul
Sample, cabinet member for Environment, Climate and Waste.

Consultation in accordance with the council’s consultation
guidance and the views emanating from that process: NA

Implication of any council policy, initiative, strategy or
procedure: Yes

Staffing, financial and legal implications: Yes

The assessment of any associated risks in accordance with the
Council’s risk management strategy: The risks associated with
the Climate
Strategy are assessed as part of the council’s risk
register.

Involvement of appropriate statutory officers and/or corporate
directors and directors: Yes

Regional or national guidance from other bodies where relevant:
NA

The council’s constitution, including the Procurement and
Contract Rules (Part 10) and the Financial Regulations and
Procedure Rules (Part 9), all relevant guidance, legislation, codes
of practice, and protocols: Yes

Alternative options considered

None - both plans have already been endorsed
by Cabinet.