Council ahead in its plans to become carbon neutral

By the end of March 2025 Telford & Wrekin Council had reduced its carbon emissions by 63 per cent compared to 2018-19, the cabinet will be told next week.

The figure – some eight per cent ahead of where it was expecting to be at this stage – has been achieved by a range of measures in homes, leisure centres, and offices.

A ‘climate emergency’ was declared by the council in 2019 which set out an ‘ambitious target’ to be carbon neutral by 2030. It means reducing emissions as much as possible and offsetting the rest.

“We have made strong progress in reducing the council’s emissions so far, but we recognise that it is getting harder and more challenging to do,” says a report to the council’s cabinet on January 5.

“It is still the right thing to do reinforced by the wider benefits we are seeing to our residents and communities.”

The council has set itself a target of reaching a 70 per cent reduction in emissions by 2026/27.

“To ensure the council continues its journey to carbon neutrality work has been undertaken to develop a high-level carbon descent pathway identifying measures and projects the council can implement to reach a 70 per cent reduction in emissions by 2026/27 as the next step to 2030,” says the report.

The kind of projects supported by the council include investment in making homes more affordable to heat, and increasing the amount of solar panels on its commercial properties.

It has also supported reducing the amount of meat on school menus, and encouraging children to walk, scoot, or cycle to schools.

In its year-long New School Journey project it has seen a “marked shift from car use to walking” in 11 participating schools.

At Meadows Primary School car use fell from 188 to 57 pupils as walking and cycling rose.

A resident survey carried out by the council showed 22 per cent of residents expressing “extreme concern” about climate change, the report adds.

Some 63  per cent rated the issue as being a seven out of 10 concern with ten being the highest score.

Telford & Wrekin Council owns the Wheat Leasows solar farm which last year produced 3,144 MWh of electricity, enough energy to power 1,084 homes. It continues to see that as important.

The report says that the council is “exploring the feasibility of potential new solar generation within the borough.”

At the same time the council is “continuing to lobby and work with Government and National Grid to overcome” the issue of connections to the electrical grid which are holding back the “expansion of renewable energy generation locally and nationally.”

Telford & Wrekin Council is also planning to adapt services to the current and future predicted impacts that climate change is having.

These risks include damage to roads and trees from flooding, heat and wind, IT systems crashing from being overheated, and increased deaths from hot weather.

The report says: “Climate change is expected to continue having a significant impact on the health, social, and economic wellbeing of residents in Telford and Wrekin.

“For example, the summer of 2025 was the warmest on record, with prolonged heatwaves posing serious health risks—particularly to vulnerable groups such as older adults, children, and those with existing health conditions.”