Additional support is available for communities, groups and local councils to encourage people to change their behaviours and live more sustainably for a greener borough.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council is launching further support to help community groups and parish and town councils to drive climate action, based on the results of surveys asking them what support they needed from the council to do so.

To keep them up to date on how the council is tackling the emergency as well as the help and support available to them to encourage climate action among local communities, the council is launching a new climate change bulletin for groups and local councils to sign up to.

Complementing the council’s existing community climate change toolkit, the bulletin will provide regular guidance to local organisations on becoming more sustainable including signposting to financial support and other resources they can use to promote action.

And to answer calls for greater support for making plans for climate action and accessing funding and other support, work is also under way with Basingstoke Voluntary Action to organise free workshops in the spring for local councils and groups to cover these areas.

Groups and local councils can find out more about these springtime climate action workshops and how to sign up for the climate change bulletin newsletter at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/climate-group-action-support.

Alongside this, the council has also committed to further promoting the Basingstoke Area Sustainability group to meet the desire of a number of groups and councils for a forum to discuss climate action, learn from each other and share knowledge.

Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Action Cllr Hayley Eachus said: “With groups and local councils often being at the heart of their communities, we believe they are best placed to encourage people to live more sustainably to cut their carbon footprint.

“This support is based on what local councils and groups told us would help them most to do this, including offering guidance with creating plans for climate-positive action, promoting a place for discussion and knowledge sharing and helping them to apply for and access grants and other funding to make more impactful changes.”

Aiming to celebrate local green action and help residents understand where they could make changes to be more green including at home, when they travel and in the garden, a new website has been created at www.sustainable-basingstoke.co.uk.

Those wishing to stay up to date with how they can take action and what’s going on locally can sign up to the Sustainable Basingstoke newsletter on its website and follow its Facebook page @SustainableBasingstoke.

For more information about how the council is working alongside communities to tackle the climate emergency together, see www.basingstoke.gov.uk/climate.