Transitioning in Taunton

Something historic happened in Taunton this summer.

375 staff and members of the local Borough Council came together (helped by members of Transition Town Taunton) to produce a vision of what their Borough might be like in 2026.

It was the first time the people of the council had come together in this way: there were car park attendants alongside senior strategy officers, plumbers and planners, environmental health officers and tree surgeons.

Despite their different roles (and political views) the vision of what they wanted their borough to be like in 17 years time was remarkably consistent: local energy generation, low/zero carbon buildings, water saving, 80% locally-produced food, a revolution in transport, local jobs, local holidays, local community, …

And they identified simple things that individuals and the community could do.

For the council itself these included doing things like:

> Plant more trees

> Make allotments a top priority

> Change the planning approach (all 18,000 planned new houses will now be required to be carbon neutral)

> Upgrade their transport strategy (more cycle routes, more public transport, and maybe even a pedestrian town centre)

> …

It’s not rocket science is it?

We have forwarded a copy of the report to our contacts in Farnham Town Council, Waverley Borough Council, and Surrey County Council, offering to help them do the same.

I wonder what the response will be.

.

You can read the report yourself here: http://www.sendspace.com/pro/dl/w39l6v

And you can read Rob Hopkins on the story here.