Case studies

The Wiltshire Community Environmental Toolkit has been developed by Wiltshire Council in partnership with Natural England to allow communities to take the lead in defining and restoring biodiversity in their community.

Swindon Borough Council has developed a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) that has helped secure the creation and maintenance of travel plans for new education, workplace, and residential developments. It obligates developers to fund initiatives through payment of a significant travel plan contribution to the council for it to resource implementation, or payment of a bond which repaid when the developer fulfils their obligations.

Forest of Dean Climate Action is a climate emergency community partnership that is currently being established to coordinate a district wide community-based response to the climate emergency. It will bring together communities, businesses and organisations from across the district to deliver community led climate action through collaboration, empowerment and knowledge sharing, with the imperative of driving the district to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Forest of Dean District Council is implementing a range of measures to decarbonise its Coleford office building, including installing a solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage system and replacing existing lighting with LEDs. The project aims to demonstrate how decarbonising assets and operations can be economically viable and deliver long-term financial benefits to organisations.

In December 2020 Gloucester City Council set a target to ensure its estates are net zero by 2030. They applied for Salix funding to carry out a project at a sports centre, known for its high operational emissions.

Hertfordshire County Council’s Strategic Partnerships Team identified that there needed to be a stronger representation of voices from victims and survivors of domestic abuse within their approach to commissioning domestic abuse services.

In 2019, Central Bedfordshire identified that domestic abuse was part of a complex picture of need, with at least 30 per cent of all children’s services assessments carried out having an element of domestic abuse.

Chelmsford City Council implemented a local support hub for domestic abuse which co-located community safety, public protection, business compliance and housing with greater integration into public health and the local police.

In 2018, Northumberland County Council identified significant gaps in their multi-agency approach to tackling Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (DAandSV).

In response to the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) board in Warwickshire sought to review and understand the emerging needs of victims and survivors to prioritise resources and determine their strategic focus.