Celebrating Earth Day

Take local action to protect our future

Climate change impacts are real and effect us all, however, if we all make some tweaks and changes, it will make a big difference. It is our joint responsibility as a community to play our part to combat climate change and protect future generations. Playing your part is not about changing everything and being an eco warrior 100% of time, but it’s about looking at tweaks and making small changes to suit your lifestyle.

To celebrate Earth Day, we want to share how far we have come with decarbonising ��ʵ�� as a county, some current initiatives you might benefit from and tips on small changes you could look into.

Improving our green footprint

Here are some of the improvements we have seen over the last year (2023/24) alone:

Over 3,000 homes were upgraded to be more eco-friendly
Households saved £1.3 million of annual bill savings
7,702 young people benefitted from cheaper bus travel
74 electric vehicle charge points were installed
An on-demand bus service was expanded to improve public transport in some areas
98 schools were awarded green flag status which recognises their efforts to be sustainable

Current initiatives to support you

Upgrade to a heat pump with a Government grant

The Government is offering households a £7,500 grant to upgrade traditional boilers to a heat pump to make you home more energy efficient. Not only are heat pumps better for the environment but you can also save around £100 a year in energy bills. Find out more visit the

Free energy advice

We have teamed up with home energy experts Furbnow to support you in upgrading your homes with energy saving measures. The scheme is funded by the Government, so if you are able to afford measures such as solar panels and air source heat pumps, make use of our new service which will give you access to a retrofit assessor, truster installers and help you see your project through. For more information visit our One Stop Shop webpage.

Go car-free on some days

If the sun is shining, you haven’t got a forward journey to think about, why not think about walking, wheeling or cycling instead? Perhaps you could take an alternative journey to school or if you’re heading to the countryside, you could think about taking the bus there instead? We’ve teamed up with BetterPoints, so every car-free journey you make you can get rewarded for the effort – we know it isn’t always easy! Find out more about getting around ��ʵ�� visit the

On demand bus service

Getting around by bus has been made more accessible with the ��ʵ�� Connect on-demand bus service. Available in areas where there are fewer bus routes, you can book a bus for when you need it. For more information including operating areas, visit the ��ʵ�� Connect webpage.

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