TOWN councillors are looking at creating a ‘green grants’ fund of £15,000 or more a year to help local community organisations reduce their carbon footprints.

It could be included in the council’s budget for the new financial year and offer financial support to community groups, but not to individual households.

The idea has been put forward by Cllr John Thorne, who is also one of Wellington’s two county councillors.

The council is already working on a climate change strategy to show how it and the town as a whole could become net carbon zero by 2030, a target set by Somerset County Council.

‘Green grants’ could be used to help fund carbon reduction/mitigation measures for clubs and societies and other groups which provide facilities and services for the community.

Cllr Thorne said this week: “Climate change initiatives have so far been led by the Government and county and district councils but now we are talking about what can be done at the grassroots level of local government.

“So, I feel as well as talking about it we should be putting our money where our mouths are and providing help for those to whom we are saying ‘you should be doing something to tackle the issues’.

“The town council already has a grants fund which over the years has given hundreds of thousands of pounds to help local groups in Wellington and Rockwell Green.

“Now, I am suggesting we have a parallel fund which is used solely to make grants towards projects which specifically are going to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and/or reduce our reliance on use of the planet’s non-renewable resources.

“It may be a sum of £15,000 to match our existing grants pot or it could be more or less, depending on how my fellow councillors feel about it.

“But I am sure they all accept that we should be taking positive action as a council to help lead the changes that need to be made in Wellington, changes that need to be introduced quite rapidly.

“That is why I will be proposing the annual ‘green grants’ idea when councillors meet shortly for an informal discussion to shape the look of our 2022-23 budget.”

Although the council helps to fund a wide range of organisations and projects across Wellington and Rockwell Green it is not allowed by law to finance individual residents or families.

The town council has already committed £9,000 to a street trees project by the Wellington Transition Town movement and has supported other measures such as the transformation of Fox’s Field, in Tonedale.

It has also recognised some of the town’s ‘green lungs’ such as Wellington Park and Playing Fields and helped to fund their upkeep.

One councillor who is supporting the ‘green grants’ proposal is the council’s environment and open spaces committee chairman Cllr Mike McGuffie.

It was Cllr McGuffie who drove the decision to prepare a climate change strategy for Wellington and his committee is overseeing its preparation.

Cllr McGuffie said: “I welcome the idea of an additional grant pot for projects to tackle climate change and have also asked for it to be included in the budget discussion.

“With our grants in general we need to be considering the environment and climate change impact of what organisations are going to do with the money we give them.

“For instance, if they are buying new equipment like a kitchen, is it low energy/carbon and does it come from a supplier with a carbon reduction plan.

“We could also ask grant applicants if they have a climate change policy, in order to raise the profile of the issue and make it part of the application form.

“Overall, I think the grants are a way of promoting good practice in general as well as creating a pot of money for supporting specific projects that address the problem directly.

“It is a quick change we can make now while developing our strategy further.

“It also helps to ensure the council spends the public’s money in a way that benefits both the community now and the future environment.”