Global warming tackled at town meeting

8:50am Sunday 5th October 2008

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The greening of Keighley offers opportunities as well as challenges for the town, say regeneration chiefs.

They are inviting townspeople to meet next week to discuss the effects of climate change for Keighley. They will look at how global warming could generate new educational and job opportunities.

The meeting of Regeneration Keighley will focus on whether Keighley should become a “transition town”. Such a designation would see residents uniting to devise local solutions to global warming.

Townspeople would be taught self-sufficiency skills like gardening, cooking, repairing and energy efficiency.

Regeneration Keighley brings together businesses, public agencies and politicians to look at improvement projects. The meeting is open to anyone who lives or works in Keighley and is willing to share experience or enthusiasm.

A spokeswoman said climate change, global warming and carbon counts were increasingly a focus for national and local government. She said: “They will increasingly become a focus for Keighley and that will mean there must be co-ordinated action between all the agencies that can promote and deliver solutions.

“Regeneration Keighley will be well-placed to play a leading part in motivating action at grass roots and individual levels.”

Regeneration Keighley called for a very focused strategy to which all people and organisations could subscribe, such as becoming a transition town.

This would mean creating a sustainable and thriving community while drastically reducing carbon emissions and finding alternatives to use of oil.

Regeneration Keighley meets next Thursday, at 5pm, in the Temple Row Centre, off North Street. More details are available from Diane Ramsden on 01535 618095 or diane.ramsden@bradford.gov.uk.