Green and sustainable environment

Our environment includes everything around us, our parks, our cycleways and our road networks. 

It also includes the air quality and increasingly extreme temperatures and weather events. The importance of our environment sits within the context of the changing climate and biodiversity emergency and the urgency to reach net zero. 

Bracknell Forest has a beautiful natural environment, and we intend to enhance and protect this. We know that this will require a community wide effort and we must work together to move towards a sustainable carbon neutral future. But we also know that we need to lead and show what can be done, whether related to biodiversity, renewable energy or making green transport choices.

We will need to be creative to identify new ways of doing things, working jointly with partners and residents.

It is important that accessing the environment and making climate friendly choices is available to all residents. This includes working with partners to make sure our bus routes are supported, footpaths are clear, and cycleways are safe.

Our goals over the coming years intend to further encourage all residents to make the most of our brilliant local environment, whilst making sure that it is sustainable for the future.

Our ambition for the borough

There is collective action to address and adapt to the climate and biodiversity emergency.

Our green spaces and parks foster sustainability, biodiversity, and wellbeing.

Local transport networks provide choice in travel.

Measuring our ambitions

There is collective action to address and adapt to the climate and biodiversity emergency

We will measure this by:

  1. Increasing the correct use of recycling.
  2. Increasing the average energy efficiency rating of the housing stock in the borough.
  3. A reduction in borough emissions.
  4. Increasing the installation of public electric vehicle charge points.
  5. Increasing new trees being supported to independent growth.

Our green spaces and parks foster sustainability, biodiversity, and wellbeing

We will measure this by:

  1. Increasing biodiversity across the borough, funded by new developments.
  2. Increasing Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspaces (SANG) and open space through the planning process.
  3. Increasing volunteering within the borough’s parks and countryside.

Local transport networks provide choice in travel

We will measure this by:

  1. An increase in bus use as sustainable public transport.
  2. Increasing green miles travelled by walking and cycling.
  3. Increasing delivery of infrastructure through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

Key projects

By 2027, we will have:

  • investigated, and if feasible, implemented new energy initiatives at the London Road closed landfill site including a solar array and charging hub