Sustainable development and climate change strategy

It is globally recognised that developing sustainably and tackling climate change will help to improve the quality of life for all of us, and for future generations. Achieving these aspirations will involve the whole community – local government and other public bodies, the business sector, voluntary sector, local community groups and residents.

With this in mind, we engaged with residents, community groups, businesses, and the voluntary sector in the early stages of developing the strategy to ensure their views and ideas helped to shape the strategy. A series of focus groups and workshops explored what residents and communities need to live well in South Lanarkshire; attitudes to climate change; barriers for organisations and individuals taking action on climate change; and what the council should focus on in this next sustainable development and climate change strategy.

Whilst the focus groups included people from across South Lanarkshire, we recognised that these groups alone could not be taken as representative of the whole population, therefore the findings from the focus groups provided the basis for a wider South Lanarkshire public engagement online survey.

A public consultation of the draft strategy was made available on the council website and advertised on all council social media channels. It was also sent to community councils, council partnership organisations, other public sector bodies and the Sustainable Scotland Network. Comments were also sought from the Consultation Authorities as part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment consultation.

There was a strong message throughout the focus groups, survey and from the consultative draft that the strategy needs to be holistic and look for synergies between community priorities and sustainable development and climate change priorities. Another key message was that the strategy should work for all sectors of society and any action resulting from the strategy must be undertaken in a fair and equitable way. The urgency of action from all sectors of South Lanarkshire was also a key message.

During the public engagement, it was suggested that the strategy’s vision, themes, and key priorities provide a framework that supports and informs decisions and actions, not just for the council, but for all sections of the community of South Lanarkshire, whether that be businesses, organisations, community groups, or individuals.

The outcome from the focus groups is summarised in the graphic above, answering the question ‘what do communities need to live well?’. The responses have been collated into 7 main categories – community, safety, greenspace, transport, access to services/community assets and overall. The main responses to be taken into account for the development of the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Strategy are:

• Knowing where to go for help and advice
• Local decision making
• Connection with others
• Sense of pride in the community
• Low levels crime
• Low antisocial behaviour
• Reduction in litter
• Access to green space and nature
• More trees and wildflowers
• Local jobs
• Security of income
• Health care
• Leisure opportunities
• Good quality affordable housing
• High quality affordable public transport
• Improved public transport in rural areas
• Cycling infrastructure
• Path networks
• 20 minute neighbourhoods
• Local services