A climate emergency has been declared by Cotswold District Council.

The measure was unanimously supported by councillors at a meeting on Wednesday, July 3, where they agreed a wide range of actions to protect the environment.

As part of the declaration, the authority has pledged to do more to tackle climate change locally, and will work towards being a carbon neutral organisation by 2045.

Cotswold District Council Cllr Rachel Coxcoon, who proposed the motion is delighted.

Rachel said: "I am absolutely thrilled that the motion was passed unanimously, and with no amendments, as it creates a very strong platform for Cotswold District Council to push forward with radical and ambitious change to tackle the climate emergency.

"Not only do we need to make our own buildings and operations zero carbon, and tighten our planning policies as much as we can, we need to do everything we can to inspire, support and guide residents and businesses in the Cotswolds to make similar changes.

"I am so grateful to Andrew Maclean, Green Councillor for the Rissingtons, for seconding the motion, but also to my Liberal Democrat Group colleagues, the entire Cotswold Conservative Group, and our independent Councillor Nikki Ind for backing the motion so enthusiastically.

"I think everyone is pretty tired of divisive politics in this country at the moment, so it feels really positive that the entire group of elected councillors is so committed to this, and that is how it should be; tackling the climate crisis is not a party-political issue, it's something that all our futures depend on."

As part of the declaration, the council also committed to achieving 100 percent clean energy use across the council's full range of functions as soon as possible, and no later than 2030.