Leicestershire County Council will spend £16m to fund new measures to help the environment

County council chiefs are set to bring in a new green fleet of vehicles and cultivate roadside wildlife verges.

The local authority is setting out to cut carbon, boost the environment in Leicestershire and help combat global warming.

The council is ploughing £16million into tackling climate change over the next four years.

It’s now published a new strategy, emphasising the authority’s commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

The council aims to:

Replace some diesel vehicles with eco-friendly versions

Work alongside parish councils to encourage wildflowers to flourish on roadside verges

Create a carbon-neutral industrial estate and offer biodiversity training.

Cllr Blake Pain, Leicestershire County Council’s cabinet member for action on climate change, said: “As a green council, we’re committed to thinking globally, but acting locally.

“We’ve seen real change already.

“Initiatives such as LED street lights and solar panels have enabled us to cut our CO2 emissions by almost 70 per cent, reduce our wider greenhouse gas emissions by 64 per cent and halve the amount of office waste we produce.”

He added: “Tackling climate change remains a main priority for the council.

“We have a long list of projects that we’ll continue to explore and take forward in order to face this challenge head on.”

Crucial steps already taken include:

Building an award-winning business park which will reduce carbon emissions by around 79.4 tonnes in its first year – the equivalent of a car travelling 238,000 miles

Working with Leicester City Council to launch Fosse Energy, offering low-cost, renewable energy

Installing solar panels across council and other public-sector buildings over the last 12 months - producing 2,700 megawatt hours of green electricity. The equivalent of powering 675 homes for a year

Upgrading 68,000 street lights to LEDs as part of a £20 million investment programme – cutting carbon emissions by 79 per cent and electricity consumption by 65 per cent

Signing the UK100 pledge, underlining the council's commitment to clean energy.

The council’s Environment Strategy will be discussed by the council’s cabinet on Tuesday April 28 – watch the meeting online: www.leicestershire.gov.uk/webcast