COLEFORD residents came together as part of The Coleford Climate Citizen Visioning project, to create a community-led vision for the future of their town.

The project was led by Forest of Dean District Council in partnership with Coleford Town Council, and was funded by the Innovate UK Net Zero Living programme.

Expert facilitators from public engagement organisation, ‘Involve’, managed the initiative, ensuring the group of 19 reflected the town’s demographics, and guided participants through a series of five collaborative workshops.

Councillor Jackie Dale, Cabinet Member for Thriving Communities at Forest of Dean District Council, said: “This has been a fantastic opportunity to hear from voices in the community we might not normally reach. Over five workshops, participants explored the question: ‘How can we create a happy and fair future for Coleford while working together to respond to the challenges of climate change?’

“Participants started by discussing what makes Coleford special and what they valued. Then, what they wanted the town to be like in 10, 20, or 30 years’ time. Their ideas, insights and energy have produced a bold vision and nine key recommended actions to help guide the town’s next steps - we are grateful for their commitment and creativity. As a district council we have committed to responding to these recommendations within three months of the report being published and they will feed into our strategies and those of Coleford Town Council.”

The nine recommended actions have a focus on the benefits to local people, business and the community, while also helping to address climate change. For instance, one recommendation to ‘improve local employment opportunities’ looks to reduce the amount of time Coleford residents must drive to find work, reducing stress, making it more likely they will spend money in local businesses, and improving air quality with fewer car journeys.

A second recommendation to ‘increase social interaction between all people and across all generations’ would help to create a welcoming town for residents and visitors, address the issue of loneliness and isolation, especially among older people, and boost biodiversity with the creation of a community garden. The group explored how community spaces could be better utilised to bring people together and improve happiness.

Participants also recommended water management should be prioritised, to help lessen flood risk and water wastage, and explored ideas around local renewable energy, looking at ways to make it more affordable for everyone to lower their energy bills.

A report is now being created to support the recommendations and will be published later in the year.

The process used for this project, known as citizen visioning, is a globally-recognised democratic method that empowers local people to explore complex issues in depth.

Coleford was selected as the location for this project following an invitation from the district council to the four towns in the district to apply, detailing their motivations for taking part, how it aligned with other initiatives they are working on, and how the issues impacting their town connect with wider benefits of climate action.