WESTBURY Town Council has renewed its service contracts with environmentally friendly suppliers, in order to keep up its green credentials.
New three-year contracts for gas and electricity at The Laverton and for town centre public toilets and CCTV have been approved in line with the council’s work towards decreasing climate change.
In January the authority followed the example of hundreds of councils across the country and declared a climate emergency. At the July meeting the clerk Deborah Urch was authorised to negotiate replacement electricity contracts for supplies to CCTV cameras in Haynes Road and Market Place and public toilets in Warminster Road and High Street.
Then the council was notified that the electricity contract for The Laverton is due to expire in early September, and the contract for the venue’s gas supply will expire before the end of 2020.
Deborah Urch initially looked at options for 100% renewable “green” energy, but the costs were higher than expected, so she asked for quotes for brown energy contracts as a comparison.
Although these tenders were lower, the costs were still higher than expected.
Therefore, she asked the town council to consider estimates for both green and brown energy contracts, and to decide the most appropriate type of supply.
The council hopes its declaration will lead the town and encourage residents to also make the commitment to do all they can to help stop the effects of climate change.
Deborah Urch told White Horse News, “The costs were approved at an extraordinary town council meeting held [in August].”
The annual current supplier costs £8,444.32, compared to brown energy providers that would have totalled an estimated annual pay-out of £9,338.70, and the finally agreed green energy companies, which will cost roughly £11,065.49 per year. The extra £2,621.17 is money already available in the council pot.
