Jonathon Porritt is an eminent writer, broadcaster and commentator on sustainable development.
Climate change is now front page news, week in, week out. It’s happening (no remaining doubt on that score), and it’s happening because of the emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases that we put into the atmosphere – with no serious doubt on that score either. And it’s seriously bad news in terms of future impact on all our lives.
But most people still don’t relate all that high-level debate to what’s going on in their own back yard. Which is what makes Project Taunton so very different from the usual run-of-the-mill regeneration schemes.
What you’ll find here is a combination of daring vision (there are not many “net zero carbon developments” being taken forward in the South West right now!) and very applied design and delivery plans. The citizens of Taunton should expect nothing less: there are few places in the South West more vulnerable to some of the future impacts of climate change, in terms of the rising risk of flooding.
The benefits of all this demonstrate exactly what sustainable development means in practice, in social, economic and environmental terms. It’s not just about climate change or biodiversity – although the Biodiversity Action Plans are impressive. Of equal importance is the knock-on impact on enhancing skills in the construction industry, with an opportunity for hundreds of skilled workers to gain invaluable experience in sustainable construction techniques and the use of local materials.
At long last, people are beginning to realise that delivering substantive economic improvements in peoples’ lives does not need to come at the expense of the physical environment. Indeed, any regeneration project that fails to put environmental and social benefits at its very heart is unlikely to achieve anything more than a very short–lived spasm of spurious prosperity.
