CIVIC and business leaders have joined forces in a bid to make Warrington the “greenest” town in the North West.
The Mayor, Cllr John Joyce, along with council leader Cllr Ian Marks and other key figures, officially launched the “I’m Growing Up Green” campaign at the Golden Square Shopping Centre by giving a commitment to save energy – and being some of the first to sign the pledge.
Among those present were the borough council’s executive member for climate change, Cllr Bob Barr, and representatives of local organisations including Warrington and Co, Groundwork Cheshire and Low Carbon Lymm.
The Mayor said he was making a commitment to turn down his heating throughout April.
Cllr Joyce added: “I’m putting my full support behind the campaign and myself and the Mayoress will be ‘turning it down’ for April. We all need to make a difference to help to set a positive example for our region’s young people.”
Cllr Marks, added: “I’m fully confident in backing such an important campaign for our region. Pete Postlethwaite was an avid campaigner for environmental issues and as many people as possible should get behind this campaign in his memory as he would have been very proud to help make Warrington one of the North West’s greenest towns.”
The Warrington campaign has also garnered high-profile national support from the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Energy Saving Trust.
Ellie Abernethy, manager of the Energy Saving Trust advice centre for Merseyside and Cheshire said: “Small changes really do make a big difference, and as a general rule, when you stop wasting energy, you save money! Simple actions such as turning your thermostat down by 10C could save you £50 a year.”
Ian Cox, marketing manager at Golden Square said: “This launch was a great opportunity to get the backing of some high-profile figures across our region for our campaign – and get them to commit to signing the pledge and making a difference to our region’s environmental impact and energy usage.”
The lights in Golden Square have now changed to green to mark the start of the ‘ campaign.
The centre is playing host to a variety of events including “I’m Growing Up Green” Easter workshops until April 15 and will feature free giveaways as well as creative workshops for children, including how to make a watering can, plant sunflowers and decorate bags for life.
Anyone wanting to sign the pledge should visit http://turnitdown.epetitions.net/
Picture: Golden Square goes “green”
