ENVIRONMENTAL groups in Mid Cheshire have met with the area's new MP to discuss the climate emergency and the protection of nature locally and across the UK.

Sustainable Northwich and Winsford Sustainability Partners have connected to form the new Mid Cheshire Green Voices group.

And, on Friday, October 4, its members met with Mid Cheshire's Labour MP Andrew Cooper, to debate a number of topics affecting both the region and the country.

Co-organiser and retired Winsford GP Kathy Fallon said: "After a month of fatal worldwide flooding and hurricanes, it was a pleasure to meet with Andrew.

"He is working hard to do the right thing by supporting the Climate & Nature Bill and treating the climate emergency and loss of nature with the urgency it requires."

The Climate & Nature Bill was one of the first topics discussed, within which it was revealed a new 'future homes standard' is set to be introduced in 2025.

This will require all new build homes to be future-proofed, ready for home owners to install greener technologies such as solar panels, heat pumps, and EV charging points.

A Mid Cheshire Green Voices spokesman added: "This is not as ambitious as either Mr Cooper nor the group would have liked.

"We hope Labour will extend this plan by requiring installation of these carbon-saving technologies pre-sale rather than expecting homeowners to bear the costs.

"On nature protection and recovery, Mr Cooper and the group are disheartened by housing developers who fail to meet their nature mitigation promises.

"Mr Cooper has worked hard at local sites, such as the Rose Meadow estate in Northwich, where the agreed tree planting scheme at the site still falls short of what residents hoped for."

Next in the discussion was the state of public transport in Mid Cheshire, which the group described as 'dire'.

Mr Cooper told the meeting he feels there is no ‘easy fix’, but some improvements to bus services may be possible, with a potential to return them to council ownership, based on the model in Warrington, which could be expanded to Mid Cheshire if further devolution occurs.

He also went on to say he had been in discussions with train operators to hopefully introduce a new rail service between Crewe and Manchester, via Winsford, Hartford and Warrington.

The final topic of the evening centred around HyNet and the £22 billion the Government announced recently for hydrogen and carbon capture projects, including the HyNet Project at Stanlow, which could have significant implications for Mid Cheshire.

The Mid Cheshire Green Voices spokesman continued: "Cheshire is the fourth highest polluting county in the country, so is primed for investment to help industry decarbonise.

"A lively debate ensued on the risks of funding this currently unproven technology and the viability, or otherwise, of using blue hydrogen as a fuel.

"Tragically, these projects will perpetuate the use of fossil fuels rather than investing in a genuine move to renewables to power UK industry.

"The group challenged Mr Cooper on the amount of public money being invested given the gigantic profits announced by the same fossil fuel companies."

Mr Cooper said: "I was delighted to meet with Mid Cheshire Green Voices to discuss the measures we can take locally and nationally to tackle the climate emergency and work towards a more sustainable future.

"The next few years will be critical as we work to improve our energy security with more home-grown low carbon sources, insulate millions of homes, and improve our public transport infrastructure.

"Over the last three months in my role as an MP, it has been inspiring to see the number of businesses, community groups and schools that are looking to play their part in reaching net zero.

"I look forward to continuing to push this agenda forward in Parliament."

Look out for the new regular column from Mid Cheshire Green Voices in the Northwich & Winsford Guardian in the first week of each month.