After a decade of austerity, local authorities have seen their spending power reduced by a third according to the National Audit Office. To cover service costs, many local authorities have had to borrow funds. Approximately 75% of this comes from the Public Works Loans Board.

In 2019, West Berkshire Council declared a climate emergency and sought funding to achieve long-term net-zero goals. To deliver these goals, and to ensure a more sustainable source of income, the council launched the UK’s first Community Municipal Investment in July 2020.

The West Berkshire Council Climate Change Bond offers the local community an opportunity to get involved in sustainability projects by investing in schemes laid out by the environmental strategy. In the video, Joseph Holmes, Executive Director of Resources at West Berkshire Council, shares how the council developed the funding strategy.

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In recent years, Local Government budgets are increasingly stretched with the costs and demand for services continually rising. We heard from Joseph Holmes, Executive Director of Resources at West Berkshire Council about how the council has developed the UK’s first Community Municipal Investment to generate funding.

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