MOST of Dorset’s town and parish councils appear to be voting with their feet over discussion about climate and environmental change in the county.

Only around ten per cent attended the last meeting with Dorset Council over the issues, according to the senior councillor leading the work.

Portfolio holder for climate and the environment, Cllr Ray Bryan, said he hoped for a better attendance for future meetings after what he had estimated at a 10 per cent turn out for a meeting arranged via the Dorset Association of Town and Parish Councils.

“I would really like to see at least 90 per cent …this is a partnership and we need town and parish council’s to work with us, it’s very important,” he said at a Thursday overview committee meeting.

He said that the climate and environment work was now central to everything Dorset Council does, during a discussion on a ‘refresh’ of the council’s main strategy document on the natural environment, climate and ecology.

Cllr Noc’ Lacey-Clarke said Cllr Bryan’s estimate of 10 per cent attendance had probably been an exaggeration despite what he described as “extensive work” with town and parish councils in the early days of drawing up the strategy, one of the first key decisions taken by the unitary council when it came into being almost four years ago.

He rejected a request from committee chair Cllr Carole Jones that Dorset Council should organise its own meetings, or workshops, with the parish and town councils.

“It doesn’t seem to be the best use of Dorset Council time when town and parish councils don’t want to participate. The DATPC is in the best position to persuade them to do so,” he said.

But not all councillors shared the view that the town and parish councils were not interested: Cllr Roland Tarr said that many of the smaller councils were keen to engage and had been positive, while Cllr Toni Coombs (Verwood) said that her local town council always read the newsletter with interest.

Cllr Sherry Jespersen said that an approach which seemed to work was ward councillors attending town and parish council meetings and spreading the word about Dorset Council’s climate and environmental work.

Lyme Regis and Charmouth councillor Belinda Bawden called on Dorset Council to widen any consultations to include other community groups and bodies such as the Dorset Climate Action Network which she co-founded.

The council’s climate and ecology strategy was adopted in July 2021 and is considered to be “a living document” which would evolve over time.

Among the council’s aims is for the authority itself to become carbon neutral by 2040 and to help the wider county become carbon neutral by 2050.

A report to councillors concedes that there are still big challenges to be overcome: “The Council’s emissions have declined by over a quarter since 2019, meaning we are well on track for a Carbon Neutral Council by 2040. Dorset’s have declined by just under a fifth since 2018, but the inclusion of newly available data for waste and agriculture means emissions need cutting faster to reach net zero by 2050.”