Warwickshire County Council has endorsed an update from its cross-party member group reviewing environmental, waste and economic issues affecting the county.
At a meeting of Full Council on Tuesday 17 March 2026, councillors considered a report from the Climate Emergency Cross-Party Working Group, and agreed that its recommendations across three focus areas – natural capital and biodiversity, waste and recycling, and the local economy – should be submitted to Cabinet for further consideration.
The group, which includes councillor from every political party represented on the council and is chaired by Cllr Will Roberts, was re-established in 2025 to explore how the council can respond to environmental challenges while supporting residents, communities and local businesses.
Since its formation, members have held a series of themed sessions and visits to learn more about key areas of activity in detail. This has included a visit to the Sherbourne Recycling Facility, where councillors saw how mixed household recycling from across Warwickshire is sorted into high-quality recyclable materials for reprocessing.
Councillor Darren Cheshire, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Heritage and Culture at Warwickshire County Council, said: “Warwickshire has a strong track record of partnership working, and the work of this cross-party group provides a valuable opportunity for councillors to look at some of the key issues in detail.
“The visit to the Sherbourne facility was particularly insightful. Seeing the scale of the operation and the advanced technology used to sort materials really brings home the importance of residents putting the right items in the right bins.”
The report includes recommendations to review and strengthen waste and recycling communications to improve understanding of how recycling works
and encourage the right items to be put in the right bins. It also includes further recommendations related to supporting local businesses, exploring opportunities to increase community engagement around tree planting, and identifying ways to build on the success of Warwickshire’s country parks.
Following endorsement by Full Council, the recommendations will now be considered by Cabinet. The working group will continue its programme of detailed reviews throughout the year, with flood risk management identified as a future area for examination.
The group is expected to provide a further update to Full Council later in 2026.
A copy of this report to council can be found here: Warwickshire County Council – 17 March 2026: Climate Emergency Cross-Party Group Update Report