On 18 November 2020 Boris Johnson announced his ‘ambitious ten-point plan for a green revolution’ in the UK. The government’s plans cover clean energy, transport, nature and innovative technologies, and lay down the foundations for the reduction of the country’s contribution towards climate change. Phoenix Park will join the government’s green revolution and strive to align our planned transformation in line with the Prime Minister’s ten points, where we can:
Point 1 Offshore wind: Producing enough offshore wind to power every home, quadrupling how much we produce to 40GW by 2030:
Phoenix Park plans to include wind turbines to help power the whole site together with solar and recyclable energy initiatives.
Point 4 Electric vehicles: Accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, and transform our national infrastructure to better support electric vehicles:
Phoenix Park’s ambition is to move away from carbon fuels towards electric vehicles by introducing e-mountain biking, e-motorbikes and e-karts as well as other electric vehicles on the site. Phoenix Park’s aim is to ultimately become carbon neutral. We have a focused ambition of not only educating young people in carbon reduction through green initiatives, such as recycling and renewable energy, but also in the transition towards electric vehicles.
Point 5 Public transport, cycling and walking: Making cycling and walking more attractive ways to travel:
In addition to Point 4 above and our aim to become carbon neutral, Phoenix Park plans to incorporate the Guild Wheel offering a route through the Park rather than along the road, encouraging cycling around and to the Park. We are also partnering with Natural England to support a Coastal Access Footpath in place along the site.
Point 7 Homes and public buildings: Making our homes, schools and hospitals greener, warmer and more energy efficient:
Here at Phoenix Park, Pioneer TEC’s school and the Park’s leisure buildings aim to be powered by wind, solar and renewable energy to make them more energy efficient and to reduce the impact on the environment.
Point 9 Nature: Protecting and restoring our natural environment, planting 30,000 hectares of trees every year, whilst creating and retaining thousands of jobs:
Phoenix Park is situated along the banks of the River Ribble. The objective is to protect, conserve and restore this natural environment through clean up, tree planting, attracting wildlife and ensuring that Phoenix Park returns to its natural environment prior to the land becoming contaminated. Furthermore, the transformation of the site will contribute towards job creation, create skills for young people and offer skill and job opportunities for the young people in residence at Pioneer TEC, the residential school for hard to reach young people living and in education on the site.
In conclusion, Phoenix Park not only aims to support the Prime Minister’s call to arms on the government’s Green Revolution, but also to take our activities a step further. We intend to:
- engage with the local community through recycling and renewables;
- contribute towards educating young people, particularly those considered ‘hard to reach’, of the benefits of recycling, renewables, the impact of plastics in our oceans and what we can do individually to help conserve the environment.
As David Attenborough says: “It’s surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth.”
