MEMBERS of the Bude Area Community Jury on Climate Change met with their local MP last month, to update him on their work.

During the meeting members discussed the community’s concerns about sea level rise and wider climate change-related issues with Conservative MP for North Cornwall Scott Mann.

As part of the meeting Mr Mann received the jury’s recent report and recommendations, which included a call for greater collaboration between coastal communities at risk due to sea level rise. He committed to raising the idea of a coastal communities network with floods minister Rebecca Pow, and to speak with colleagues across all parties, especially those representing coastal communities.

Mr Mann told jury members: “Climate change is an important part of the political conversation. I am a great believer in democracy and local decision making and Bude has a reputation for being very proactive on this front. Lots of people come to Bude because they know it’s a green town. Bude has raised the bar on environmental issues.”

Discussing the recent £3-million Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme funding with the jury, awarded to the town to look at ways of adapting the coastline to provide resilience against sea level rise, Mr Mann said he was pleased the Environment Agency had secured the money for Bude.

He added: “There will be challenges going forward as it’s a delicate balancing act for the town. We need to consider what Bude will look like environmentally, socially and economically, but I hope Bude can be a leader in this, in finding solutions through compromise.”

Members of the Community Jury were pleased to have engaged with their MP on the local impacts of climate change.

Jury member Sarah Freeman said: “As a jury, one of our recommendations was to engage with our local MP on the issues of climate change and sea level rise, so we were pleased to find Mr Mann took such an interest in what we’re trying to do. Like many other local residents, I feel Bude is an area of Cornwall that is too often overlooked by the government. I’d love to see this change.”

Clive Hawkins, also a jury member, added: “Scott Mann has climate change as one of his top three pressing issues. He was positive about the contribution being made by local citizens and receptive to our proposals.

“Importantly, he agreed to take our recommendations to the Secretary Of State for the Environment to ensure buy-in at the highest level. We look forward to meeting him again to share updates.”

Further information on the Community Jury and its recommendations can be found at www.budeclimatejury.org, including expert presentations on sea level rise.