Newcastle tops Greenest cities table

Nov 19 2009 by Amy Hunt, The Journal

NEWCASTLE has topped a table of Britain’s greenest cities. The city was voted the best for factors like air quality, household rubbish and the impact that services, housing and transport have on the environment.

The Sustainable Cities Index is produced every year by not-for-profit organisation Forum for the Future and this year sees Newcastle move from fourth to first in the table – shunning once and for all the legacy of its industrial heritage.

Eco campaigners have praised Newcastle City Council for its work in managing to achieve economic growth without harming the environment.

Sunderland came 13th in the table, a drop of one place from last year’s table.

Peter Madden, chief executive of Forum for the Future, said: “Cities with an industrial heritage face genuine challenges, but Newcastle’s success shows that it is possible to overcome the legacy of the past and perform well on many measures of sustainability.

“We hope it will inspire other cities to redouble their efforts.”

Coun Wendy Taylor, the council’s executive member for environment, sustainability and transport, said: “For the past five years, sustainability has been at the very heart of our agenda and we are delighted to have our progress acknowledged.”

The council has invested £400,000 in cutting the environmental impact of its own buildings, including fitting automatic lighting and heating controls, and has carried out an energy-awareness campaign for staff.

Solar panels have also been put on the roof of the civic centre to provide hot water.

Since 2001 the city council’s EnviroSchools programme has been rewarding pupils’ efforts to go green through a series of awards, culminating in the Green Flag.