A CITIZEN’S jury will shape future policies in Barrow centred on climate change.

The jury will be made up of local residents and overseen by a panel of people from a diverse range of backgrounds.

Barrow Borough Council is moving toward its ambition for the borough to become carbon neutral by 2037 in its Low Carbon Barrow Action Plan, published in 2019.

The creation of a citizen’s jury will allow them to consider ways of lowering carbon usage across the borough before making a series of recommendations on the next steps that should be taken by the council.

Overseeing this process will be an oversight panel - with the group set to meet for the first time on August 31.

Councillor Ann Thomson, the leader of Barrow Borough Council and its lead member for cleaner, greener neighbourhoods, will chair the oversight panel meetings.

She said: “Lowering the carbon usage of the whole borough will require the help of everyone here - it’s not something the council can achieve on its own.

“We will all need to make changes to the way we do things, some small, some larger, so that we can do our bit to protect the planet for ourselves and future generations.

“I’m very proud that Barrow will be one of the first areas in the country to ensure residents are involved and leading the way in shaping our approach to tackling carbon emissions and climate change.

“I’m looking forward to chairing the meetings, hearing from the experts and also the ideas of our residents on how we achieve a carbon neutral footprint together by 2037.

“The council is committed to achieving a greener and cleaner environment for all those living and working in the borough.

“This is a very exciting scheme to make sure our residents are at the centre of our efforts as a borough to work towards global climate repair.

“Working together as a community will help to bring us closer to achieving our goal which will benefit everyone.”