29th July 2010

Leading planning charity, the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), is today holding a seminar in Wales on the importance of adaptation strategies to deal with the effects of climate change, including extreme weather conditions.

Stephanie Dickins, TCPA and GRaBS (Green and Blue Space Adaptation for Urban Areas and Eco Towns),  Project Assistant said:

"Adapting our communities to the impacts of climate change is one of the greatest challenges society faces today. For example, one in six homes in Wales is at flood risk, a vulnerability likely to increase with climate change. Yet many of our communities remain completely untouched by the kinds of positive solutions on green open space, sustainable urban drainage, energy demand reduction and renewable energy that would help show that climate change is both real and manageable. The new climate change strategy for Wales will provide a real opportunity to shape policy which reduces carbon emissions and positively builds community resilience to extreme weather events, such as heat waves and flooding. Planning can, and must, address these issues if we are to achieve a fair and just outcome for all as well as resilient places. "

The seminar and workshop event, ‘Delivering Climate Change Adaptation Through Spatial Planning - Can We Do It?'  will focus on the inevitable impacts of climate change in Wales on the environment, communities and their way of life, and ways to adapt to these impacts. The main aim of the workshop will be for participants to gain a greater understanding and share ideas about the delivery of climate change adaptation actions through the spatial planning process. It will draw on European best practice examples from the GRaBS project with a key note address from Peter Davies OBE, Commissioner for Wales, Sustainable Development Commission on Government policy and the vision for a sustainable future. The audience will comprise of planning officers and practitioners; local authority officers in related fields; community group representatives; relevant non-government organisation/membership organisations and government agency representatives.

The TCPA would like to thank The Climate Change Next Steps Grant Fund, supported by the Welsh Welsh Assembly Government, Climate Change & Water Division, for their kind sponsorship of this event.

The TCPA is Lead Partner in a European funded "Green and Blue Space Adaptation for Urban Areas and Eco Towns" (GRaBS) project - which sees 14 partners across 8 European Union member states exchanging experience, knowledge and assistance on delivering adaptation through the use of green and blue infrastructure. The project kicked off in September 2008, recognising that adaptation was an integral part of the sustainable development agenda, and its outputs have been central to the TCPA's understanding of the issues. See www.grabs-eu.org for further information about the project, which has been co-financed by the European Union Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and made possible by the INTERREG IVC Programme.