Vale of White Horse District Council has completed the first year of its joint Nature and Climate Action Plan with South Oxfordshire. A key result is Abbey Gardens in Abingdon, where 70% of annual bedding plants were replaced with drought-tolerant perennials, cutting water use, removing peat, and reducing emissions from plant deliveries. The council says the change also lowers maintenance and future planting costs. Elsewhere, the council is studying whether waste heat from proposed data centres can supply low-carbon heating to Milton Park and nearby housing. It has also put 70% of its staff through a climate e-learning programme and plans a full carbon literacy course in 2026/27. Local groups like Sustainable Blewbury, the Harwellian Club, and the Vale and Downland Museum are featured for their own solar, battery, and heat pump projects.
