Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to be with you this morning and welcome you to Winchester, the Guildhall and to what is the third and final Beacon Council Open Day organised by Project Integra.

Winchester, the ancient Capital City of England has many attractions to offer the visitor. A magnificent Cathedral, museums and galleries, medieval buildings or a stroll round the shops, I hope that this will be an opportunity for you to get to know the area better and perhaps plan a more leisurely visit in the future.

Most of us will recall the terrible weather that has been the cause of widespread flooding over the past few months – disruption to transport, schools and communities. Even in the City Centre and in our surrounding towns and villages, many have suffered as a result of the heaviest rains since records began.

There has been much speculation world wide regarding increases in global rainfall as a result of climate change, due to global warming and the greenhouse gasses! The truth is, everyone to a greater or lesser extent is responsible for contributing to emissions of greenhouse gasses. After all we all heat our homes, use our modern electrical goods, cook and most of us drive cars – all of which require us to burn fossil fuels which in turn release carbon dioxide – the main greenhouse gas.

It is therefore vitally important that we try and reduce our impact on the environment and the air that we breathe by limiting our dependence on fossil fuels and reducing our energy consumption.

This can be achieved by using more energy efficient products and insulating our homes, but we can also help lower the amount of energy we use in manufacturing by reducing the volumes of waste we produce, re-using products instead of throwing them away and recycling where possible.

Waste (resource) management and recycling is a big thing in Hampshire and as part of Project Integra – Winchester City Council take recycling very seriously too. Even as I speak, the last phase of the councils’ twin bin recycling programme is being implemented, thereby taking Winchester and Project Integra one step closer to beating the waste targets!