'Sustainable Shaftesbury' is shorthand for what is more correctly known as the Sustainable Shaftesbury Advisory Committee (SuSAC).
SuSAC is a permanent body created by Shaftesbury Town Council to address the many challenges facing the community from the growing climate and ecological emergency. It replaced the Sustainable Shaftesbury Working Group - that itself replaced the town council's previous Open Spaces Working Group - in May 2024 and has met regularly since then.
The main purpose and function, or remit, of SuSAC is to monitor and further the Sustainable Shaftesbury Masterplan Vision Statement and Action Plan 2023-31 adopted by Shaftesbury Town Council (STC) on 20 February 2024.
SuSAC's role is to oversee the process of preparing, updating and researching proposals in the plan, initiating or suggesting community consultation and involvement, and providing recommendations to STC to fund and implement.
It currently has three 'flagship' projects of both local and countywide significance it is working on with Dorset Council, Dorset Wildlife Trust and the National Trust in Dorset:
-
Shaftesbury Orchard Town
-
Nature Friendly Town Shaftesbury
-
Shaftesbury's Green Wheel initiative
The SuSAC committee must include two members of the town council but most members of the 15-strong committee are volunteers from the community with expertise in ecology, landscape, environmentalism and conservation - some at a very senior and experienced professional level. They include regular attendees of Planet Shaftesbury meetings as well as those of other groups such as Shaftesbury Tree Group.
For 2025-26 the town councillors on the committee are Lester Dibben and Virginia Edwyn-Jones. They were joined in April 2026 by new councillor Annie Philpott.
SuSAC works through 12 working groups each looking at specific areas of the town council's Action Plan. They are listed here with the key 'players' leading the work.
Biodiversity/Nature Friendly Town/Orchard Town: Amber Harrison (co-lead), Jen Hirsch (co-lead), Lucy Young, Mike Cummings, Bernard Ede, Joe Hashman, Sue Clifford, Angela King, Gideon King, John Nelson, Christina Strickland, Richard Thomas
Green Wheel sub-group: Sue Clifford (co-lead), Angela King (co-lead), Mike Cummings, Bernard Ede, John Nelson, Christina Strickland, Richard Thomas, Lucy Young
Circular economy: In partnership with Shaftesbury & District Chamber of Commerce.
Clean air & dark skies: Vacant
Food: Lucy Young (lead)
Energy & retrofitting: Jennifer Morisetti (lead), Richard Thomas
Health & wellbeing: Vacant
Local transport & footpaths: John Nelson (lead), Joe Hashman (Shaftesbury Rights of Way volunteer warden)
Planning: Mike Cummings (lead), Bernard Ede, Chris Maude, Richard Thomas
Waste & recycling: Vacant
Water (rivers, streams and ponds): John Nelson (lead), Christina Strickland
Community worksheds: Cllr Lester Dibben (lead)
All working group leads welcome input from anyone in the community with an interest in the subject who would like to help develop ideas and make positive things happen. Contact is c/o the Town Hall office@shaftesbury-tc.gov.uk
'For more detail, including regular news updates, see the SuSAC webpage on the main town council website here >>