The future of Jesmond in a post-coronavirus world will be the topic of discussion in an online talk hosted by Jesmond Library this Thursday evening.

The virtual meeting will be led by local resident Tony Waterston, who says his aim is to help build bridges within the Jesmond community over the coming months. 

Waterston is an active environmental campaigner who says he believes that when it emerges from the lockdown and pandemic, Jesmond can “build back better and use some of the things we have gained from this [experience]”.

As lockdown eases in Jesmond, Waterston says residents have been supporting local businesses, using local resources and cycling more, a shift that he will be encouraging people to continue into the future. 

“Climate change is something much worse than Covid as it’s going to go on so much longer,” he says. “Looking at how we can come out of this and tackle climate change as a community is really important.”

Pollution levels have fallen across the city and around the UK since lockdown. However, global emissions are expected to fall by no more than 8% this year, suggesting that avoiding dangerous climate change and getting to zero emissions remains a huge challenge.

Thursday’s online meeting will also be discussing Newcastle City Council’s plans to build on the positive environmental changes that have resulted from the global lockdown, such as transport transition in Jesmond.

The Zoom meeting will be held between 6pm-7pm on Thursday 11th June, 2020. For information on joining the meeting, email events@jesmondlibrary.org

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