Issue - meetings

To consider the Climate Change Action Plan.

RESOLVED to adopt the Climate Change Action Plan and note progress on the actions therein.

Councillor Pepper presented the report regarding the Climate Change Action Plan, which set out details on how the Council would deliver on the commitments it had made through the Climate Change Strategy. The document was “live” and would evolve as actions and goals progressed. The Council would take action in areas within its own control, such as applying for £900,000 in funding and administering grants to low income households in order to make their homes more energy efficient, utilising retrofit programmes and insulating council homes, but would also embrace a wider leadership role on climate change issues in the community. Furthermore, planning, economic and transport strategies would dovetail with the Action Plan; by way of example, work was being undertaken on a Cycling Strategy. Over 570 responses had been received in relation to a bio-diversity survey and mapping exercise, and there was potential for the mapping tool to be used by other district councils in Essex. The Action Plan had 37 specific action points, with various target dates for completion, and would be monitored in real time. The Plan was ambitious and there were large scale projects to complete. She thanked all those who had worked on the Plan but reserved special praise for the Climate Change Officer, Councillor Pavitt and Edward Gildea for their contributions to the Plan.

Councillor Evans commended the Action Plan. He said there would be ongoing coordination between the Portfolio Holders for Planning and Green Issues, and that the Local Plan would specifically incorporate the relevant climate change policies, via a supplementary planning document, adopted by the Council.    

In response to a question from Councillor Caton regarding the energy efficiency grants for lower income households in the district and the number that this would assist, the Chief Executive said the grants were up to £10,000 each and the Council were aiming to apply for as many as possible. He said a minimum of 90 households would be assisted by these grants but work was ongoing to secure more funding with the aim of helping 150 households. Discussions were also continuing on how best to identify households who would most benefit from these grants.

In response to a further question from Councillor Caton regarding why this had not been included in the Action Plan, the Climate Change Officer said the Plan was a live document and at the point of publication the funding application had not yet been approved. This would be incorporated into the Plan as it evolved.  

Councillor Armstrong seconded the proposal.

RESOLVED to adopt the Climate Change Action Plan and note progress on the actions therein.

To consider the Climate Change Action Plan.

Councillor Pepper presented the Climate Change Action Plan and said that they had worked hard to come up with a strong joined up framework, focusing on issues within the Council’s control and working alongside key stakeholders. 

A detailed list of actions to date had been provided which helped to feed into the core objective to reduce the carbon emissions of the district. 

She said that the actions provided bold solutions for renewable energy, sustainable transport, walking and cycling as well as enhancing, protecting, and restoring the biodiversity within UDC.

She highlighted some examples of progress to date: -

• A cycle strategy for UDC including walking and cycling infrastructure using money from S106 funding was underway.
• A grant had been obtained to retrofit houses of low-income families. 
• Awaiting confirmation of a further energy grant of just under £1m. 
• A biodiversity study had been completed to map environmentally important areas and this would identify projects for funding.

She suggested that as it was a live document that a 6 monthly progress report was produced.

The Members thanked Officers and Councillor Pepper for their hard work in producing the document.

In response to a question from Councillor Jones, the Climate Change Project Officer said that it was not possible to change all the current fleet of bin lorries to reduce their carbon footprint.  She said that there would need to be some carbon offsetting until such time that the fleet could sensibly be upgraded. 

She said in response to an additional question from Councillor LeCount that the fleet would gradually be replaced, and she hoped that the price of electric lorries or other alternatives would come down in price.

Councillor Jones asked for the report to include the carbon offsetting figures.

Councillor Sell said that he had some concerns about the report.  He said that there was only 18 months left of this administration and he did not know how much of the money could be spent in this time.  He said that there were over 30 action points and no prioritisation of what to focus on first.  He thought some actions were not quantifiable and there were no SMART targets or meaningful way to measure outcomes.

Councillor Pepper said that there were 3 areas of focus, transport, energy, and biodiversity.  She suggested that an interim report was brought back in 6 months’ time when progress could be assessed, and more detail would be available on how the money was planned to be spent.

Councillor Smith said that it had been over 2 years since the climate change emergency had been declared and some residents might wonder why it had taken so long to get the action plan in place.  He said the report needed some fine tuning and to be clearer with regards to planned achievements. 

CouncillorIsham agreed and said the focus needed to be on instant wins and actions that were in the Council’s control.  He said a highly valuable way to start would be to raise awareness and educate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38