Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Democratic Services Officer drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

There were no apologies for absence or substitutions.

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest, (as defined in Part 4.4 Appendix B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officeror a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

Nicolette Boater made a statement to the panel regarding the item on ‘Climate Annual Report & Ecological Emergency Action Plan’ a copy of which is attached to these minutes.  There were no factual questions from the Panel in relation to the statement.  Cllr Warren agreed to meet Nicolette to discuss the points she raised in further detail.

Cllr Hardman submitted a question regarding Odd Down Park and Ride. The question and answer were circulated to Panel members in advance of the meeting and are attached as an appendix to these minutes. 

The Panel confirmed the minutes of the previous meeting as a true record and they were duly signed by the Chair.

The report is attached. There will be a presentation at the meeting.

Cllr Warren, Cabinet Member for Climate and Sustainable Travel, introduced the item and drew attention to the progress and achievements over the last year as detailed in the Climate Emergency Annual Report and the new Ecological Emergency Action Plan.

Jane Wildblood, Strategic Manager: Climate & Environmental Sustainability, gave a presentation on the Climate Emergency Annual Report which covered the following:

·  Climate Dashboard 2022

·  Climate Action: Progress in Buildings

·  Climate Action: Progress in Transport

·  Climate Action: Progress in Renewable Energy

·  A Focus on Achievements

·  Community Engagement Highlights

·  Route Map Projected Milestones 2023-2024

·  2023-24 Key Climate Actions

·  Renewable Energy Focus:

·  Acceleration of renewable energy delivery

·  Climate Action & achieving net zero carbon 2030: Our asks of central government

Panel members commented and asked questions as follows (Officer or Cabinet Member response shown in italics):

Cllr Crossley asked the following questions:

(1)  How could Bath & North East Somerset Council (B&NES) encourage the downward trend in private car journeys which had started during the Covid pandemic?  This was an ongoing challenge for both the Government and local authorities as car journeys had started to return to pre-pandemic levels.  B&NES was looking at investing in infrastructure as well as other options such as converting Park and Ride sites into multi modal interchanges and workplace parking levies.

(2)  Was more information available on the Government’s timescale for requiring Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) to have Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) C rating and minimum energy efficiency standard (MEES) requirements EPC D rating.  Was there a risk that landlords would not make the required improvements? The target date was this year and the MEES requirement would apply to all types of other buildings being let.  There would be no public money available for private landlords to make improvements for HMOs although funding and grants would be available for social housing.  It would be a national standard that landlords would be expected to comply with before renting out property.  Further information on the detail would be made available.

Cllr Hirst stated that he welcomed the report and the progress made since the last annual update and asked the following questions:

(1)  How soon could the Park and Ride sites be redeveloped into multi modal transport interchanges?  Council officers were currently undertaking feasibility work and speaking to national grid operators.  There were issues relating to the connection of solar rays to the grid which may require a battery storage solution.  The timescale would probably be a couple of years rather than months due to the complexity of the work.

(2)  How could residents be persuaded to opt for greener carbon negative heating systems and move away from the use of fossil fuels?  There was practical advice on the B&NES website, but it was a challenge to encourage people to switch due to the cost and disruption of installing alternative heating systems.  B&NES was working with the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) to develop the Retrofit Accelerator which would provide an easily accessible support service  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

The Cabinet Member will update the Panel on any relevant issues. Panel members may ask questions on the update provided.

There was no Cabinet Member update.

This report presents the latest workplan for the Panel. Any suggestions for further items or amendments to the current programme will be logged and scheduled in consultation with the Panel’s Chair and supporting senior officers.

The Panel noted the future workplan.