Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Chair drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

Councillor Anna Box sent apologies.

Councillor Michael Auton sent apologies and was substituted by Councillor Ian Halsall.

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.

There were none.

There was none.

There were none.

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

Supporting information on this item will follow.

The Chair invited Councillor Oli Henman - Cabinet Project Lead for Climate Emergency and Sustainable Travel and Louise Morris – Head of Green Transformation to introduce the presentation (presentation slides are attached to these minutes) which covered:

·  Climate Strategy Update

·  Climate Emergency Action Plan and Ecological Emergency Action Plan

·  Four priorities for climate, with clear targets and supporting actions

·  Three policy priorities for Nature, together with the Ecological Emergency Action Plan

·  Climate Progress Report 2023

·  Key Challenges

Panel members raised the following issues and asked the following questions:

Councillor Heijltjes referred to the aim of reducing car miles driven by 25% by 2023 and asked if this target will this be increased to 40% to be aligned with WECAs latest target to reduce car miles driven. The Cabinet Project Lead explained that the issue to concentrate on is how we deliver 25% and then look at how we can be more ambitious.

The Chair suggested that the Panel could receive a report to a future meeting on Journey to Net Zero – this would give more information on transport targets.

Councillor David asked about the levels of operational staff in terms of neighbourhood cleansing teams and parks teams that are available to help support community initiatives such as wildflower planting. The officer stated that colleagues across the Council do a good job in bringing in external funding for projects. She explained that there had been a cultural shift in the Council towards climate and nature. She stressed the importance of work and communication with communities.

Councillor Wait asked how the team has grown over the last 4 years. The officer explained that the Green Transformation Team has been in place for the last year. There are 5 full time equivalents working in climate. Some funding is external for specific projects. Councillor David stated that it would be useful to have an understanding of staffing levels in nature and climate to make sure there is no further attrition. Councillor Wait explained that the Panel would receive details on the budget at their November meeting. The Cabinet Project Lead stated that it is a dynamic and effective team and they are recruiting currently.

Councillor Heijltjes stated that many climate and nature issues effect our streets, she asked if there is a plan to adopt a kerbside strategy. The Cabinet Project Lead stated that this had been raised and makes sense for us to incorporate as part of forward planning.

Councillor David asked about support for local food growing. The officer stated that she had no definitive answer at present but that the team are looking into it.

The Cabinet Project Lead stated that a future item for the Panel could be community engagement on climate and nature. The Chair stated that there were forums across Northeast Somerset and Parish and Town Councils. Councillor Heijltjes added that there is Bath Area Forum and also it would be useful to include schools. The officer stated that there was a successful conference with young people  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The report and presentation slides are attached.

The Chair invited Andy Dunn – Team Manager Parking Services – to introduce the report and presentation which covered the following:

·  Paying for parking

·  Emission based charges – context

·  How does emission-based charging work?

·  Next steps

Panel members raised the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor Leach asked about if the main drive for this was road safety or public health. The officer explained that the emphasis is pedestrian safety (regarding lung and heart conditions).

Councillor Player asked if this was introduced as part of the Clean Air Zone (CAZ). The officer explained that they are separate but complimentary schemes that address different types of air pollution.

Councillor Halsall asked how confusion and frustration of users will be addressed. He stated that people may not know what their emissions are. He also asked if there would be sufficient signage in all areas. The officer explained that residents did not need to know their emissions – it is worked out based on their number plate. He add that the team were engaging with organisations such as Bath BID and Visit Bath to get the message out to people and hopefully address people’s concerns.

Councillor Wait asked if Bath is the first place to introduce emissions based charging, the officer explained that it was the first to use the machine permit as far as he knew.

Councillor Heijltjes stated that she welcomed the scheme. She asked about foreign visitors paying the highest charge and how this must be made clear to them.  She stressed that communications with people around this are very important as is information about Park and Ride services.

Councillor David stated that she was glad to see that being able to pay with cash was being retained and that people also would have the option to buy a season ticket. She stated that she had concerns regarding the cumulative impact on low income households across the authority and hoped that people would be supported with targeted schemes. She suggested that the Panel could consider the impacts. The officer responded that poor air quality affects everyone. He stated that residents are able to identify any concerns as part of the consultation. He stated that there is not discount for residents as part of this scheme and that the focus is targeting the more polluting vehicles.

Councillor Leach stated that he was concerned about the impact on foreign visitors. He asked about the rationale of the maximum payment and asked about reductions for electric vehicles. The officer stated that the problem was access to data. He further explained that any vehicles add to road congestion and the focus would be to direct visitors to Park and Ride sites.

Councillor Leach suggested that enforcement officers could see if a visitor declared an electric vehicle but did not drive one. The officer stated that this could be considered.

Councillor Beaumont asked if the scheme would be spread out to north east somerset once it is established in Bath. The officer stated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

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 their future workplan was currently being worked on and noted the following suggestions for future items:

·  Update on Journey to Net Zero

·  Engagement on Climate Emergency plans

·  Local food growing

·  Rivers/state of rivers