Agenda item

Councillor Oli Henman (Cabinet Project Lead for Climate Emergency and Sustainable Travel) gave a presentation which covered the following:

·  Clear Ambition for Climate and Nature

·  First Joint Annual Progress Report

·  Where are we now: BANES Council

·  Highlights: Climate

·  Highlights: Nature

·  Highlights: Place-based Green Infrastructure

·  Next Steps

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

Councillor Johnson asked about decarbonising Council operations and how much of the electricity decrease was a result of direct changes made by the Council and how much was down to the national picture. The Cabinet Project Lead stated that he understood it was a mixture of both. He stated that he would check this and see if it is possible in the future to separate these statistics.

Councillor Heijltjes asked about timescales and deadlines that were shown in the original action plan. She asked about progress on the Ecological Action Plan and asked about risk assessments in terms of not achieving core priorities. The Cabinet Project Lead explained that the report shows the ambition for 2030. He said that it was a challenging picture and that there had not been the level of investment that was desired. A lot depends on the national picture. He added that the Annex show the original aims and progress.

Councillor Box ask the following questions, the Cabinet Project Lead answers are shown in italics:

·  Can public health be shown in terms of air quality. Councillor Box requested a written response regarding how many potential lives have been saved by clean air strategies. She commended the intervention. The Cabinet Project Lead agreed that this was a good idea and explained that the map on the website shows each air quality monitor. He agreed that this is linked with public health.

·  Suggestion of practical support for farmers and landowners with regard to biodiversity in hedgerows. Maybe a campaign/training. The Cabinet Project Lead agreed with this approach.

·  The school transport fleet is very old, this could be de carbonised. The Cabinet Project Lead agreed to take this comment back.

Councillor David ask the following questions, the Cabinet Project Lead answers are shown in italics:

·  It is good to see information on the ecological quality of parks and green spaces, a number of interventions have benefited from funding. The funding needs to be sustained. The Cabinet Project Lead agreed that community partnerships are a good way to give people ownership. We need to build on those.

·  The Corporate landlord model offers opportunities to improve nature – hopefully this includes parks and green spaces. This point will be taken back.

·  It is good to see a level of detail regarding rivers and glad to see the issue of sunken boats being gradually addressed. Plea to allow continued funding for this in the budget process. There are different responsibilities regarding rivers – the process with sunken boats has begun, there are currently 6 sunken boats in Bath.

Councillor Collins ask the following questions, the Cabinet Project Lead answers are shown in italics:

·  Green Open Homes – brilliant initiative.

·  Regarding transport, it is an important target to get emissions down. Cycling and walking do not seem to be having a big impact. Is there a communication strategy regarding transport? There is a lot of disinformation. It is useful for Councillors to know what they can do to move the dial. The Cabinet Project Lead acknowledged that it is a challenging area, a big shift is needed to make changes. 20% of the Council fleet is electric. Part of the picture is the Liveable Neighbourhood plans – this may mean encouraging people not to drive past a school.

Councillor Hounsell asked about the second phase of ‘Solar Together. He explained a blockage in the system regarding getting payment to people for energy sent to the grid. He suggested a guidance leaflet to break down the jargon. The Cabinet Project Lead stated that this could be looked in to.

Councillor Heijltjes stated that transport made up 32% of emissions and the target is a 25% reduction in car journeys. She asked for data to be included and for background information to be included/signposted. She highlighted that only 1 out of the 18 new actions for 2024/25 are for transport while road transport was such a large cause of emissions. She added that there must be safe infrastructure for people to make the change to cycling. The Cabinet Project Lead stated that reducing car use is the core aim which requires a cultural shift. Education and communication are key as is the Liveable Neighbourhood scheme. He stated that there are plans for cycle routes but a lot depends on funding.

Councillor Heijltjes stated that she was keen to see the active travel links reinstated as part of the Somer Valley Links project. Councillor Wait agreed.

Councillor Johnson suggested training to encourage behavioural change for Council fleet drivers regarding reducing fuel use. The Cabinet Project Lead took this idea on board. He explained that in 2017, 40 vehicles were brought back in house which has affected the figures.

Councillor Collins stated that it is important to have good communication around why we are changing infrastructure.

Councillor Heijltjes asked how the reduction in emissions compared with the national picture. The Cabinet Project Lead explained that the statistics are from national sources and the team would check on this.

Councillor Heijltjes asked about the possibility of using electric cargo bikes for some roles such as road inspection teams. The Cabinet Project Lead agreed that this would be a good idea and also explained that E cargo bikes are being used/tested for the general public in his ward as part of the WECA e-bike and e-scooter trials currently.

Councillor Wait stated that in his surgeries there were often complaints about plants growing on pavements etc. – we need to explain that we do not use poison now but heat warming devices. We need to take people with us. The Cabinet Member Lead agreed and explained that the use of pesticides was stopped in 2021 and manual removal is now used which takes longer.

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Project Lead and the officer.