Agenda item

The Director of Estates and Building Services submits a report presenting a draft three-year strategy for addressing the Climate Emergency declared in February 2019, along with a draft of the first iteration of a three-year action plan. 

 

The Commission is recommended to:

 

a)    Consider and comment on the drafts of Leicester’s Climate Emergency Strategy 2020 – 2023 (Appendix 1) and Leicester City Council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan 2020 – 2023 Version 1 (Appendix 2) to inform the completion of their development prior to their formal implementation through an Executive Decision by the Deputy City Mayor for Environment and Transportation;

 

b)    Note the extensive consultation and engagement undertaken in preparing the Strategy and the Plan, and the resulting mandate for an ambitious response to the Climate Emergency;

 

c)    Note the intention to actively encourage and support organisations in the city to join with the Council in taking action, including developing their own action plans; and

 

d)    Note the commitment made in the strategy to monitoring and publicly reporting on progress.

The Director of Estates and Building Services submitted a report presenting a draft three-year strategy for addressing the Climate Emergency declared in February 2019, along with the first draft of a three-year action plan.

 

Councillor Clarke, Deputy City Mayor – Environment and Transportation, introduced the report, thanking all involved for developing the strategy to this point.  These included:

 

·           An Expert Commission, formed during the consultation period, which would continue to provide support in the development of the strategy going forward;

·           The Climate Assembly, comprising 53 members of the public;

·           A Young People’s Climate Assembly had been formed;

·           Self-led groups also had participated, including several schools and public and private bodies and organisations;

·           The Council’s Economic Development, Transport & Tourism Scrutiny Commission; and

·           Council officers.

 

The Change Manager (Climate Emergency) explained that extensive consultation had been undertaken on the strategy and action plan through a Climate Emergency Conversation.  This had provided a strong mandate from people in the city to take forward the proposals.

 

It was noted that there was an ambition for the city to be carbon-neutral by 2030, ahead of the government target of 2050.  This would be addressed through six themes, as set out in the report, which were based on the key sources of greenhouse gas emissions generated by the city and Council, and areas for adaptation to climate change.  The strategy acknowledged that the Council did not have the powers and responsibilities to address all of these things on its own, but needed to work in partnership with others.

 

The Committee welcomed the boldness of the report and the clear proposals that would enable the city to set an example to others.  The involvement of the community and other groups in the preparation of the strategy and action plan also was warmly welcomed.

 

Members then made the following comments:

 

o    Would the water environment workshops for schools be delivered with a single type of school, or age group?  How would other schools be encouraged and enabled to benefit from these workshops?

 

Response from the Change Manager (Climate Emergency):

This information could be provided as the programme developed.

 

Response from Councillor Clarke:

The Council had the most successful eco schools programme in the country, working with over 100 schools of a wide range of types to promote a green school ethos.  The Council also had employed a dedicated officer for this work.

 

o    The suggestion of holding an international Healthy Cities Summit was welcomed, but it was questioned how people could be encouraged locally to engage in making Leicester a healthy city.  The city had a very diverse population, with a wide range of health challenges.

 

Response from Councillor Clarke:

Preparations for a Healthy Cities Summit had been well advanced before the restrictions imposed in response to the current Covid-19 pandemic were introduced.  As a result of these restrictions, the Summit had had to be postponed.

 

o    The proposal to create “touchdown spaces”, as part of the move by the Council towards agile working, needed to be reflected in the Council’s recruitment processes.  How would possibly not having regular team contact affect people’s health and wellbeing, particularly their mental health?  It was important not to miss warning signs about these.

 

Response from the Change Manager (Climate Emergency):

Officers would be identifying locations for “touchdown spaces” and then making staff aware of their existence.

 

The Council was very aware of the mental health aspects of working remotely and would be encouraging activities such as regular meetings, including more socially based meetings, to help offset these.

 

o    Further information was requested on the risk of future legal challenge to actions by the Council that were perceived to be incompatible with reaching the ambition to be carbon neural by 2030.

 

Response from the Change Manager (Climate Emergency):

Advice from the Council’s Legal officers was that under current law the Council, or other public body, could be challenged if such an ambition was set but a credible plan was not in place and/or actions were taken that would prevent the ambition being realised.

 

o    One difficulty with asking people to change their travel choices was that industries no longer were concentrated in a particular geographical area and public transport was not always available for the routes people needed to travel.  Therefore, if members of a family worked in different areas, it could be difficult for them get to work by any means other than cars.

 

Response from the Change Manager (Climate Emergency):

It was recognised that people could be encouraged, but they made their own lifestyle choices based on a range of factors, which included perceptions of different modes of transport.  Information on what was preferable and/or possible needed to be positive, in order to attract people to particular modes of transport.

 

o    How would income from a workplace parking levy be used to influence the strategy?

 

Response from Councillor Clarke:

A range of stakeholders had been consulted about the possibility of introducing a workplace parking levy in order to develop a feasibility assessment, before a detailed plan was developed for wider consultation. Potential income levels therefore were not known yet.

 

o    It was not appropriate to impose a workplace parking levy in the city when Councillors were offered, and used, free parking in the city centre.  This also encouraged car use at a time when the Council should be leading by example.

 

o    What plans were there to encourage reductions in car use in the future, taking in to account it often was cheaper to travel by car than public transport?

 

Response from Councillor Clarke:

It was recognised that there were issues around the cost of public transport, but the opportunity had been taken during the Covid-19 pandemic to accelerate and enhance work being undertaken with transport operators, for example in areas such as joint ticketing.  If a workplace parking levy was introduced, income from this could be available for investment in promoting other forms of transport.

 

o    The pop-up cycle lanes in the city were welcome, having made cycling easier and safer.  What lessons had been learned from these?

 

Response from Councillor Clarke:

The flexibility of pop-up cycle lanes had enabled work to be done with the public to refine their siting and operation.  It now was hoped to make some of those lanes permanent, but where they had not worked so well it enabled thought to be given to where different transport modes should be given more priority.

 

o    The Council’s fleet of vehicles ran regularly through the city and so should be converted to being powered electrically.

 

o    It would be welcome if opportunities for green jobs could be pursued.

 

Response from Councillor Clarke:

Those preparing the strategy and action plan had been very mindful of green jobs.  Work needed to be done with a range of partners to be able to develop green jobs and central government funding was needed to facilitate their development.

 

o    New build housing that had been built to address climate change was welcomed.  However, one of the worst types of housing in terms of pollution was older style council housing.  This was being considered by the Housing Scrutiny Commission, and a programme of boiler replacement in the Council’s housing stock was underway, but more information was needed on other measures that could be taken to improve emissions, particularly in pre-war properties.

 

o    At the same time as this strategy and action plan were being prepared, the Council was proposing through its Draft Local Plan to concrete over green spaces and cut down trees, some of which had Tree Preservation Orders on them.

 

Response from Councillor Clarke:

Unfortunately, the Council was restricted by national policy in relation to the Local Plan.  The forthcoming White Paper “Planning for the Future” was likely to result in a further loss of control by planning authorities over development and ability to address climate change.

 

o    Council buildings often had the lights left on when empty.

 

o    Although it was being said that the consultation on the strategy and action plan was very wide-ranging, only just under 400 responses were received to the online consultation.

 

o    There was concern that the Council was not in a position to lead by example on climate change, due to its poor record to date on addressing these issues.

 

Response from Councillor Clarke:

The Council’s record on beating its previous targets to address climate change showed that it was equipped to deliver the actions identified to meet the stringent targets and ambitions set.

 

AGREED:

1)    That the drafts of the Leicester Climate Emergency Strategy 2020 – 2023 and Leicester City Council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan 2020 – 2023 be endorsed;

 

2)    That the Director of Estates and Building Services be asked to take account of the comments recorded above in developing Leicester City Council’s Climate Emergency Strategy 2020 – 2023 and Climate Emergency Action Plan 2020 – 2023;

 

3)    That the work done by all involved in the preparation of the documents listed in 1) above be noted and welcomed, particularly in relation to the extensive consultation undertaken and the resulting mandate for an ambitious response to the Climate Emergency;

 

4)    That the Director of Estates and Building Services be asked to submit a report on the further development of the Leicester Climate Emergency Strategy 2020 – 2023 and Leicester City Council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan 2020 – 2023 at an appropriate time;

 

5)    That the report referred to under 2) above include information on how it is planned to progress the development of green jobs;

 

6)    That the intention to actively encourage and support organisations in the city to join with the Council in taking action, including developing their own action plans be noted and endorsed; and

 

7)    That the commitment made in the Leicester Climate Emergency Strategy 2020 – 2023 to monitoring and publicly reporting on progress be welcomed and endorsed.