Agenda item

Purpose: to present the annual progress report on the Environment Strategy covering the second year of the delivery of the Strategy from July 2021 to July 2022.

Resolved that Executive note the Annual Progress Report on the Environment Strategy (as included in Appendix A) which is published on the Council’s website.

This decision is not subject to call in as:

·      Report is to note only

therefore it will be implemented immediately.

Councillor Steve Ardagh-Walter introduced the Environment Strategy Annual Progress Report (Agenda Item 6), which covered the second year of the delivery of the Strategy from July 2021 to July 2022.

Councillor Ardagh-Walter highlighted page 43 of the agenda pack, and in particular the Council’s progress to carbon neutrality.

Councillor Ardagh-Walter further emphasised the Council’s response to feedback received from the Local Plan Review Regulation 18 where there had emerged a strong theme around carbon emissions within buildings and improving energy efficiency. Councillor Ardagh-Walter commented that this had been noted and the Council had responded by undertaking work with consultants to review policies within the draft Local Plan Review relating to energy efficiency and carbon emissions within new and existing buildings.

Councillor Dominic Boeck praised the paper noting that work had started prior to the period covered by the report. Councillor Ardagh-Walter agreed acknowledging that the Council had not started from zero in 2019 and thanking Officers for all of the work that was done prior to that date.

Councillor Lynne Doherty noted that West Berkshire was the seventh local authority in the country in relation to being Electric Vehicle (EV), ready. Councillor Doherty praised the report and drew particular attention to page 32 and the colourful infographic, suggesting that each year the report should compare and contrast the progress made with the previous years graphic.

Councillor Richard Somner thanked Officers for their work but noted that there was still work to do. He drew attention to page 40 of the Agenda Pack which highlighted the breadth of engagement that the Council had with residents. Councillor Somner hoped that residents would take the time to read the report, and recognise that the Council had listened and was acting.

Councillor Adrian Abbs referred to a 2019 motion to Council which had declared a unanimous climate emergency, and led to the creation of a Strategic Plan to deliver a carbon neutral West Berkshire by 2030. Councillor Abbs drew attention to section 1.2 of the report which he suggested referred to a West Berkshire Council target rather than a West Berkshire target. 

Councillor Abbs also commented that he was worried in relation to sewage numbers, commenting that the figures did not signify a drop.

Councillor Ardagh–Walter responded that he did not believe that a carbon neutral district was feasible by 2030, and clarified that there had always been two parts to the Strategy; namely the carbon neutrality of the Council and then the drive to improve the District.

Councillor Tony Vickers commented that he was pleased to see the LRIE mentioned and was fully in support of the vision for a zero carbon development. Councillor Vickers queried the current status of the Car Club.

Councillor Ardagh-Walter responded that he was eager to see the Car Club progress and there had been a delay due to a contractual issue, but that EVs had already been provided by Enterprise and were available in central Newbury.

Councillor Carolyne Culver congratulated Members of the Environment Advisory Group, Officers and people across the district who were all working so hard to cut carbon emissions.

Councillor Culver queried whether more could be done to reach out to local community groups that were not connected with parish councils. 

Councillor Culver further queried when she would receive a formal response to the COP26 in Glasgow Motion raised at Council on 18 January 2022.

Councillor Culver lastly congratulated Officers on the food waste collection initiative, but also requested that feedback be passed on to the contractors that a number of residents in her ward had not received their bins on time.

Councillor Ardagh-Walter agreed to discuss with Officers methods for engaging and reaching more groups.

Councillor Ardagh-Walter agreed to remind Officers in relation to a response to the motion and acknowledged that there had been delays in responding in the past.

Councillor Ardagh-Walter further acknowledged that there had been some issues in delivering the food waste bins but commented that he had assurances that all houses would be in receipt by the following day. He further commented that it was important to engage as many residents as possible in the initiative and saw it as an opportunity to significantly improve the carbon emission numbers.

Councillor Steve Masters thanked Officers for the report and queried, other than changing supplier, what other projects the Council had received a significant return on.    

Councillor Ardagh-Walter responded that a large quantity of preparatory work had been undertaken which would not result in significant reductions in numbers but would provide a strong baseline to ensure that future work was verifiable and correct. He reported that the Council was starting to roll out energy efficient infrastructure in schools and that progress would be gradual, slow and cumulative, but that he was confident that the target of 2030 would be reached.

RESOLVED that:  Executive note the Annual Progress Report on the Environment Strategy (as included in Appendix A), which is published on the Council’s website.

Other options considered:

·       There is a commitment to report on an annual basis on progress delivering the Environment Strategy. The pattern of reporting is to look at achievements and actions from July one year through to the end of June the following year. This aligns with the approval of the Environment Strategy in July 2020. Within this the actual carbon footprint data is captured for each financial year with the most relevant period being reported in the Annual Progress Report. The District’s data which comes from BEIS is based on a calendar year and, again, the most up to date published position is included in the APR. It is an option to look at different approaches to the timing of reporting but there seems to be some logic in having a baseline that corresponds to the initial approval of the Environment Strategy.

·       It is not an option not to report on such an important area as carbon reduction. The Council is seeking to always improve on how it reports information. In line with this continuous improvement, a project to assess the carbon impacts of each relevant action or project in the Delivery Plan has been progressed this year. Further work needs to be done on how this can be incorporated into the presentation of results and a forecast of impacts going forward. Each year as our understanding of impacts and data improves we will endeavour to improve the quality and accuracy of our reporting.