Agenda item

Purpose of Report

To inform and update members of the Executive on the Council’s progress to address the challenge of climate change and to seek approval of climate change projects for delivery in 2021/22.

Decision

That the Executive:

(1)          Agrees to continue to improve the Council’s Environmental Management System, implementing the recommendations from the iiE audit and prepare for accreditation by Investment in the Environment in Summer 2021.

(2)          Approves the draft Decarbonisation Plan for internal and external consultation prior to reporting back to Executive with a final draft Plan in Summer 2021.

(3)          Approves to provide necessary resources to set up and deliver the Climate Assembly, including officer time and a revenue budget of £10,000, in the absence of external grant, with funding to be approved from the Vision 2025 earmarked reserve.

(4)          Agrees for the Climate Change Manager to continue to support the Lincoln Climate Commission to deliver ‘Lincoln 2030 - A Strategy for consultation’ within the proposed timeframe.

(5)          Approves officers to proceed with preparing a Green Homes Grant delivery plan and delegates acceptance of the subsequent allocation and grant conditions to the Strategic Director of Major Developments and the Chief Finance Officer, with a further report to the Executive setting out the detailed financial implications of the scheme.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

None.

Reason for Decision

In January 2020 the Council appointed a Climate Change Manager to develop, implement, co-ordinate and champion the Council’s policies, strategies and action plans to adapt to the impact of climate change and reduce Lincoln’s carbon footprint. Since this appointment the Council had achieved the following:

·         establishment of a new City Council Environmental Management System and accreditation from an independent body;

·         approval of a new Environmental Policy and Environmental Policy Statement for the Lincoln Christmas Market;

·         successfully securing £72 000 to install new ‘fast’ electric vehicle charge points for use by residents, without access to off road parking, in city centre locations due to be completed by the end of March 2021;

·         preparation of the City Council’s Single Use Plastic Audit and Action Plan for 2020;

·         reduction of the Council’s Carbon Dioxide emissions by 14% since the 2018/19 baseline year;

·         supporting the Lincoln Climate Commission to prepare the ‘Lincoln Roadmap to Zero Carbon’ setting out climate projections and emission pathways to achieving net zero Carbon by 2030;

·         supporting Lincolnshire County Council to submit the Road to Zero programme of projects as            part of the Lincoln Towns Fund bid;

·         working with Lincolnshire County Council to prepare and inform the Lincoln Cycling and Walking Network Plans and the Lincoln Transport Strategy;

·         applying the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund to secure skills funding to prepare feasibility studies to decarbonise three Council buildings, awaiting outcome of the decision;

·         commencing work with the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan Team to review and consider the opportunities for preparing a carbon neutral Local Plan;

·         ensuring that the Housing Investment Team recycled and reused, wherever possible, building materials to significantly reduce waste.

Further details were outlined in the report in relation to the following specific elements of the challenges facing the authority in respect of climate change:

·         the City Council’s Environmental Management System;

·         the Lincoln Climate Assembly;

·         Lincoln 2030 – a Climate Strategy and Action Plan for consultation;

·         Green Homes Grant, Local Authority Delivery, Phase 2.

Councillor Bob Bushell commended the report and said that it spoke for itself in terms of the progress that had been made on this important agenda, representing an excellent achievement for the Council. He put on record his congratulations to everyone involved in achieving the silver award and welcomed a wider representation on the Lincoln Climate Assembly.

Councillor Christopher Burke echoed these sentiments and said that Kate Bell in her new role as Climate Change Manager had done a brilliant job, together with Councillor Bushell as Portfolio Holder for Remarkable Place who had showed real leadership. He referred to the Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee and reported that the City Council was leading the way on climate change, with other district authorities in the county working positively in partnership.

Councillor Neil Murray highlighted that the Government had introduced Local Authority Delivery Schemes before and take up had been disappointingly low. It was noted that officers shared the same concerns but that improvements to the scheme had been made. The dynamic purchasing system introduced by the Midlands Energy Hub, for example, had made a significant difference. Part of the Council’s delivery plan would be to identify a minimum of 25 properties that could benefit from the scheme, with the team having had quite a lot of experience and success with other similar schemes, such as the Warm Homes Fund. In addition to the Local Authority Delivery Scheme, other funding mechanisms could potentially be used in addition to improve those properties identified.