Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Andy McGuinness, Adam Mitchell, Ellie Plater, and Baroness Taylor of Stevenage.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Monday 12 February 2024.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Environment & Economy Select Committee held on 12 February 2024 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

As previously agreed by the Committee, when it arranged its work programme for the year, it was decided that there would be two sessions on Climate Change. This session is the second of the two sessions. Officers have prepared a PowerPoint presentation capturing progress on the areas Members provided some challenge on when the Committee considered Climate Change at its meeting on 1 November 2023. Members are invited to comment on the update.

The Chair introduced the Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) Zayd Al-Jawad, Assistant Director (Direct Services) Steve Dupoy, Head of Climate Action Fabian Oyarzun, Climate Change Programme Lead Officer Jennifer Bratchell, and the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Performance Councillor Simon Speller.

The Head of Climate Action presented an update to the Committee. He advised that the Stevenage Climate Action Plan Tracker was officially launched on 27 February 2024 and the launch was supported by communications via the Councils communications channels including a press release issued to The Comet and they have included it on their website.

The Climate Action Plan Tracker had been produced through a partnership with Kausal, and created an interactive, web-based portal that highlighted the projects being undertaken by the council to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve climate change resilience, and promote environmental stewardship and sustainability. The tracker could be viewed by everyone in an easy-to-understand format, detailing data in charts, figures, and diagrams and could be accessed at https://climate.stevenage.gov.uk/.

The Action Plan contained relevant climate actions Stevenage Borough Council was undertaking, or planned to undertake, broken down into the following eight strategic themes:

o   Businesses

o   Homes

o   Transport

o   Construction and Regeneration

o   Energy and Water

o   People and Awareness

o   Waste and Recycling

o   Biodiversity

There were 46 actions included across the 8 strategic themes and each action included multiple tasks.

The Head of Climate Action advised that the Climate Action Plan website was the priority consultation site in terms of climate action for stakeholders. The website had been presented to voluntary groups for feedback and would be promoted through official SBC Communication channels, the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector and through the work of the Council’s Communities and Neighbourhoods team.

A calendar had been collated of national and international sustainability key dates which would be linked to the Councils actions to share and promote proper communications in this regard.

The Head of Climate Action advised that the Climate Change Community Fund had been created to allow for the development of community-led environmental projects with social benefits. The aim of the Climate Change Community Fund was to foster and improve a sense of community around climate focused projects to increase community engagement surrounding the topic of climate change and deliver both environmental and social benefits.

The CCCF is funded through the Community Infrastructure Levy and had supported five projects that were detailed in the report. There was £7,500 annually allocated to each ward. The funded projects supported climate action through a variety of different aspects which included avoiding waste, improving air quality, improving soil health and biodiversity, producing local food, creating habitats for wildlife and supported the physical and mental wellbeing of residents.

A Member asked a question relating to sustainability of the funding of the Climate Change Community Fund. The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) advised that the funding was coming from the Community Infrastructure Levy and was ringfenced from developer contributions. There was funding committed for the next  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To consider any Part 1 business accepted by the Chair as urgent.

There was none.

To consider the following motions –

1.  That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraphs1 – 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act as amended by Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

2.  That Members consider the reasons for the following reports being in Part II and determine whether or not maintaining the exemption from disclosure of the information contained therein outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

Not required.

To consider any Part II business accepted by the Chair as urgent.

There was none.