Agenda and minutes

To receive Declarations of Interest (if any)

There were no Declarations of Interest.

To confirm the non-exempt minutes of the Improvement and Scrutiny - Climate Change, Biodiversity and Carbon Reduction meeting held on 23 May 2022.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Improvement and Scrutiny Committee – Climate Change, Biodiversity and Carbon Reduction held on 23 May 2022 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

30 minutes maximum in total for this item.  Questions may be submitted to be answered by the Scrutiny Committee or Council officers who are attending the meeting as witnesses, on any item that is within the scope of the Committee. Please see the procedure below for the submission of questions.

Question from Mary Dwyer on behalf of the Zero Waste group Belper

“We have set up a Zero Waste group in Belper and have used the grant we received from DCC to launch this group. We had a successful launch meeting and are moving forward from this to hopefully make Belper the most sustainable town in Derbyshire. Could one of the councillors from this group attend one of our meetings to inform us about the plans DCC has to support Derbyshire towns becoming more sustainable thereby reducing the factors which are contributing to Climate Change so adversely? Councillor Kinsella has already supported us a lot with this initiative so if a different councillor could meet us this would be really appreciated.”

Response

“As Chair of this Committee, I am pleased to hear that a Zero Waste group has been established in Belper and that is has received support from the elected member for Duffield and Belper South, and funding from Derbyshire County Council. 

In response to your enquiry about what schemes and programmes are in place to support Derbyshire towns becoming more sustainable, the Council’s Climate Change Team would welcome the opportunity to engage with Zero Waste Belper and explain relevant initiatives to support the work of the group.  In particular, they are in a position to outline proposals for a long-term project aimed at decarbonising homes across Derbyshire, which I trust will be of interest to you and the group members.

The Council’s Climate Change Team is led by Caroline Toplis.  She can be contacted via the following email address caroline.toplis@derbyshire.gov.uk”

Cllr Wayne Major

Caroline Toplis, Programme Manager – Climate Change introduced the report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting and provided with an update on the climate change work being undertaken with the district and borough councils through Vision Derbyshire and which enabled the Vision Derbyshire Climate Change Strategy to be delivered.  The report was supported by a presentation.

Four priority areas had been identified and expanded on: Renewable and low carbon energy; Planning; Housing retrofit; and Tree planting.  Governance structures would be built on existing arrangements, the development and implementation of the four priority areas, action plan and continued joint working were the next steps going forward.

Committee members asked a number of questions following the presentation and requested that the Action Plan be brought to a future meeting.

RESOLVED to:

1. Note the climate change work being undertaken with the district and borough councils through Vision Derbyshire; and

2. Request the draft Action Plan be brought to the November 2022 meeting and that officers provide a briefing paper to committee members about decarbonising Derbyshire’s homes and comment on the feasibility of setting up a ‘One-Stop Retrofit Shop’ to support residents wishing to take steps to retrofit their homes.

Amanda Brown, Senior Project Officer - Place introduced the report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, providing Committee with an overview of the Council’s Green Entrepreneurs Programme and an update on progress to date. This was accompanied by a presentation.

The Green Entrepreneur’s Fund (GEF), totalling £2m was implemented to help businesses and communities fund innovation and support ‘green recovery’ on the back of COVID and was due to run from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2024.  The core proposal of the GEF was made up of three different strands, which were detailed in the report and eligibility criteria, which was expanded on during the presentation.

Committee members asked a number of questions following the presentation around value for money, monitoring and feedback.  The Chair requested that future reports to Committee include analogies to aid better understanding of terms used.

RESOLVED to:

1.    Note the Green Entrepreneurs Fund arrangements and the progress

made to date; and

2.    Request officers arrange a site visit for members of the Committee to at least one business participating in the GEF Programme, before the end of 2022.

Jim Seymour, Principal Transportation Strategy Manager introduced the report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, which set out the approach being taken to address the current challenges in de-carbonising transport and developing policies that encourage sustainable modes of travel and transport.  This was accompanied by a presentation.

The County Council had set out clear strategic ambitions to tackle climate change however, a national growth agenda presented very real challenges and effective sustainable travel and transport strategies were essential.  The proposed Integrated Transport Strategy – the new local transport plan for Derbyshire was presented to the Committee outlining policy context and implications for preparation of a new local transport plan, availability of resources and issues involved in delivery and an update on current sustainable travel opportunities and projects in Derbyshire.

Committee members asked a number of questions following the presentation covering the provision of charging points, bus services and investment in cycling

RESOLVED to:

1.    Note the content of the report and accompanying presentation; and

2.    Advise officers of any further information required.

Roz Savage, Improvement and Scrutiny Officer introduced the report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, asking Committee to note the draft work programme for 2022/23 and propose possible agenda items for the remainder of the municipal year.   The programme gave focus for the Committee and promoted transparency.

RESOLVED to note the 2022/23 work programme and considers any proposed revisions.