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Agenda and minutes

Venue: County Hall, Matlock, DE4 3AG

Contact: Juliette Normington  Email: Juliette.Normington@derbyshire.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

31/22

Declarations of Interest

To receive Declarations of Interest (if any)

Minutes:

There were no Declarations of Interest.

32/22

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 73 KB

To confirm the non-exempt minutes of the Improvement and Scrutiny - Climate Change, Biodiversity and Carbon Reduction meeting held on 25 July 2022.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Improvement and Scrutiny Committee – Climate Change, Biodiversity and Carbon Reduction held on 25 July 2022 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

33/22

Public Questions pdf icon PDF 61 KB

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.

Minutes:

There were no public questions.

34/22

Progress Report for Property De-carbonisation pdf icon PDF 380 KB

Minutes:

David Beard, Head of Projects introduced the report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting, and presented progress on the plans to decarbonise the Council’s waste and achieve Net Zero by 2032 or sooner.  The report was accompanied by a presentation which detailed the strategic approach around corporate property and investment in a sustainable future.

 

Particular emphasis was given on how associated carbon emissions needed to be reduced and residual energy be offset by appropriate measures, including generating energy from renewables.  An example of this was solar farms and a feasibility review of 15 sites for potential development as solar farms had been undertaken.  A site at Williamthorpe  offered the first potential development opportunity and a bid for £3.75m of capital funding had been submitted.  A report would be submitted for Council consideration and potential approval.

 

A number of questions were asked by Committee members around asset disposal, efficiency and timescales, with a particular request to see more ambition in the targets for the reduction of emissions.

 

RESOLVED to:

 

1.    Endorse the proposals outlined in the report;

 

2.    Support the proposed development of a solar farm to offset residual energy use, subject to approval of the proposed business case;

 

3.    Support the proposal to develop a system for active energy management; and

 

4.    To show more ambitious targets for carbon emissions in future progress reports.

35/22

Climate Change Risks, Resilience and Adaptation pdf icon PDF 101 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Caroline Toplis, Programme Manager – Climate Change introduced the report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting and provided an update on the work being undertaken by the Council to understand the climate change risks facing the Council and the services it provided, as well as to understand how the Council needed to adapt and build resilience to these risks.  The report was accompanied by a presentation.

 

The Derbyshire Climate Change Adaptation Plan developed in 2013 outlined the Council’s strategy to adapt to future climate change and build resilience within its service delivery.  There was a need to assess the impacts of climate change at both a local and global level which would intensify over the coming decades.  A collaborative approach would accelerate action in areas where cross-border working was needed to build county-wide and regional resilience, whilst allowing individual authorities to still hold and manage their own Council and service-level risk assessments and action plans.

 

RESOLVED to note the work being undertaken by the Council to understand the climate change risks facing the Council and the services it provided, as well as to understand how the Council needed to adapt and build resilience to these risks.

36/22

Derbyshire Road Verges Project pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Minutes:

Susan White, Project Officer introduced the report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting and provided feedback on the Committee’s working group meeting held on 30 August 2022 to consider the draft delivery plans for the Council’s Road Verges Biodiversity Project (the Project), the draft Project Information Document and a draft Project Delivery Plan in advance of these being considered for approval by relevant Cabinet Members.

 

At an earlier meeting, the Committee agreed to form a working group to consider the Project in more detail, together with a draft Project Information Document and a draft Project Delivery Plan.  The Working Group was supportive of the Project’s scope and approach and gave useful feedback. 

 

Committee members asked a number of questions.  There was also discussion around the benefits of verges, standardisation around the county and consultation needs.  It was agreed that further information would be brought to a future meeting.

 

RESOLVED to:

 

1.    Acknowledge the feedback from the Improvement and Scrutiny Committee – Climate Change, Biodiversity and Carbon Reduction Working Group that met on the 30 August 2022; and

 

2.    Endorse the working group feedback be used to inform the Project Information Document and a Project Delivery Plan in advance of their  approval by Cabinet Members.

37/22

Climate Change Performance Reporting - 2022-2023 Q1 pdf icon PDF 248 KB

Minutes:

Caroline Toplis, Programme Manager – Climate Change introduced the report, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting and presented the Climate Change Programme Dashboard for Quarter 1 2022-2023.  It provided details on performance against delivery of the Council’s Climate Change Strategy: Achieving Net Zero (2021-2025) (the ‘Strategy’).  The report also provided assurance to the Committee on the role of the Climate Change and Environment Programme Board (CCEPB) in monitoring performance, and to assist the Committee in fulfilling its role of providing oversight and undertaking scrutiny of the climate change programme’s governance procedures and processes.  The report was supported by a presentation.

 

A number of questions were asked by committee members and the Chairman recognised that small incremental progress was being made.

 

RESOLVED to note the content of the Climate Change Programme Dashboard.

38/22

Work Programme 2022-23 pdf icon PDF 83 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Wayne Major, Chairman of the Committee 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.

 

An updated Programme was circulated to committee members outlining necessary amendments.

 

RESOLVED to note the 2022/23 work programme and accept the required amendments.