Issue - meetings
NOTICE OF MOTIONS
Meeting: 13/07/2023 - Council (Item 220)
220 NOTICE OF MOTIONS 
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To consider any motions, due notice of which have been given in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.12.
Additional documents:
Decision:
There were five motions submitted in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.12.
(A) The Great Home Upgrade
RESOLVED:
The Council:
(1) Calls upon the Prime Minister to call for a Great Homes Upgrade and a commitment to retrofit 19 million homes by 2030.
(2) Calls on the Chancellor to commit to investing over the next three years to begin a Great Homes Upgrade, and that the government will commit to working with housing associations, private rental properties and owner occupiers to upgrade properties for net zero and commits to setting up a retrofitting taskforce to target resources now to achieving net zero through upgrading properties.
(3) Commits to writing to our neighbouring local authorities to ask them to join us to join the campaign.
(B) Ecological Emergency
RESOLVED:
The Council:
(1) Declares an ecological emergency.
(2) Ensures that addressing the ecological emergency and nature recovery are considered as strategic priorities for planning policies and design guides for new development, including master-planning of sites, by identifying appropriate areas for habitat restoration and biodiversity net gain and ensuring that development limits impact on existing habitats in its process.
(3) Set measurable targets and standards for biodiversity increase, in both species and quantities, seeking also to increase community engagement.
(4) Work with our partners to establish a Local Nature Partnership for Hertfordshire as soon as possible, in keeping with the urgency of this declaration.
(5) Work with our partners to develop Nature Recovery Networks and Nature Recovery Strategy for Hertfordshire, again in keeping with the urgency of this declaration.
(6) Look for opportunities to work in partnership with local charities and environmental organisations to deliver nature recovery in North Hertfordshire.
(7) Investigate new approaches to nature recovery such as habitat banking that deliver biodiversity objectives and provide new investment opportunities.
(8) Commits to considering biodiversity net gain policies within the review of the Local Plan at the earliest achievable opportunity, with a commitment to set a local BNG policy, which goes beyond the minimum, nationally required, 10% increase.
(D) Community Infrastructure Levy
Following the debate, and before being put to a vote, Cllr Ian Moody withdrew the motion on the basis of the statement by the Executive Member for Planning and Transport.
(C) Waste Contract Renewal – Changes to the Residual Waste Collection Cycle
RESOLVED: That the motion was lost.
(E) Solar Energy Policy
The Chair advised that this motion had been withdrawn.
Minutes:
Audio recording – 26 minutes 08 seconds
There were five motions submitted in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.12.
(A) The Great Home Upgrade
Councillor Chris Hinchliff proposed the submitted motion as follows:
“This council believes that a green recovery from the pandemic is not only possible but imperative if we are to meet our carbon reduction targets as a local authority. However, up to now much of the proposed actions from National Government are little more than rhetoric. We need to turn rhetoric into action.
As a local authority, we have worked on several environmental actions that have assisted residents and the wider environment. These include the ‘Solar Together’ scheme, utilising the Home Upgrade Grant to improve homes that are earning under £30k annually (and with an EPC rating of E, F, or G (plus some D-rated properties)), and have worked with environmental groups throughout the district to spread eco-friendly messaging.
We note that melting ice caps and forest fires can often seem like someone else’s crisis when many are taking effect so far from our homes. But we also note that crises closer to home affecting thousands of local families cannot be separated from those further afield. Here in North Herts there are 6193 households living in fuel poverty, and many homes affected by damp. Across the UK there are more than 24 Million Homes leaking heat.
Housing in the UK is leaky and draughty. We have older housing than every EU country, and our homes leak heat three times faster than those in Northern Europe. 56% of homes in North Herts fall below a good level of energy efficiency (EPC rating C). This means we spend more money and energy keeping our homes warm. For those who can afford to, this leads to higher carbon emissions from burning fuel for heating — 14% of the UK’s total emissions come from our homes. For the 3.18 million UK households (13.4%) that can’t, living in a cold home could be putting their health at risk.
Upgrading our homes would mean that everyone can live in a warm, comfortable home that doesn’t pollute the planet. But for more than a decade, we’ve had stop-start policy when it comes to making our homes warmer and less polluting. The main problem is the Treasury’s reluctance to put proper money towards retrofitting. Right now, home upgrades are still just in the hundreds of thousands a year — just 118,000 insulation measures were installed in 2020.
There is no route to decarbonising the economy without retrofitting these more than 24 million homes across the UK. Doing so would not only help to protect our planet, but can improve housing, lead to cheaper energy bills and create hundreds of thousands of good quality jobs. Here in North Herts there are 38,873 properties that require retrofitting.
The highest standard of whole-house retrofits can mean that households only have their heating on for a few days a year. However, the Energy Efficiency Infrastructure Group (EEIG) estimates that if ... view the full minutes text for item 220