Issue - meetings
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Meeting: 27/09/2023 - Cabinet Panel on the Environment (Item 81)
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.
Decision:
Presentations were received by the Cabinet Panel including from:
· Roger Lovegrove
Minutes:
Audio recording – 1:46:03
Roger Lovegrove gave a presentation and advised:
· The Council had declared a climate emergency, and exceptional things needed to be done to ensure developments were built to a high standard.
· LETI (London Energy Transport Initiative) had established alternative building standards. These exceed the current building regulations and could be added to the Sustainability SPD and Local Plan.
· LETI standards were normally used in one-off builds but should be relevant to whole estate developments.
· Using the standards outlined by LETI, homes would need only 3 kilowatts of heating.
· These homes would cost more to build, but this could be balanced against the running costs.
· Alternatives to standard bricks included wooden frames filled with rigid insulation.
Councillor Steve Jarvis commented that Mr Lovegrove had set out some interesting points in his presentation, and Central Government needed to give local authorities the capacity to be able to build environmentally friendly homes.
The Strategic Planning Officer commented that there was limit with what could be done within the Local Plan. The Sustainability SPD mentioned building standards and LETI as an aspiration for developers within the Gold Standard.
John Webb drew attention to the recent launch of the EV charging points strategy by Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) for future discussion. The strategy aimed to provide more charging points so residents and businesses would be able to charge their vehicles conveniently. The aim of the strategy was for 2030, with a minimum of 3,000 public charging points needed in the County.
Councillor Amy Allen commented on the distribution of EV charging points in Letchworth and the issues surrounding ownership and infrastructure to support EV charging. There had been issues in a new development in Royston with on-street charging points.
Councillor Steve Jarvis noted that Watford already had a significant volume of on-street EV charging points. More off-street charging points were due to be installed across North Hertfordshire, and more progress was likely to be made due to the new HCC strategy.
Councillor Amy Allen thanked those who attended the meeting, and advised that the next Cabinet Panel on 6 December 2023 would focus on Waste.