Agenda, decisions and minutes

Members are required to notify any substitutions by midday on the day of the meeting.

Late substitutions will not be accepted and Members attending as a substitute without having given the due notice will not be able to take part in the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Juan Cowell.

Audio recording – 2:10

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Juan Cowell.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 16 November 2021

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Panel meeting held on 16 November 2021 be approved as the true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Audio Recording – 2:23

Councillor Amy Allen proposed, Councillor Gerald Morris seconded, and it was:

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Panel held on 16 November 2021 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Members are reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chair of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda.  Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring a Declarable Interest, wishing to exercise a ‘Councillor Speaking Right’, must declare this at the same time as the interest, move to the public area before speaking to the item and then must leave the room before the debate and vote.

1) The Chair outlined that this Cabinet Panel meeting is about the Environment and welcomed all those who were participating this evening.

2) The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council policy, this meeting would be audio recorded as well as filmed. The audio recordings would be available to view on Mod.gov and the film recording via the NHC YouTube channel

3) Members were reminded to make declarations of interest before an item, the detailed reminder about this and speaking rights was set out under Chair’s Announcements on the agenda.

4) The Chair drew attention to a supplementary agenda pack for item 5 that had been published containing an updated version of the Action Tracker owing to an administrative error with the original document.

Audio recording – 2:50

(1)       The Chair welcomed those present at the meeting, especially those who had attended to give a presentation;

(2)       The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be audio recorded;

(3)       The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(4)       The Chair drew attention to a supplementary agenda pack for item 5 which had been published containing an updated version of the Action Tracker owing to an administrative error with the original document.

Members should notify the Chair of other business which they wish to be discussed at the end of either Part I or Part II business set out in the agenda. They must state the circumstances which they consider justify the business being considered as a matter of urgency.

The Chair will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

There was no other business notified.

Audio recording – 3:35

There was no other business notified.

RESOLVED: That the Information note entitled Work Programme and Action Tracker for 2022 was updated.

REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure the Cabinet Panel on the Environment is able to plan its workload and monitor actions.

Audio Recording: 5:10

The Policy and Community Engagement Manager and Policy Officer presented the Information note entitled Work Programme and Action Tracker for 2021/22 and drew attention to the following:

·         Contributions made to the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership. Work is now being assigned to officers;

·         An action in the Biodiversity Action Plan was around a creation of a biodiversity baseline;

·         Have completed a delegated decision for a county-wide ‘Solar Bulk Buy Scheme’. This is waiting for approval at HCCSP, and is due to be considered shortly;

·         Continuing to attend meetings as part of the Behaviour Change subgroup at HCCSP;

·         Hertfordshire Energy Advice Tool – Energy saving app for residents which can be downloaded in the App Store;

·         Attended a session on engaging the public on climate change as part of the HCCSP;

·         Having identified adaptation as a key priority, the HCCSP set up an adaptations subgroup;

·         North Herts Policy Team has been working with the Communications Team to produce a climate change communication plan for the year.

·         Involved in reviewing the upcoming Greenspace Management Strategy to make sure it aligns with NHC policies.

·         10,000 free trees being provided to residents have all been given away.

·         Set up an environmental inbox to allow the public and organisations to provide suggestions for the Panel’s consideration.

RESOLVED: That the Information note entitled Work Programme and Action Tracker for 2022 was updated.

REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure the Cabinet Panel on the Environment is able to plan its workload and monitor actions.

Lynne Ceeney, Herts LEADS, gave a presentation on Adaptation to Climate Change.

The Chair thanked Lynne Ceeney for her presentation.

Lynne Ceeney, Herts LEADS, gave a presentation on Adaptation to Climate Change.

Some key points from the presentation were:

·         Climate change adaptation is identifying the risks that climate change causes and either removing them completely or reducing them to a manageable level;

·         Determining incremental risks as a result of climate change can be difficult compared to sudden events;

·         A case study was provided, which highlighted the risk analysis of climate change impact by Cardiff Airport;

·         How to prioritise climate change risk;

·         How to create an adaptation action programme.

The Chair lead a discussion following the presentation.

The following Members and members of the public took part:

·         Kimberly Hare

·         Councillor Steve Jarvis

·         Nicky Clark

·         Georgina Chapman

·         Reuben Ayavoo

·         Councillor Amy Allen

The discussion covered a range of points including:

·         The HEART report on adaptation;

·         Adaptation to climate change on a community level;

·         Backup plans due to effects to communication from climate change;

·         HCCSP’s progress in these issues;

·         Switching from prevention to management depending on the frequency of events.

The Chair thanked Lynne Ceeney for her presentation.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public and to discuss the contributions to the meeting.

Sue Lines informed the Panel of Eco Festival dates in North Herts and their relevance to the Council.

The Chair thanked Sue Lines for her information.

The Chair led a discussion / question time regarding the contributions to the meeting on the Environment.

Audio recording – 1:07:30

The Chair invited Sue Lines to speak about upcoming eco festivals in the area.

Sue Lines and Diane Ketcher provided a background of events and gave a list of upcoming events including:

·         Baldock is planning an eco-fest on 7 May;

·         Hitchin on 14 May;

·         Letchworth are looking at hosting something on 10 September.

The following Members took part in a discussion:

·         Councillor Val Bryant

·         Councillor Steve Jarvis

Some of the points discussed included:

·         Taking part in organisation of these festivals;

·         Issues around officer availability;

·         The Council’s role in these events.

The Chair thanked Sue Lines and Diane Ketcher for their contributions to the meeting.