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 Councillors David Levett, Louise Peace and Gerald Morris.

Having given due notice Councillor Juan Cowell substituted for Councillor Gerald Morris.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 7 seconds

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors David Levett, Gerald Morris and Louise Peace.

Having given due notice, Councillor Juan Cowell substituted for Councillor Morris.

Councillors Cathy Brownjohn and Michael Muir were absent.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 6 December 2023.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 6 December 2023 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Audio Recording – 2 minutes 27 seconds

Councillor Amy Allen, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Steve Jarvis seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 6 December 2023 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Climate Emergency

The Council has declared a climate emergency and is committed to achieving a target of zero carbon emissions by 2030 and helping local people and businesses to reduce their own carbon emissions.

A Cabinet Panel on the Environment has been established to engage with local people on matters relating to the climate emergency and advise the council on how to achieve these climate change objectives.

A Climate Change Implementation group of councillors and council officers meets regularly to produce plans and monitor progress. Actions taken or currently underway include switching to green energy, incentives for low emission taxis, expanding tree planting and working to cut food waste.

In addition the council is a member of the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership, working with other councils across Hertfordshire to reduce the county’s carbon emissions and climate impact. The Council’s dedicated webpage on Climate Change includes details of the council’s climate change strategy, the work of the Cabinet Panel on the Environment and a monthly briefing on progress.

Ecological Emergency

The Council has declared an ecological emergency and is committed to addressing the ecological emergency and nature recovery by identifying appropriate areas for habitat restoration and biodiversity net gain whilst ensuring that development limits impact on existing habitats in its process.

The Council has set out to do that by a) setting measurable targets and standards for biodiversity increase, in both species and quantities, seeking to increase community engagement, b) to work with our partners to establish a Local Nature Partnership for Hertfordshire and to develop Nature Recovery Networks and Nature Recovery Strategy for Hertfordshire and c) to investigate new approaches to nature recovery such as habitat banking that deliver biodiversity objectives and provide new investment opportunities.

Declaration of Interest

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 advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be audio recorded.

(2)  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.

(3)  The Chair reminded Members that the Council had declared both a Climate Emergency and an Ecological Emergency. These are serious decisions, and mean that, as this was an emergency, all of us, Officers and Members had that in mind as we carried out our various roles and tasks for the benefit of our District.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 58 seconds

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

(2)   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.

(3)   The Chair reminded Members that the Council had declared both a Climate Emergency and an Ecological Emergency. These are serious decisions, and mean that, as this was an emergency, all of us, Officers and Members had that in mind as we carried out our various roles and tasks for the benefit of our District.

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 minutes 35 seconds

There was no other business notified.

Audio recording: 3 minutes 39 seconds

The Policy and Strategy Team Leader presented the Information Note entitled ‘Work Programme and Action Tracker Review’, and advised that:

·                The Action tracker highlighted the work programme for the year 2023/24 and the progress over that year.

·                Any completed items on the tracker had now been removed and archived.

·                Details had been added about the North Hertfordshire Local cycling and walking infrastructure plan.

·                The Council was looking at opportunities to reduce engine idling in the district. There were pieces of legislation that were being explored to enable this enforcement. So far, no neighbouring authorities had commented that they currently were able to enforce this, due to resourcing issues and demonstrating the poor air quality in those areas affected. It was noted that Hertfordshire County Council had banned Idling at all their sites, including care homes and household waste recycling centres.

·                Feedback had been provided by stakeholders at the Hertfordshire Climate Change Sustainability Partnership (HCCSP) event in November and officers had now completed working through the feedback received on the Biodiversity plan, for which North Herts was lead. Key items had been noted and incorporated into the revised action plan, which would be ready when the Local Nature Strategy for Hertfordshire was completed.

·                The Adaptation subgroup was compiling a draft climate risk log to look at risk to council services and the district from changing climate. This was now being reviewed by the internal officer group, with a view to creating an action plan on adaption.

·                The second round of Solar Together had now closed with 185 homes accepting their solar PV recommendations. The average price saving achieved was 34% cheaper than the market price for an equivalent system.

·                Installations had now begun with 289 installations completed over Hertfordshire and 50 of those in North Hertfordshire.

·                The home upgrade grant scheme remained open. This provided free home improvements to enable energy efficiency and reduce risk of fuel poverty. This was only available to off gas homes with a D, E, F or G rating. The income threshold had been increased from £31,000 to £36,000 enabling more eligible residents.

·                An application had been placed by the Council with the public sector decarbonization scheme which had been successful. The Council had secured around £7M in funding for the decarbonisation of leisure centres, which would include the installation of air source heat pumps, solar PV and other energy efficiency measures.

·                Studies were required to be undertaken and a project board set up before work could commence. The project needed to be completed by March 2026 and was estimated to save 1176 tonnes of carbon annually.

·                The Community Investment Fund was open for community groups to apply for funding for capacity building activities.  

·                Funding had been used in Baldock to develop a piece of land into 30 extra allotment half plots.

The Policy and Strategy Trainee advised that:

·                The Climate Hive had been running for a year and was proving successful in engaging with residents and updating them  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

There was no Public Participation at this meeting.

Audio recording – 1 hour, 10 minutes, 27 seconds

There was no public participation during this meeting.