Agenda item

(Voting: 51 in favour, 0 against, 1 abstention)

The Portfolio Holder for Environment introduced the report and said the enormity of climate change was stark. The recent IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report was clear that carbon emissions must be reduced by 45% within twelve years to stabilise global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius.  Since SSDC recognised a climate emergency in May 2019 and undertook to deliver a strategy for adoption, officers in the Environment Community of Practice had worked tirelessly to shape it.  She said the Council was committed to mitigating the effects of Climate Change and the strategy confirmed that they were not just paying lip service to that commitment.

The strategy identified 25 interventions for implementation over the course of the next two years, some of which would be under way and completed within months.  Appropriate structures and processes would be developed so that targets, outputs and measures were achievable as the Council moved to reduce its carbon dependence.

She confirmed that engagement with many local stakeholders had taken place and many of their views and ideas had been incorporated into the strategy.  In addition to the development of the SSDC strategy, officers were fully engaged with work to prepare a county wide Climate Emergency Strategy.  She concluded by confirming that the strategy would be fully reviewed within 2 years to ensure it was relevant and fit for purpose.

In response to questions from Members, the Portfolio Holder for Environment and the Director for Commercial Services & Income Generation confirmed:-

·         There was currently a budget of £350,000 to address the commitments in the Strategy.

·         External expertise had been engaged to set the data baseline so that an assessment of return on investment could be made to ensure the best environmental benefit projects were put forward.

·         The Council’s Cycle to Work scheme allowed employees wishing to purchase a new bicycle to travel to work to benefit from savings by receiving Tax and National Insurance exemptions.

·         SSDC could only plant trees on their own land and they had committed to planting 1,000 and were working with Parish Councils to increase this.  The Environment Agency had committed to plant 2,000 by Autumn 2020.

During discussion, the following points were made:-

·         Environmentally friendly measures like solar panels should be included in new housing developments.

·         Completion of the Chard to Tatworth cycleway should be added to the Strategy.

·         National Planning Policy Framework needed to be strengthened to compel developers to install eco-friendly measures during development.

·         The review of the Council’s Local Plan was due to be discussed the following year.

·         There was a need to travel less as a great amount of energy was expended in travel.

·         25% of emissions were from industry and they should be encouraged to generate their own energy possibly through solar panels.

·         A website of information with links to other partners would be set up as part of the One Planet Living initiative.

·         Siting segregated public waste bins in towns would encourage recycling.

·         Could SSDC offer a grant scheme to residents to encourage the installation of solar panels?

The Director for Commercial Services & Income Generation agreed to provide a written answer to the question of how the Environment Strategy compared to the other Council’s other 5 key areas of focus.

At the conclusion of the debate, it was proposed that an update on the progress of the Strategy be a standing item of business each month.  This was agreed and the majority of Members were content to confirm the adoption of the new South Somerset Environment Strategy 2019 andthe identified intermediate actions and next steps.

(Voting: 52 in favour, 0 against, 1 abstention)