Agenda item

This report seeks to update the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee on the current key focal points of the council’s Climate and Ecological Emergency Programme. This includes the 2022-24 Delivery Plan which was adopted by Cabinet in June 2022, and the new, localised, Green Neighbourhoods action plans.

Following on from the deputation, the Chair then invited Councillor Krupa Sheth, Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Action to introduce the report that updated the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee on the current key focal points of the Council’s Climate and Ecological Emergency Programme. This included the 2022-24 Delivery Plan which had been adopted by Cabinet in June 2022, and the new, localised, Green Neighbourhoods Action Plan. Having introduced the Delivery and Action Plan, Councillor Krupa Sheth thanked Sheila Simpson for highlighting the urgency of the climate issues faced both nationally and locally, as well as drawing attention to the necessity of a collective rapid response from the community, local government and central government to ensure significant impacts could be made swiftly.  The Chair then invited the Committee to raise any questions, comments or points of clarity in relation to the report and the accompanying deputation from Brent Friends of the Earth. The following issues were discussed:

·             The Committee noted that Brent had ambitious plans to tackle the climate emergency and acknowledged that despite the magnitude of work that was needed, Brent was in a strong position to make good progress in reaching net zero by 2030 as a result of the strategies and plans in place.

·             The impact of the social housing rent cap applied by central government in relation to funding of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) on progress with decarbonisation of Brent’s social housing stock, given the significant funding identified as required to progress the works needed.

·             The Committee expressed thanks to Sheila Simpson for highlighting Brent Friends of the Earth’s concerns and actions they felt were required to effect positive steps forward in achieving Brent’s climate ambitions, with particular reference to the importance of seeking wider community and specialist stakeholder engagement to support the most effective plan.

·             In recognising the proactive work being undertaken in the borough, the Committee felt that in order to measure success it would be helpful to have benchmarking in place to support a greater understanding of Brent’s starting point, how Brent measured against other boroughs and to enable the public to track the progress being made.  The Committee were advised that at present there was no national or pan London bench marking data available, however there were various professional networks across London that Brent were involved in where the development of this type of benchmarking data and performance indicators were being discussed.

·             The Committee noted the challenges in obtaining comparable data given the number of variables in different boroughs in respect of difference in wealth, political priorities and emission sources.  The Committee were, however, keen for Brent to take an active role in the ongoing development and advancement of a benchmarking framework. Officers recognised the value a benchmarking framework would add to the support and monitoring of Brent’s progress in achieving net zero and agreed to take this as a forward action.

·             The Committee were re-assured that in Brent there was a focus on empowering residents to support their understanding of the necessity to make changes to support sustainability. It was felt by bringing residents on the journey to net zero with the local authority, there was a greater chance of successful implementation of strategies that would support the Council’s climate targets.

·             The Committee felt it was important to recognise that public opinion had progressed, with residents’ keen to learn more about how they could be involved in supporting positive climate change actions.

·             In noting the value of securing engagement and support from residents in terms of the ongoing development and implementation of the Climate Emergency Action Plan, the Committee queried how the community were kept updated in relation to schemes within the borough that aimed to progress the plan. In response officers advised that the main channel to communicate information to the public was via the Brent Environmental Network which provided regular newsletter updates and information to individuals and groups who had subscribed.

·             Following concerns highlighted as part of the deputation by Brent Friends of the Earth relating to the number of different initiatives in the Plan that did not appear to be joined up, the Committee acknowledged the importance of the Council implementing comprehensive and integrated strategies. This led the Committee to query how the Council intended to bring the initiatives together to provide a more cohesive response in achieving the target of reaching met zero by 2030.

·             Officers acknowledged the issues raised and advised that it remained a challenge deciding where to focus the limited resources available to provide the most effective impact. The Committee were informed that the selection of projects underway across Brent, focused on the pilot Green Neighbourhoods, would provide valuable information moving forward on how best to progress the plans and what strategies would provide the biggest impact, ahead of all strategies being rolled out on borough wide basis.

·             In response to a Committee query regarding the rationale behind the selection of the two Green Neighbourhood pilots (Church End & Roundwood and Kingsbury), officers advised of the specific criteria used which had included the areas representing a good comparison between the north and south of the borough.

·             The Committee queried when Green Neighbourhoods would be extended to additional wards across the borough, given the urgency of the work required.  It was felt that a discussion was needed within the Council to agree a suitable budget plan to provide the appropriate level of resourcing to successfully action the changes needed borough wide.

·             It was noted that increased “School Streets” and the expansion of the ULEZ zone would be a welcome support in reducing emissions in the borough.

·             The Committee queried what liaison had taken place between Brent officers and other primary landlords in Brent to encourage the decarbonisation of rental properties. In response the Committee were advised that although the Council had no direct influence over private housing providers, action planning was underway with the support of the Affordable Housing team to produce a charter to clarify Brent’s expectations of the parallel work required to collectively move the borough towards net zero.

·             Councillor Muhammed Butt, Leader of the Council, re-assured the Committee about the Council’s support of Brent’s climate ambitions and the active engagement of the planning department in seeking to ensure that new build developments were environmentally sustainable.

·             The Committee queried the implications of Brent’s consumption emissions being at 4 to 5 times the size of carbon emissions (as detailed in section 3.10 of the report). In response, officers advised the Committee that the impact was significant, particularly as it was felt that most members of the public were unlikely to be aware of the impact that their day-to-day consumption choices were having on carbon emissions. In recognition of this, officers had included consumption emissions as a key theme within the Climate Emergency Strategy.

·             The Committee shared positive feedback regarding the Green Neighbourhood consultation events, with it noted that the Kingsbury event had been well attended by a broad representation of the local community.

·             The Committee acknowledged the plans in place for collaborative working between the Public Health team and Climate & Healthy Street teams to increase Active Travel in the borough, however queried what more could be done and if these initiatives could be accelerated via Strategic CIL funding.  In highlighting the commitment to encourage Active Travel initiatives across the borough officers outlined how funding was being sought to provide additional support, including as an example enhanced provision of bike hangars.

·             In order to build upon the Active Travel plans in Kingsbury as a pilot area, recruitment was underway to appoint a school based co-ordinator to explore broader solutions and bring local schools together to foster a unified approach in efforts to increase and support active travel.

·             It was confirmed that where the report referenced “co – production” and “co- delivery” this was in relation to the overall success of the plan which would require a collective response and engagement from the community, voluntary organisations and partners in the development and delivery of strategies to effect positive sustained change.

·             In response to a Committee query in relation to the breadth of community engagement undertaken on the Green Neighbourhoods plan, officers confirmed that to support further development of the plan they felt it was important to seek a wide a range of feedback from the community, this included communication with youth engagement programmes, different faith and climate action groups, climate fairs and the Brent Climate Assembly, as detailed in Appendix D of the report.

·             The Committee were advised that the development of community gardening to support Brent’s green infrastructure and biodiversity was being utilised in specific areas throughout the borough and where green space was available for additional community gardening, this would be supported.  The Committee noted the multiple benefits of community gardening as it provided opportunities for community co-delivery and social cohesion as well as the environmental gains. 

·             A further Committee query was raised in relation to the trip hazards posed to pedestrians and cyclists from the charging cables on Electric Vehicle Charging Points (EVCP). It was felt that although the increasing number of EVCP’s was positive in terms of supporting cleaner vehicles being used, this issue could have a detrimental impact in supporting wider forms of active travel. Officers acknowledged the issues raised and noted the challenges in balancing the needs of all modes of transport whilst encouraging green, active travel. The Committee were advised that when new footway upgrades were completed there would be opportunities to incorporate channelling the cables under the footway so that pedestrians were not inconvenienced by cables across public footways.

As the Committee had no further questions for officers, the Chair invited Sheila Simpson, on behalf of Brent Friends of the Earth to ask any specific questions in response to the information provided. In noting the update provided, Sheila Simpson queried the plans in place to communicate the Climate Emergency Strategy priorities to the public and how Brent Friends of the Earth could positively engage with the Council to support change. The following responses were provided in response:

·             Councillor Krupa Sheth, Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Action, advised that the Council would welcome an open dialogue with Brent Friends of the Earth to advise and support on revised plans and strategies that would positively contribute to Brent’s Climate Emergency Action Plan. It was felt that the channels used for communication were effective, however any ideas to build upon what the Council was already doing would be welcomed.

·             Councillor Muhammed Butt, Leader of the Council, followed up by advising how the Council’s recently adopted Borough Plan also demonstrated the Council’s commitment to respond to the Climate Emergency and achieve the net zero target by 2030. In acknowledgement of the lack of funding from central government to support local authorities in providing a rapid effective response to climate concerns, Councillor Butt outlined how funding opportunities were constantly being sought to support the changes needed, additionally there was widespread recognition across the Council that pulling resources together internally and with external partners would be key to resourcing delivery of the plan.

·             Chris Whyte, Director of Environment & Leisure, also expressed thanks to Brent Friends of the Earth and offered to arrange a direct follow up meeting to explore how further collaborative work could be undertaken.

In closing the discussion, the Chair thanked Shiela Simpson (on behalf of Brent Friends of the Earth), officers and members for their contributions towards the important scrutiny on this item before summarising the outcome of the review and additional actions, which were NOTED and AGREED as follows:

Recommendations to Cabinet:

(1)        To continue to lobby central government and the Greater London Authority (GLA) for additional funding to strengthen our efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

Suggestions for Improvement:

(1)        Introduce a ‘climate implications’ section into all cabinet reports to ensure that all key decisions are aligned with the Council’s net zero targets.

(2)        Develop an accountability framework (such as a dashboard) for the Climate & Ecological Emergency Strategy 2021-2030 that is accessible on the Council’s website to demonstrate to residents how Brent is performing on its climate ambitions for 2030 and 2045. This framework should also benchmark our activities/efforts with other local authorities for context.

(3)        Explore opportunities to use Strategic CIL (SCIL) monies to fund additional infrastructure projects that were directly aligned with the Council’s climate commitments (set out in the Climate & Ecological Emergency Strategy 2021-2030).

(4)        Engage with Brent Friends of the Earth and other relevant community partners to support and improve the delivery of the Council’s Climate Action agenda.