Agenda and minutes
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Venue: Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Windmill Street, Gravesend DA12 1AU. View directions
Contact: Committee Section
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Apologies for absence Minutes: No apologies for absence were received.
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Minutes from Previous Meeting PDF 241 KB Minutes: The minutes of the Climate Change Advisory Board that took place on Monday, 03 April 2023 were agreed and signed by the Chair.
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Declaration of Interest Minutes: No declarations of interest were made.
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Minutes: The Board were provided with a presentation that showcased the projects of the Housing Energy & Sustainability Team during April – October 2023.
The Project Surveyor (Energy & Sustainability) guided Members through the report and highlighted key points around the projects, performance, and accolades of the Team.
The presentation had been published and was available within the agenda pack.
Following questions from Members, the Project Surveyor (Energy & Sustainability) explained that:
The Committee thanked the officers for their detailed presentation and commended the work of the team, especially the work undertaken with Ellenor Hospice.
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Climate Change Delivery Plan PDF 215 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Board was presented with the Climate Change Delivery Plan for consideration and to set out preparation for the council’s fourth Annual Report.
The Climate Action Delivery Manager directed Members to appendix two which provided specific actions with officer updates, along with an indication of resource implication and timeframe setting out how the council would work towards its climate change ambitions, as per the approved Climate Change Strategy.
The Climate Action Delivery Manager took Members through appendix two and highlighted a number of key actions to the Board. Members were advised that green represented that the action was in progress and yellow meant the action had been delayed and completed actions are highlighted in grey
The Climate Action Delivery Manager advised that there were a number of actions that had revised timelines which were due to delays caused by Government policies, changes in technologies or funding being unavailable. The new timelines were considered to be more realistic in the current policy and economic climate.
The Chair thanked the Climate Action Delivery Manager for the detailed work plan and reiterated to Members the reasoning for the revised timelines and advised that the Council would work within its available resources and not allow any overspend. However, the Chair assured the Committee that all actions were still aimed to be completed by 2030 to meet the Councils carbon neutrality pledge.
Members raised points around the building of the new leisure centre to replace Cascades and the importance of ensuring it was energy efficient to mitigate the large energy costs the Council currently had to pay.
The Chair asked that:
Members noted the report.
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Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) emissions statistics PDF 383 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Board were updated on the latest Green House Gas Emissions data published by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.
The Assistant Director (Transformation and IT) took Members through the report and highlighted key figures regarding greenhouse gas emissions in Gravesham for 2021. The statistics published by DESNZ lag by two years. Members noted that the figures hadn’t increased significantly since the last results were released for 2020. The two largest areas for emissions within the borough were Domestic Properties and Transport, at around 45% each; a detailed breakdown of each area and their greenhouse gas emissions could be found in the report.
The Assistant Director (Transformation and IT) explained that the statistics would be used to help finetune the Councils strategy, for example, to assist local business to reduce their energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions.
Following Member questions, the Assistant Director (Transformation and IT) explained that:
Members noted the report.
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Electric Vehicle Charge Point update PDF 222 KB Minutes: The Board were provided with an update on the progress of the installation of Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers on council-owned land in the borough.
The Assistant Director (Transformation and IT) took Members through the report and highlighted key figures regarding the amount of EV charging points in the Borough:
The Chair stated that if KCC’s Local Transport Plan was similar to the fourth version then Gravesham would not be adopting it the way they presented it as each previous version had supported the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC). Gravesham Council unequivocally did not support the LTC and would not change its view on the matter. If support for the LTC was still in the fifth plan then it would not be adopted, and the plan would be cherrypicked for agreeable aspects. However, if the whole plan had to be accepted then Gravesham would not accept the plan.
In response to the Chairs points, Cllr Mochrie-Cox confirmed that discussion around the plan had already taken place with KCC; the plan was considered ‘emerging’ so there was still plenty of opportunity for Gravesham to make representation. A County wide approach to transport was not the correct approach, local needs needed to be taken into account for each borough.
Concerns were raised by the Committee over the switch to electric vehicles by 2025 and the need for the Government to speed up the implementation of infrastructure to support electric vehicles. Points were raised around electric vehicles being expensive, some roads being unsuitable for recharging points and not ... view the full minutes text for item 35. |
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Council Building Heat Decarbonisation Plans PDF 207 KB Minutes: The Board were informed on preparations to draw up heat decarbonisation plans for the council buildings which represented the highest greenhouse gas emitters within the property estate.
The Assistant Director (Transformation and IT) took Members through the report and highlighted key figures and challenges regarding the decarbonisation plans for the Civic Centre, Cygnet Leisure Centre, Cascades Leisure Centre, and Brookvale Depot.
In response to the Council having two unsuccessful bids to the Governments Levelling Up bill, the Chair stated that the Council had not been successful in receiving Government grants and reviews had been undertaken to see what other local authorities had successfully attained; some Councils had received between £70 and £100 million whereas Gravesham had, only received £1 million in the last two-three years which was not equitable. The Council would continue to bid on all necessary funding in the future.
The Chair advised that there were a number of issues with the Civic Centre building which needed urgent repairs and decarbonisation in order to stop hefty bills form accumulating over the next couple of years. With regards to Cascades, it could be retrofitted and repaired as well if a new Leisure Centre was not able to be built but it was likely work would not start until next year due to budgetary constraints. The Chair assured the Committee that the Council were investigating all possible ways forward with the proposed plans for Council buildings.
Members noted the report.
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Net Zero Gravesham resident information event feedback PDF 213 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Board was updated on the Resident Information and Advice Event held at the Woodville on 5 September.
The Assistant Director (Transformation and IT) advised that the event was hosted in the Woodville, with additional visible activity taking place on the Community Square, and ran from 3pm to 7pm. The event was attended by 150 people and some very positive feedback was received; KMTV were also in attendance and interviewed the Leader which aired on Kent Tonight.
The team would now look at additional opportunities to help residents continue their own climate change journey that would help address the cost of living crisis, reducing energy costs and food waste.
In response to a Members question concerning youth involvement, the Assistant Director (Transformation and IT) explained that an event was being hosted in November with the Youth Council and a number of guest speakers; Council officers would also attend to discuss the climate change delivery plan.
The Committee praised the report and the work of officers to achieve such positive feedback.
Members noted the report.
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