Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon, Councillor Muhammad Ali

Officer: Interim Executive Director Place, Sarah Hayward

Key decision: no

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.   Welcome the report and recommendations of Croydon Climate Crisis Commission and record the Council’s thanks to the Commission and the New Economics Foundation for their thorough and committed work in challenging circumstances.

 

2.    Note the actions the Council has already taken to combat climate change.

 

3.    Note that a detailed, costed delivery plan will be developed in autumn 2021 to implement the Commission’s recommendations, provided that this can be done within the Council’s existing budget or utilising external funding resources.

 

4.    Note that a copy of the Climate Crisis Commission report will be shared with the Chairs of relevant Council Committees to consider how their committee work can support the Climate Crisis work undertaken by the Council.

 

The Leader of the Council (Councillor Hamida Ali) noted that the Council had declared a Climate Change and Ecological Emergency in July 2019. All involved with the Croydon Climate Crisis Commission; including the New Economics Foundation (NEF) and Commission Members were thanked for their work in developing the report and recommendations.

 

The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon (Councillor Muhammad Ali) began by thanking the Chair of the Commission (Miatta Fahnbulleh) and all at the NEF for their work. It was stated that the council was were committed to taking action on climate change and welcomed the Croydon Climate Crisis Commission (CCCC) report, and it was further noted by the Cabinet Member that the council’s commitment to tackling climate change was not new as many initiatives had been in place for some time.

 

It was stated by the Cabinet Member that the council were committed to producing a costed delivery plan and to start working on recommendations within the report through existing funding sources. It was noted that the Commission had been established prior to the start of the pandemic and CCCC had been required to work during challenging to develop its report.

 

The recommendations in the report, the Cabinet Member informed Members would be integrated into all of the work of the council and the council would seek to call upon partners to intensify their work also to deliver tangible mitigations to tackle climate change.

 

The Chair of the CCCC thanked all of the Commissioners for the huge amount of time and effort which was put into developing the report. It was reported that everyone involved understood their task was to develop practical recommendations for delivering a step change transition to net zero which built upon the work which had already been undertaken by the council and borough.

 

It was stated that it was felt that it was clear that simply transitioning to net zero was not enough and that a pathway to a green economy which created jobs an improved living standards was required. To that end, the Chair of the Commission advised Member that the report sought to provide practical steps which were felt to be deliverable, ambitious and tangible.

 

Three core areas had been identified; the first of which was ensuring understanding of the baseline in place so the council could track the trajectory of change. It was noted that this work was not just for the council to undertake but would require large levels of engagement across the borough and with partners to develop a clear picture of the challenge and shared endeavour. Furthermore, it was highlighted that there was the need to ensure there was clear accountability, responsibility and oversight of the work.

 

It was noted that there was clear action is terms of the green recovery as the previous 18 months had a dramatic impact on the local economy. It was reported that the CCCC felt that there was an opportunity to think about a medium term plan to identify green jobs which were aligned with upskilling and training local people and develop low carbon jobs.

 

The third area identified was in relation to greening neighbourhoods, including low traffic neighbourhoods and renewable energy and ensuring all partners and local businesses were engaged to ensure the work was a shared endeavour. It was stated that there was huge piece of work in relation to public engagement in terms of ensuring people understood the scale of the challenge and their role in making a change.

 

The Chair of the Commission highlighted that it was important to achieve the scale of change required. It was noted that the change required was a challenging task for the council to deliver and that there was need for action both regionally and nationally; whether through funding or investment in affordable public transport.

 

It was recognised that there was no solution which would solve the issue, but that it was hoped that the report provided some tangible first steps for the council to consider and implement to transition to net zero.

 

Ian Morris, a Commissioner from the CCCC thanked the council for declaring a climate and ecological emergency in 2019 and for setting up a Citizens Assembly and the Commission. It was noted that Covid-19 had impacted the work of the Commission in terms of timing but also in terms of engagement as the engagement work undertaken was limited due to the pandemic.

 

It was highlighted by Mr Morris that the council could not tackle the crisis along and it would require a collective act across all sector, stakeholders and would require lobbying at both a regional and national level, but that it did have a unique role in both reducing its emissions and influencing partners to reduce theirs.

 

It was suggested the council look at organisations like Ashden, which had a sustainable towns and cities programme which supported local authorities. Furthermore, Friends of the Earth and the Grantham Institute were highlighted as organisations the council could engage with.

 

The need for accurate and comprehensive measurements of emissions to produce a baseline to understand the trajectory of emissions. It was noted consumption based emissions were often three times higher than production based emissions and that it was important that this was recorded also.

 

Mr Morris stated that he felt that it was important that the council did not just consult but engaged with people so that solutions could be developed rather than initiatives being imposed which were top down. It was stressed that any action needed to be done in partnership with all stakeholders.

 

It was stressed that the climate and ecological crisis was happening at an accelerated rate and Mr Morris noted that it had been described as the greatest challenge faced by humanity and the biggest threat to humanity’s continued existence. It was stated that it had been almost two years since the Emergency had been declared, but Mr Morris felt that the council had not taken enough action to deal with the crisis and compared it to the action to tackle Covid-19. Concern was raised that there had not been sufficient engagement from Members from either party in the work of the Commission and concluded that it was integral that there was leadership both centrally and locally to tackle the crisis facing the planet.

 

The Cabinet Member for Communities, Safety & Business Recovery (Councillor Shahul-Hameed) thanked the NEF and all the Commissioners for their work and continued support. It was noted by the Cabinet Member that the council had some ambitious plans, including creating green jobs and upskilling local residents. Croydon had previously hosted an Innovation Network conference to discuss giving priority to community wealth building, however the Cabinet Member noted that there were challenges in terms of financial circumstances and staffing which meant developing partnerships would be integral to the success of any plan going forward. As such, the Cabinet Member queried how the Commission could support the council to identify the right partners who could bring in external funding to delivery some of the recommendations which had been identified by the CCCC.

 

In response, the Chair of the Commission suggested the council should not underestimate what it and other anchor institutions could achieve if all worked towards a green economy. It was stated that mapping the flow of resources would be a first step to understanding how to prioritise areas such as the creation of green job, upskilling or greening the economy. Once that had been undertaken, the Chair of the Commission suggested that the council could look to build a partnership which would require leadership to begin the conversations, develop processes and deliver collective outcomes. Furthermore, it was stated that the council wold need to begin working with businesses to coordinate and pull together resources. Mr Morris added that it was critical for the council to network, research and learn from other authorities.

 

The Cabinet Member for Culture & Regeneration (Councillor Oliver Lewis) queried how residents could help shape the implementation of the recommendations and how the council intended to work with communities to achieve the borough’s green objectives.

 

In response, the Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon noted that the report not only looked at making the borough greener but also sought to tackle poor health quality due to pollution, address poverty and ensure all residents experienced the health and economic benefits from tackling climate change. It was recognised that building trust with residents was central to the success of tackling climate change and the Cabinet Member stated the council would work with and communicate with residents to build a coalition to implement the recommendations collectively. It was noted that funding for tackling the climate crisis would be a challenge as there was limited local funding available, as such the Cabinet Member suggested that they would be called on the government and the GLA (Greater London Authority) to ensure appropriate funding was made available.

 

It was noted by the Cabinet Member for Homes (Councillor Patricia Hay-Justice) that it was important that everyone ensured that they lived sustainable lives for future generations. 17 millions homes were identified as living in fuel poverty which was a significant issue, some of whom were living in social housing. The Cabinet Member stated that it was important that the council sought to encourage residents to take on initiatives, such as ground source heat pumps to support them. In terms of private homes, the Cabinet Member queried whether the council would lobby the government for an initiative that would support homeowners to implement green technologies in their homes.

 

The Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon stated that Croydon was part of an effort to address fuel poverty and had written to 7,000 homeowners to inform them of the grant funding which was available to improve energy efficiency in their homes. More information on the grant funding for insulation and greener forms of heating was available would be shared as it was available, not just for social housing but for private homes also. In terms of ground source heat pumps, the Cabinet Member highlighted that this was not only reducing the carbon footprint but also saved residents £400 a year on heating bills.

 

The Chair of the Commission highlighted that the government had ended the Green Homes Grant as it did not work as intended. The element of the scheme which had worked would likely be transferred to local government to deliver. It was felt that this was an opportunity for the council to retrofit homes which would support delivering recommendations

 

The Cabinet Member for Croydon Renewal (Councillor Stuart King) noted that carbon emissions could be reduced and tangible benefits, such as warmer homes and tackling fuel poverty, could be realised by reducing fuel costs. The Cabinet Member welcomed recommendations from the Commission informing plans in areas such as economic renewal, housing and transport as he felt that they should inform all areas of council work. It was further stated that Members would be looking for examples and evidence that sustainability had been at the heart of the council.

 

Paragraph 12.5 was noted by the Cabinet Member as it stated that the council would not make any further reductions to car parking spaces, whereas he felt there would be but that the council would need to be mindful of how it implemented change. It was highlighted that government funding had been received for the introduction of a segregated cycle land on London Road, additionally cycle facilities had been introduced across the borough. It was felt that it was reasonable trade to provide parking for six bikes for one car parking space. The Cabinet Member concluded by suggesting that a timetable of activities be developed by autumn 2021 to be considered by Cabinet in November 2021.

 

The Cabinet Member for Resources & Financial Governance (Councillor Callton Young) stated that he had previously worked on a sustainability plan for the food and drink industry and the means of its success had been the wins for the businesses. With this in mind, he queried whether the report looked at the “win win” opportunities which didn’t require any expenditure but required behavioural change. In response, the Chair of the Commission stated that she didn’t feel enough had been made of those opportunities. Some of the work would be about utilising resources in a slightly different way and shifting behaviours which would be a “win win”. It was felt that this should be front and centre when launching the campaign, furthermore it was suggested that it should be framing it as an opportunity as opposed to a challenge.

 

The Deputy Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon, Culture & Regeneration (Councillor Patsy Cummings) queried how the council planned to engage with the Citizens Assembly to gather feedback and to help shape the action plan. Furthermore, it was highlighted that all communities needed to be engaged with as it was noted that it was often the poorest communities who were most impacted by climate change and it was vital that their voices were heard.

 

In response, the Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon recognised the Citizen Assembly had been representative, however it was felt that after meeting with the Chair and CCCC there was a need for the discussions to continue and for them to be open and honest. It was further felt that there was an opportunity to engage with the younger population of the borough and to build upon the engagement which was already taking place. Mr Morris added that ideally there would be citizen assemblies across the borough to engage with people and have people which reflected the whole borough involved in developing plans.

 

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon (Councillor Scott Roche) thanked the Chair of CCCC and Commissioners for producing the report under difficult circumstances. He stated that it was right that the council needed to take a more serious approach to improving the local environment and air quality, and that he agreed with the suggestion for a high profile campaign with schools to change the attitudes of younger generations for a long term shift in attitude.

 

It was noted by the Shadow Cabinet Member that the council had committed to plant 3,500 trees before 2023 but due to the council’s financial situation the tree planting capital programme had been withdrawn. It was understood the council was relying on external funding to continue the programme. Questions were asked as to how many trees has been planted before the capital programme had been stopped.

 

The Shadow Cabinet Member further asked what the Cabinet’s position was in relation recommendation 23 of the Commission’s report and whether it was committed to adopt such a scheme as it was suggested that the council’s approach to improving air quality had been what he referred to as a stealth tax on local communities.

 

In response, the Cabinet Member for Sustainable Croydon confirmed that it remained a commitment of the council to plant trees and where there was a deficit in funding then the council sought external funding. He stated that he was confident that external funding would make up the loss in capital monies. In terms of the number of trees planted, the Cabinet Member committed to provide those figures to the Deputy Cabinet Member, but stated that he understood that there was not a huge gap between the number planted and the target.

 

In terms of recommendation 23 from the Commissioner’s, the Cabinet Member stated that the recommendations had been from an independent body and the council would review all recommendations. It was stressed that it was important to engage with residents to support creating solutions and to ensure they understood the benefits of some of the changes being asked of them.

 

The Cabinet Member concluded by stating that he hoped that this work would be supported on a cross-party basis.

 

The Leader of the Council thanked the NEF and CCCC for all their work and for joining them at the meeting and suggested a further report be taken to the November 2021 meeting of Cabinet.

 

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

 

RESOLVED: To

 

1.    Welcome the report and recommendations of Croydon Climate Crisis Commission and record the Council’s thanks to the Commission and the New Economics Foundation for their thorough and committed work in challenging circumstances.

 

2.    Note the actions the Council has already taken to combat climate change.

 

3.    Note that a detailed, costed delivery plan will be developed in autumn 2021 to implement the Commission’s recommendations, provided that this can be done within the Council’s existing budget or utilising external funding resources.

 

4.    Note that a copy of the Climate Crisis Commission report will be shared with the Chairs of relevant Council Committees to consider how their committee work can support the Climate Crisis work undertaken by the Council.