Issue - meetings

Report of Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Regeneration and Planning

Lead Cabinet member: Councillor Matthew Bird

(Key decision):

(1) To approve the Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy 2021 and Action Plan set out at appendix 1 and 2 to the report.

(2) To require the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Planning and Regeneration to produce an annual progress report detailing the council and district carbon footprints, and progress against the action plan in September each year.

(3) To note the ‘Summary of Engagement Responses’ report at appendix 3 to the report.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Regeneration and Planning, seeking their agreement of the strategy and action plan, to deliver against the Council’s climate emergency declaration and net zero targets agreed in 2019.

Thanks were conveyed to Councillor Bird, Kate Richardson, Strategy & Partnership Lead for Sustainability, other officers involved and the Scrutiny Emergency Climate Change Panel for their work towards finalising the strategy.

The strategy provided a comprehensive evidence base for carbon emissions in both the council and the district and underpinned the many actions laid out in the action plan and set out the pathway to a Climate resilient future in the district.

Policy and Performance Advisory Committee (PPAC), held on 25 January 2021, considered the report and were supportive of the recommendations in full. Councillor Burman was in attendance to present PPAC’s discussion.

Visiting member and Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Linington praised the work undertaken in producing the report and welcomed an easily digestible communications strategy, highlighting key threads from the strategy to assist engagement with the public and partners.

Councillor Nicholson joined the meeting during discussion and determination of this item.

Resolved (Key decision):

(1) To approve the Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy 2021 and Action Plan set out at appendix 1 and 2 to the report.

(2) To require the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Planning and Regeneration to produce an annual progress report detailing the council and district carbon footprints, and progress against the action plan in September each year.

(3) To note the ‘Summary of Engagement Responses’ report at appendix 3 to the report.

Reason for decisions:

To progress the aims of the Council’s Climate Emergency Declaration (2019) to make the Council Net Zero Carbon by 2030 and to assist the same aim to be achieved within the wider district.