Agenda item

The Committee is invited to review and comment on the final draft of the Sustainable Futures Strategy.  This item provides an update on progress made since reporting to Cabinet in June 2023 and sets out the planned next steps for the Strategy prior to its consideration by Cabinet in November. 

This item was introduced by Steve Smith, currently Director of the Commissioning Support Unit. From October he would join the Communities Directorate and his role would include both Climate Change and Strategic Infrastructure. The draft Sustainable Futures Strategy was being submitted to all the Overview and Scrutiny Committees as part of a detailed engagement process, before its final consideration by Cabinet in November. Key information was provided in the covering report, which outlined the features of the strategy and the use of expert panels. A copy of the draft strategy, the action plan and an update on projects were provided as appendices.

Questions were submitted and discussion took place on the following areas:

• The opportunity for solar panel installation on large warehouse rooves. At planning authorities there were applications to site solar farms on agricultural land which caused tension. Steve Smith replied that this was led by planning authorities and the approach in each of the five areas varied. An example was the aim of Warwick District to formulate a net zero supplementary planning document. This would be planning and market led.  There were significant capital costs, but lower running costs. For WCC this was an influencing role. The councillor reiterated the scale of warehouse development in Wellesbourne, the public feedback and it was questioned if stronger persuasion was possible. There was no easy answer as this concerned private investment decisions. Through planning and building regulation, authorities went as far as they could, but this really needed a push at the national level.
• Councillor Watson, the Portfolio Holder engaged with many businesses to raise this. There were a number of influencing factors for businesses. Installation of solar panels was more likely for new developments, but less so for retrospective fitting, with other measures being used instead to reduce energy consumption. A key aspect was the ability of the National Grid to receive the surplus energy generated.  
• It was questioned if the Prime Minister’s announcement on moving ‘green’ targets would impact negatively on the cultural shift required. Steve Smith said this had been raised at the Climate Change Group held earlier in the day. Transport emissions in Warwickshire were significant and around half of these were journeys through the County. They could only be affected by people changing their vehicles over time.
• A discussion about water pipe failures causing wastage. There were endeavours to reduce water wastage and it was questioned whether the Council engaged with Severn Trent Water (STW) to encourage an update of their pipework to reduce such leaks. This was an area where there was more to do. STW had attended the committee providing a useful presentation and it was suggested that a further update would be worthwhile on progress in replacing its pipework. This would be picked up under the work programme item.
• A member spoke about the substantial warehouse developments in North Warwickshire and immediately adjacent to it. Further significant developments were planned in Tamworth. The member noted the point about substation capacity to accept excess power generated and only five of the thirteen substations in and around North Warwickshire could do this presently. He spoke further about the developments either built or planned at locations in the green belt and in neighbouring Tamworth. This was a planning issue and there was a need to lobby. Plans for on-shore wind farms should be resisted, instead there being a mandatory requirement to install solar panels on new buildings. Steve Smith agreed this needed to be a planning issue, where the design standards were set. Solar panels made good economic sense. There was a collective approach across the districts and boroughs to agree consistent policy. WCC would do what it could to influence in terms of strategic planning.
• A question on the gap between projected measures WCC could take to reduce emissions and the remainder that would need to be offset. Currently, about 50% would need to be offset. The question was how to reduce the gap, to as small a level as possible. Steve Smith confirmed this equated to 8-9 thousand tonnes. Not everything in the action plan was determined, with more to come and a reliance on funding availability. There were two areas where more could be done around transport and decarbonisation of WCC’s estate. This accounted for 40% of emissions, due largely to reliance on the use of natural gas. Work was taking place across the Council, and periodic progress reports would be provided. The Councillor sought more of a commitment within the strategy to make progress and reduce the need to offset emissions, and not to accept the broadly 50-50 position. An assurance was provided that this was not a static position, that there was a commitment to reduce the amount needed and to inset the emissions within Warwickshire, not to offset them out of County, as much as possible. There was however a need to be realistic in terms of funding availability.
• It was important to ensure that the data was accurate (e.g. tree planting) and was not being used to offset multiple times. WCC had a dedicated officer who monitored all the mitigation work, working alongside colleagues in relevant areas to ensure the data was accurate.
• A question about the time lag between planting trees and the time they needed to grow before contributing substantially to emission offsetting. In reply, several points were made about the long-term nature of this project, the Council had its own tree nursery, and it was a blended approach. Land availability was raised, and the Council was using its estate as much as possible. This was a long-term journey, which the County was leading on. It would be a last resort to offset by tree planting outside the County.
• With regard to the action plan, a request to add an impact column to show the significance of each initiative. This was acknowledged as a fair observation. Steve Smith spoke about the dashboard which was being built to provide measurement, with carbon accounting to show the return for each investment.
• In North Warwickshire, to offset the Hams Hall development, there had been substantial tree planting 30 years ago. As part of the HS2 developments, some ten thousand of these mature trees had been felled. There was a commitment to replace the trees, but it was questioned who would audit this. Reference to other significant tree felling due to HS2, and the time required for trees to mature before they provided substantial carbon offsetting. In reply, Steve Smith spoke of the need for enforcement, reminding of the planning obligations and ensuring these were met.
• Councillor Watson gave a local context on the impact HS2 developments in his division, part of which had been identified as a special management zone. The development was ‘net offset’, not a ‘positive gain’ in environmental terms which had been sought for many years. He agreed that the replacement trees would not be as productive in offsetting for decades, as those removed. He sat on a number of boards, and spoke of the difficulty in holding HS2 to account, not least because HS2 was the overarching organisation with a number of delivery contractors. There were two Council officers which did hold HS2 and its contractors to account. Several of the Council’s leading members were involved in regular meetings about the HS2 developments. Councillor Watson added that the pause in development of HS2 north of Birmingham would not have any positive impact, as building of the railway lines and infrastructure would continue.
• Poor maintenance resulted in many of the planted trees and ‘whips’ dying. Councillor Watson responded that HS2 was challenged on many such issues, but policing it was less easy. Data reports were provided on tree planting, but this point had been raised previously. 
• It was questioned if financial incentives or grants were provided to encourage recycling and reducing carbon emissions. There was support for small and medium-sized enterprises through the UK Prosperity Fund to encourage them to be more energy efficient and to reduce waste and water consumption. Mark Ryder added that further funding was available via the Combined Authority for business advice and information in this area. It included an allocation to administer the new scheme, so officers would do everything possible to ensure that Warwickshire businesses benefitted from the scheme.
• Clarification was provided on the 2030 and 2050 targets to achieve ‘net zero’ in carbon terms for the Council’s operations and then for Warwickshire as a whole.
• Scott Tompkins advised that the rules on biodiversity net gain included a maintenance requirement for trees for 30 years. He added that trees needed to mature for five years before they really contributed to capturing carbon, and collected most carbon between years five and ten, before then storing it. Therefore, tree planting now was essential to hit the national targets set for 2040.

It was agreed that the comments set out above be submitted as part of the Cabinet’s final consideration of the Sustainable Futures Strategy in November.