Agenda item

In response to Councillor Jenny Fradgley’s questions about the Council’s CO2 reduction efforts and where to find this information, Councillor Heather Timms (Portfolio Holder – Environment, Heritage & Culture) stated that the Council remained committed to being carbon neutral by 2030 (regarding direct carbon emissions in scopes one (WCC estate) and two (WCC energy use). Between 2013 and 2018 it reduced its carbon emissions by over 50%, which was informed by information gathered using the Environmental Management System which is ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 14001 accredited. Improvements for gathering information for scope 3 (WCC services e.g. waste) was underway.

In February 2021 the Council’s £1m Green Shoots community climate action grant scheme was launched to fund local community projects aimed at mitigating climate change as well as the Solar Together initiative which helped Warwickshire homeowners buy solar panels to produce green energy. With central government funding the Council will develop proposals to reduce the carbon impact of its corporate estate. The Council secured a Low Carbon Skills Fund grant to carry out building surveys to inform projects to decarbonise their buildings and do more to survey the rest of the estate. Work was carried out with the District and Borough Councils in Warwickshire, such as a joint baseline for their carbon footprints, tree planting, linking biodiversity and joining up green corridors.

In response to Councillor Keith Kondakor, Councillor Jeff Clarke (Portfolio Holder – Transport & Planning) confirmed that he will support a bid to fund the implementation of a cycle lane and other mitigations, alongside the upcoming Bermuda Bridge project. The Chair added that because the briefing note was shared on screen in a public livestream, this meant the note was publicly published.

Following a question from Councillor Kondakor, Councillor Andy Crump (Portfolio Holder – Fire & Rescue and Community Safety) noted that the two new SAFER officers will focus of safe access to schools but the implementation of 20pmh zones outside schools would need to be evidence based. Councillor Peter Butlin (Portfolio Holder – Finance & Property) added that the 20mph zones mentioned in the Council’s budget were advisable as it would help implement them quicker.

David Ayton-Hill (Assistant Director – Communities) confirmed that the enforcement of 20mph zones outside schools could begin in the next financial year.

Councillor Dave Shilton praised the Jaguar/Landrover (JLR) factory in Baginton for making electric batteries for their cars. Councillor Isobel Seccombe OBE (Leader of the Council) concurred with Councillor Shilton and added this giga battery factory would cause a shift in the types of jobs and make them greener.

In response to Councillor Kondakor, Councillor Seccombe stated that it would be confidential at that stage if the batteries from the factory would be used in public modes of transport. 

In response to Councillor John Holland, David Ayton-Hill clarified that there was a demand for battery giga factories in the Midlands so any bids should be successful with planning applications.

Councillor Shilton praised the work of the gritting teams for the successful gritting operations at vaccination centres.