Agenda and minutes
Venue: Committee Room 4, Town Hall, Upper Street, N1 2UD. View directions
Contact: Ola Adeoye 020 7527 3044
No. | Item |
---|---|
Apologies for Absence Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillors James Court and Raphael Andrews. |
|
Declarations of Substitute Members Minutes: There were no declarations of substitute members. |
|
Declarations of Interest If you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest* in an item of business: § if it is not yet on the council’s register, you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent; § you may choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in the register in the interests of openness and transparency. In both the above cases, you must leave the room without participating in discussion of the item.
If you have a personal interest in an item of business and you intend to speak or vote on the item you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may participate in the discussion and vote on the item.
*(a) Employment, etc - Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain. (b) Sponsorship - Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your election; including from a trade union. (c) Contracts - Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you or your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial interest) and the council. (d) Land - Any beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s area. (e) Licences- Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a month or longer. (f) Corporate tenancies - Any tenancy between the council and a body in which you or your partner have a beneficial interest. (g) Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body which has a place of business or land in the council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share capital.
This applies to all members present at the meeting.
Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
|
Minutes of Previous Meeting PDF 152 KB Minutes:
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2017 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them. |
|
Public Questions Minutes: None |
|
Chair's Report Minutes: None |
|
EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR ENVIRONMENT AND TRANSPORT - PERFORMANCE PRESENTATION PDF 67 KB Minutes: Councillor Webbe gave a presentation on the work of the Environment and Transport Directorate. A copy of the presentation would be interleaved with the agenda.
·
On the issue of Fuel Poverty, over 700 households
had received ‘Energy Doctor in the home’ measures and
advice and that the 50 high-risk households identified had received
substantial energy efficiency packages through ‘ Warmth on
Prescription’. In addition over 4700 households had signed up
since November 2013 ensuring a savings of £1.1million for the
residents. The committee was informed that the Council had
delivered a successful partnership with Robin Hood Energy with a
view of encouraging residents to switch to lower tariffs especially
low income earners and those using smart meters.
·
SHINE (Seasonal Health Interventions Network) - In
2016, 2,399 vulnerable residents had been referred with each person
being offered an average of four to five interventions. The meeting
was advised that as a result of its success SHINE had been rolled
out to all over London with EDF funding.
·
Following the success of the Bunhill Heat Energy Centre (phase1), work was
ongoing especially with regards to replicating similar schemes
around the borough using defunct London Underground stations. The
installation of PV panels on Council buildings had resulted in
savings of £75k a year and the switch to LED lighting had
resulted into a further £120k savings.
·
Air quality measures such as text notifications to
inform residents about pollution levels; promoting travelling by
public transport; the launch of Archway ‘Zero Emissions
Network’ and working with Mayor on ‘Ultra Low Emissions
Zone were initiatives the Council continues to promote to ensure
that residents live in a healthy and clean environment. In response
to concerns about banning diesel vehicles in inner London and its
impact on lower income earners, the Executive Member acknowledged
that consultation was on going and the introduction of electric
/hybrid vehicles would be implemented on a phased basis. A
suggestion for the committee to revisit a previous review into the
impact of diesel vehicles on the various social groups was
noted.
·
With regards to Strategic Transport, the meeting was
advised that dangerous junctions at Old Street and Highbury Corner
were in the process of being transformed and consultation regarding
the road network around Kings Cross will commence around 2018. It
was suggested that TFL should give due consideration to the siting
of pedestrian crossings especially around stations. Members were
also notified that following Council lobbying with TFL, the lift
replacement works at Caledonian Road station were being carried out
without unnecessarily closing the station. The Executive Member
informed Committee that Islington’s first cycle Quietway was almost complete and with the extra TFL
funding the Council would continue its cycle improvement programme
up to 2021/2. In addition Committee were informed that as part of
its air quality programme the Council over the next 10 months
would increase the number of EVCP (
Electric Vehicle Charging Points ) from 10 to more than 100
bays |
|
COMMUNITY ENERGY SCRUTINY REPORT PDF 253 KB Minutes: The Energy Strategy Manager presented the report which updated members on progress on the recommendations of the 1 February 2016 Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee report on Community Energy.
In the discussion the following points were
made:
·
Funding changes introduced by central government and legislation
was likely to lead to a reduction in community groups undertaking
community energy projects. Some of the changes would make the
installation of wind turbines harder.
·
Following the success of the Bunhill
Energy Centre, the Council continues to consider all available
sources of external funding to deliver on Phase 2 of Bunhill and continues to work with partners across
Europe on the Thermos project with the aim of accelerating the
development of low carbon district energy across the EU. In
response to a question on funding concerns especially in light of
Brexit, committee were informed that funding had been secured and
the project was still on going.
·
With regards to the recommendation that information about community
energy be made available, the Energy Strategy Manager advised that
information was now available on the Council Energy Advice site
sheets, factsheets were being developed and that the Council via
its internal Affordable Energy Board would be producing a Community
Energy Plan for Islington which would develop a more detailed
communications proposal.
·
Members were advised that the Affordability Energy Board chaired by
Executive member for Environment and Transport seeks a joint up
approach across the Council and that in December 2016, the Council
launched an overarching energy brand called ‘On Energy’
which the Council uses to cover and bring together all its various
energy activities, whether from helping residents to save money on
their energy bills or providing expert advice to others or with
pioneering projects like the Bunhill
Energy Centre.
·
The partnership between the Council and Robin Hood Energy provides
an alternative energy provider for Islington residents especially
with low income earners and those using pay meters as they tend to
be more disproportionately affected. · On the recommendation for Council to monitor the tariff of its chosen provider, the Committee was advised that this was not practical, however Officer assured Members that Council had insisted on a competitiveness clause in its agreement with the company. In terms of Robin Hood’s sustainability the meeting was advised that the company had recently taken on a large number of customers following its takeover supply to the white label company Ebico from SSE
1) That the report be noted.
|
|
QUARTER 3 PERFORMANCE REPORT 2016-2017 PDF 220 KB Minutes: Councillor Webbe, Executive Member Environment and Transport presented the Quarter 3 Performance Report which set out the corporate performance indicator suite for 2016-17, together with a progress update for those indicators related to Environment and Transport over the first three quarters of 2016-17.
In response to a question from a member of the
public about the Council’s view on Play Streets in Islington,
The Executive Member informed the Committee that the Council
actively promotes and welcomes Play Streets, that there had been an
increase in take up over the last few years however the challenge
still lies in the sheer effort of organising these.
1)
That the report be noted. At the end of the meeting, the Committee expressed their thanks to Mr James Gilchrist, Head of Green Space and Leisure Services for his contribution whilst with the Council and wished good luck as he leaves to take up a new job.
|