Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Cllr Graham

Cllr Heather was a substitute for Cllr Graham

No Declarations were made

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the previous meeting on 3 September 2024 were agreed.

The Chair updated the committee.

The Climate Action Supplementary Planning Document will soon be circulated to the committee, with a follow-up report scheduled for the January meeting. This document is part of ongoing efforts to enhance the area's response to climate challenges.

Mildmay Ward is set to benefit from a significant package of improvements, including the creation of new green spaces, upgraded pavements, and the development of more child-friendly streets. These enhancements are part of Islington’s broader initiative to improve local neighborhoods.

Apple Day at the Ecology Centre is scheduled for Saturday, October 19, from 12 to 4 PM. The event will feature live music, Morris dancing, crafts, face painting, and a variety of English apples to taste, juice, and purchase. It’s a great opportunity for the community to celebrate and enjoy seasonal produce.

For the Nature Neighbourhoods Project, project coordinator Rosie Appley will attend the committee meeting on November 12 to provide updates. She also has events lined up, including the next community discussion on October 24 at 5:30 PM at Whittington Park Community Centre. This event will bring together Co-op Sustain, Islington Council’s Local Economies team, and community members to discuss food systems.

Public Questions were taken after each Agenda Item.

Bill Sinfield and Mark Fontaine gave a presentation to the committee on Street Cleansing in the Borough.

The Council’s 2013 Vision for a Cleaner, Healthier Islington aimed to create liveable neighbourhoods that were clean, pleasant, and enjoyable for all residents. To measure cleanliness across the borough, the council utilised Local Environmental Quality metrics, assessing various factors that affected residents' quality of life. Significant improvements included the introduction of an in-house reporting system that allowed residents to track and receive updates on litter-related issues they reported. Additionally, the council collaborated with Kingdom Services to encourage behaviour change through "litter reinforcement" efforts, providing an overview of this improvement cycle.

Cleaning operations in Islington saw enhancements in daily and weekly schedules: main roads were cleaned seven days a week, while residential streets were swept four times a week. The street-cleaning team consisted of 72 sweepers and 49 supporting staff, focusing on addressing litter, dog waste, fly-tipping, and graffiti. To ensure coverage, the council operated six sub-depots, deploying sweepers daily in their respective areas. Resources were also allocated for leaf collection in autumn to keep walkways clear, alongside a winter maintenance program running from November to April to address inclement weather, ensuring safety on main routes for vulnerable residents. The total service cost was £3.1 million annually, employing 121 staff, though recent adjustments reduced the team from 86 to 72 sweepers, saving £300,000 per year while maintaining existing cleaning schedules.

Community initiatives and technological advancements bolstered local engagement and cleanliness. A new community weeding scheme encouraged residents to actively participate in managing their streets by removing invasive weeds, complementing the council's efforts to reduce glyphosate use and cultivate wildflowers. The council also implemented a back-office system called Alloy, linked to the Love Clean Streets app, enabling residents to report littering, fly-tipping, and other issues. Alloy generated workflows for real-time responses, allowing users to track progress and receive notifications upon task completion. This system also produced valuable data for the council, enabling the creation of heat maps to optimise cleaning strategies based on identified needs.

Littering and environmental enforcement were structured through a system of fines and patrols, with a fixed penalty of £100 for littering, reduced to £80 if paid within 14 days. Dedicated patrols focused on deterring littering and enforcing penalties to reduce environmental offenses, utilising data to pinpoint and address littering hotspots. Numerous fixed penalty notices were issued to discourage future infractions, and the enforcement efforts contributed to social initiatives, including a £10,000 donation to Islington’s Library of Things, benefiting the community.

Data-driven actions were implemented to address littering and fly-tipping hotspots, employing AI-enabled waste watch cameras to monitor chronic fly-tipping areas. The deployment of these cameras resulted in a significant decline in weekly fly-tipping incidents. The council achieved a high prosecution success rate for environmental offenses, reflecting its commitment to maintaining cleanliness standards. Furthermore, the council benchmarked its performance against neighbouring boroughs, demonstrating superior cleanliness and fewer offenses compared to areas like Camden and Hackney.

Ongoing programs and community engagement were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

Martijn Cooijmans, Director of Climate and Transport, presented to the Committee on the Archway Leisure Centre retrofit project.

An overview was provided regarding two significant projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions from council-owned buildings: the Archway Leisure Centre and the Waste Recycling Centre. The focus was on the decarbonisation efforts undertaken at these buildings.

A summary of the carbon emissions from various key council buildings, which included 200 properties such as the Town Hall, council offices, libraries, care centres, leisure centres, and schools. It was noted that leisure centres produced the highest carbon emissions, primarily due to the energy required to heat swimming pools, while the Waste Recycling Centre also had substantial emissions.

Specific details about the Waste Recycling Centre highlighted the installation of nearly 1,200 solar panels and the replacement of traditional gas heating systems with air source heat pumps for both water and space heating. This shift eliminated gas usage entirely within the building. The total cost of these improvements exceeded three million pounds, with approximately one-third of the funding sourced from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. The project at the Waste Recycling Centre was completed in May, and the annual carbon savings were estimated to be between 200 and 300 tons of CO2, resulting in a cost of about 371 pounds per ton of carbon saved.

For the Archway Leisure Centre, it was noted that construction was about to begin. Plans included installing 83 solar panels, replacing gas boilers with air source heat pumps, and implementing a new building management system to enhance operational efficiency. The estimated cost for this project was around three million pounds, with two-thirds of the funding covered by grants. The cost per ton of CO2 saved for this project was projected at approximately 476 pounds.

Challenges in obtaining sufficient grant funding for decarbonisation efforts were discussed, particularly for insulation and double glazing, which were deemed crucial yet costly and less likely to receive financial support. The importance of these projects in demonstrating the costs, benefits, and measures necessary for reducing carbon emissions in their buildings was emphasised

There was a query regarding whether air source heat pumps could effectively heat swimming pool water, to which it was confirmed that they could be used for both heating space and water.

There was a discussion about the feasibility of using heat networks to provide energy for buildings. It was clarified that two different approaches were being explored: one focused on improving individual buildings with insulation and non-gas heating alternatives like air source or ground source heat pumps, and the other aimed at developing heat networks that could leverage waste heat from sources such as data centres or the underground train system.

A question was raised about the council's strategy regarding communal heating systems in residential areas and whether there were plans to expand this approach throughout the borough. It was suggested that housing colleagues would be better equipped to address this aspect.

Concerns were also raised regarding residents' hesitations about new technologies, particularly air  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

Councillor Champion, Executive Member for Environment, Air Quality & Transport presented their annual report to the committee.

They acknowledged the hard work of council officers, particularly in areas like energy services and active travel, highlighting recent achievements such as winning gold in the London in Bloom competition for health and wellbeing.

The Executive Member outlined key initiatives, including the planting of over 930 trees, investment in state-based recycling, and the launch of a liveable neighbourhood project aimed at improving urban spaces. They emphasised the importance of district heat networks in reducing energy costs and their team's commitment to overcoming challenges in climate action plans.

Progress was noted in reducing carbon emissions, increasing electric vehicle charging points, and enhancing cycling infrastructure. The Executive member mentioned ongoing efforts to improve recycling rates and food waste campaigns, while also addressing the needs of vulnerable residents concerning air pollution.

There had been collaborative efforts across various teams to create a coherent approach to sustainability, emphasising initiatives that focus on children-friendly environments and reducing flood risks. Overall, the presentation stressed the importance of community engagement and innovative strategies in achieving environmental and social goals.

Concerns were expressed regarding the perception of pollution in certain areas, particularly where shops and residents were located. It was acknowledged that intense work was being done that often went unnoticed, leading to misconceptions about pollution being concentrated in specific places. There was a noted need for clearer data to demonstrate the council's equity approach to addressing these issues. In response to pollution on main roads, it was acknowledged that these roads naturally had higher traffic and, consequently, more traffic pollution. However, it was noted that pollution levels across the borough had significantly improved. A study by a local university indicated that the implementation of three LTNs in the southern part of the borough had a more substantial positive impact on boundary roads than on internal roads.

Several points were raised, starting with the terminology used in discussions about road danger reduction. The term "accident" was mentioned in reference to road traffic incidents, which was not preferred by advocacy groups. Instead, there was a push for using terms like "collision" or "crash." It was also pointed out that the council presumably had access to extensive data from app-based parking systems, prompting inquiries about whether this data was being utilised to inform future parking decisions. It was explained that the parking team utilised data from parking apps to inform their decisions, such as implementing surcharges during peak parking hours.

Concerns were raised about older low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) established during the pandemic. Questions arose about the plans for those main roads and the older LTNs, especially since local shops and businesses along those roads felt somewhat overlooked. Questions arose about the outcomes of the food waste bins for flats above shops trial. There were also concerns about the limited availability of dockless bike hire bays, leading to inquiries about potential plans to expand them beyond the currently designated number.

Challenges surrounding older LTNs were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

RESOLVED:

That the work plan was noted.