Agenda item

Councillor Champion, Executive Member Environment and Transport, and Keith Townsend Corporate Director of Environment and Regeneration were present for discussion of this item

During consideration of the item the following main points were made -

Executive Member noted that despite last year being difficult and challenging for everyone, it has been an opportunity for the Council to galvanise action in areas that may not have happened in previous years such as the LTN’s and cycle paths

Meeting were informed of the 7 Low Traffic Neighbourhoods which covers about 23% of the borough, 35 school streets, majority of which were introduced during the Covid period and Pop up cycle lanes which were introduced in conjunction with neighbouring authorities such as Camden and Hackney

Executive Member acknowledged that lot of lessons were learnt during the implementation period and as the Council proceeds into the Consultation period most of which will be fed into any of the scheme that becomes permanent.

Meeting was informed that Bunhill 2 has now been commissioned which is good news in light of council aims of addressing fuel poverty

Council has proceeded with its Net Zero carbon programme and it is progressing well and although its planned engagement with stakeholders was hindered with the pandemic it is good to acknowledge the cross working partnership of all the council services

Members were informed that figures have been put together regarding the retrofitting of homes, acknowledging that although it will be an expensive exercise, the Council recognises its long term impact if not addressed soon
 

Islington Council acknowledges Cop26, and it will be hosting a climate festival which will be an opportunity to address climate change and its challenges

Executive Member reiterated a recent survey which states that 45 % of young people were experiencing anxiety regarding climate change and was hoping that the governments of all parties will address the young people concerns

Chair welcomed the Council’s focus on retrofitting especially in light of the recent news of expected high energy bills and it’s cost on its residents

Member was concerned that despite Islington Council’s efforts in addressing climate change, it is not being reimbursed by central government but being subjected to more cuts

In response to Air quality monitoring and lack of data, the Director for Climate Change informed members that monitoring takes place 6 months prior to the scheme being introduced and 12 months after it is implemented.

With regards the People friendly streets and its impact on boundary roads, the meeting was advised that in terms of traffic displacement, monitoring has not shown so far that there has been any noticeable impact on boundary roads either in terms of traffic volume or emissions. 

In response to concerns about too many short journey’s still be being carried out by cars, Executive Member acknowledged that some people will still need to use cars even for short journeys, however the Council will keep encouraging residents the benefits of using public transport and walking, introduce traffic reduction measures and putting in place the necessary essential infrastructure to support other means of transport

On the Council’s Circular Economy Action plan and the levels of engagement with the various stakeholders, the Corporate Director advised that an internal quality review is ongoing, and that at this stage it is relatively limited in terms of external engagement, that at present it involves the various council services. Members were reminded that Islington is the only authority that is embarking on a circular economy action plan.

With regards the 19% increase in workload in the crematorium and cemetery, the Corporate Director acknowledged the effort and work of the team, that a capacity review was carried out during the pandemic which confirms that there is adequate capacity

Members were reminded that circular economy will be on the agenda for the November meeting

The Committee wanted to acknowledge the environment officers and the team for the remarkable work carried out over the last year especially keeping the services running despite the challenges that arose from the pandemic

The Chair thanked the Executive Member for their report updating the committee on their work over the last year

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted