Agenda item

Timi Ashaye, Interim Head of Net Zero Carbon Programme gave a presentation, with the following points highlighted

Meeting was advised that progress against the delivery of commitments in the Net Zero Carbon 2030 strategy will be reported on a quarterly basis not only for members of the Committee to scrutinise but it serves as an opportunity to report progress in a transparent manner and easily accessible to the community and ensures accountability to residents.

In terms of engagement and communications, meeting was advised that there is good progress in developing the requirements for the delivery of the Islington climate change festival which is due to take place in October 2021.

Officer informed members of the Council’s Community Municipal Investment (CMI) proposals currently going through approval process, and hoping to launch the CMI on/around COP26 which allows residents to participate and invest in green initiatives via bonds and shares. 

In addition, the Council has secured c.£3m of additional programme funding through the carbon offset fund and other external funding to support priority activity, including Green Home Grants Two funding to upgrade homes across the borough (approx £750k)

Council has also implemented the switch to renewable sources for 100% of electricity being used across its corporate buildings and that  University of London has completed a first phase report which will assist the Council develop a road map on how to achieve Net Zero Carbon with its existing housing stock, noting that stage 2 phase is now being developed on this issue.

Members were informed of the good progress on the new local plan with several key milestones achieved as part of the work to draft and adopt the new plan and importantly members were advised that the Council has developed its social value guidance in draft form to include integrating net zero objectives into the awarding of all contracts

On the issue of Transport, officer reminded meeting of the completed trials of seven Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN) , the Enable Vehicle 2 Grid1 (V2G) - Honda supply chain which although severely disrupted by COVD and bi-directional chargers will not be installed until July 2021 before the full 12 month trial is to commence. The project is now expected to be completed by July 2022

A suggestion by a Member to incorporate percentage variances on the bar chart so that it will be easy to enable comparison between quarterly updates was noted

Member welcomed the layout of the report, as it is easy to keep track of what is happening and importantly identify the ownership of the different workstreams.

In response to a question on whether officers are taking into consideration going forward the issue with regards to solar panels and conservation areas, the Corporate director acknowledged that in the short term that additional information is being provided via FAQ and new web content, however in the long run possibly next year with the Net Zero Carbon programme, supplementary planning documents will be addressing those issues.

On the issue of Citizens Assembly and public engagement, meeting was advised that scope has not been agreed, however exploratory discussions have taken place with senior councillors, officers and some organisations on this issue.

On whether a budget has been allocated specifically for the Citizen Assembly, the Corporate Director acknowledged that a substantial sum of money had been agreed for the festival in general by the Executive recently, but nothing at this stage had been allocated to the Assembly.

On how council measures the success of its engagement, the meeting was advised that this is presently work in progress as the Council is looking at a range of options

With regards the resumption of Cycleway 50, meeting was advised that this ceased as a result of covid, however with other schemes in the pipeline, this is being managed by TfL.

The Chair thanked Timi Ashaye for their presentation and for the updates on the progress of the Council’s commitments to achieving its Net Zero Carbon Emissions 

RESOLVED :
The presentation was noted