Agenda item

(Report of the Portfolio Holder for Environmental Sustainability Recycling and Waste)

Report of the Portfolio Holder for Environmental Sustainability, Recycling and Waste to update the Committee on the authority’s work around climate change and agree to adopt the proposed climate mitigation action plan and climate adaptation strategy. Secondly, to endorse the climate change communication plan and the Staffordshire County Council (SCC) net zero by 2050 planning policy.

Member sought clarity on the following:

Do we have council properties that don’t have double glazing?  Officers will check and respond back to the committee

Going forward can we see more orchard’s/tree planting?  We have to recognise that climate change is inevitable.  Trees are important in terms of the Climate Action Plan and Climate Adaptation Plan. They provide shade to people when we may have extreme weather and take out carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.  Through the Nature Recovery Declaration there will be a Tree Policy that looks at Right Tree - Right Place which will look at which type of trees will be planted to enable them grow in certain spaces. 

Can we look at working with community groups who could work with us with planting etc.  - The Climate Emergency Declaration 2019 focusses on our own operations and Estates to start to get to net zero.  There is a communications plan attached to this report where we will be engaging with the rest of Tamworth to influence to support and guide and engage with residents, community groups allotment holders so we can give support where we can. 

A discussion took place around solar panels on council buildings, officers confirmed that the declaration looks at operational buildings, there is a road map for each operational building to be net zero by 2050 some may look a solar panel as an option. Need to consider cost, availability and longevity of a particular technology.  More to do on the wider stock. 

One of the biggest user of Carbon dioxide is Marmion house, is there a facility where we stop heating floors that are not is use?  The building audit did include Marmion House but they can’t stop heating individual floors but radiators can be turned off.  

Have, we started to or think about using hydrogen in the main buildings? There are ongoing discussions around Marmion house and a building audit, looking at a more electrified system.  One of the recommendations in the report is to that the action plan is reviewed quicker because tech is constantly changing and hydrogen maybe something to consider in a couple of years’ time

A recommendation was moved to ask Cabinet to look at the feasibility of including solar panels on council properties. 

(Moved by Councillor M Couchman and seconded by Councillor C Adams)