A verbal report will be given at the meeting.
Minutes:
Members considered the Cambridgeshire and Independent Commission on Climate presented by Councillor Boden.
Councillor Boden stated that the report spans several hundred pages and he wanted to draw members attention to the recommendations made. In his opinion, the report missed a number of opportunities and focused heavily on the affluent, urban areas of the County compared to the rural areas, such as Fenland.
He feels that some of the proposals in the report would be difficult for the Council to implement whilst others would involve significant expenditure, which would have to be passed on to the taxpayer. He stated that a number of proposals would add to the cost of the planning process or impact the cost of building in the district, which would make a number of schemes unviable and impact the Council’s housing target. He informed members that another proposal suggests diverting funds allocated to housing. This would directly impact economic growth in the area if infrastructure expenditure is cut further.
He stated that there is proposal that a Climate Cabinet, chaired by the Leader of the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, is to be established and include Councils and key regional stakeholders. He asked for members agreement that the Council do not support that such a Climate Cabinet should be an executive function and should instead be a non-executive committee with no decision-making powers.
He informed members that he has strong concerns relating to a number of the recommendations in the report and believes members need to consider this in detail at a future meeting. He believed that some of the proposals relating to zero emissions in buildings and vehicles would be difficult to achieve without committing to a large amount of expenditure.
Councillor Boden highlighted that the estimated cost of implementing all recommendations made in the report totals £700 million per year for the next 10 years. This figure is higher than the amount spent by Local Government in total and in his opinion, unrealistic.
Members made comments, asked questions and received responses as follows;
1. Councillor Hoy agreed that she too had a number of concerns with the report. She addressed the suggestion that all new dwellings should benefit from electric vehicle charging points and highlighted that the district already has issues surrounding viability and this could further impact this.
2. Councillor Hoy raised concerns surrounding the recommendation that 30% of taxis should be electric vehicles, moving to 100% in eight years’ time. She added that this was not practical, especially in Fenland as a recent review of the Council’s Taxi Licensing Policy had seen a number of drivers request an amendment to the policy to include the use of older vehicles, as they cannot afford to purchase new vehicles. The Licensing Committee had considered this however the requirement for electric vehicles would impact them once more.
3. Councillor Hoy referenced the recommendation that diesel trucks and vehicles should not be permitted in town centres. In an ideal world, she agreed with the sentiment surrounding this however the layout of the district’s towns mean that vehicles often have no other option but to drive through town centres.
4. Councillor Hoy stated that in terms of her portfolio responsibilities she was concerned to see the recommendation that no properties are to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) lower than a ‘C’ rating. She said, in practical terms, many houses built within the last 10 years do not benefit from such a low EPC rating and a number of properties in the area would struggle to meet this target. Furthermore, this would reduce the number of homes available to rent in the area thus increasing the risk of homelessness which concerns her greatly.
5. Councillor Hoy agreed with Councillor Boden’s comments surrounding the cost of this work and stated that it does not represent a good use of money given other improvements needed in the district.
6. Councillor Hoy stated that the recommendations would have a detrimental impact on residents with lower incomes as they will not be able to afford the properties and vehicles referenced in the report.
7. Councillor Hoy said she has severe concerns regarding the suggestion of ‘re-wetting the Fens’ and highlighted that the district benefits from some of the best farms in the country which in turn supplies food to a great number of people. She stated that residents enjoy living in Fenland and would be strongly opposed to having their homes impacted by this suggestion. She said that whilst she supports protecting the environment, she does not agree that this should be at the harm of our residents.
8. Councillor Mrs Laws informed members that she had recently attended the Climate Change Independent Commissioners meeting and endorsed many of Councillor Hoy’s comments including her concerns surrounding the proposed ‘re-wetting of the Fens’.
9. Councillor Mrs Laws explained that the amount of available building land in Fenland is limited due to the district’s Flood Zones and many of the recommendations would make it near impossible to achieve the Council’s build target.
10.Councillor Mrs Laws agreed that the cost in the report is extremely high and said the suggestion of reallocating infrastructure funding is preposterous, as Fenland desperately needs improved infrastructure to connect the district with other areas of the country.
11.Councillor Mrs Laws agreed that the report is steered towards the South of Cambridgeshire and would have a detrimental financial impact on Fenland residents.
12.Councillor Mrs Laws supported Councillor Boden’s statement that the proposed Climate Cabinet should be a non-executive committee with no decision-making powers.
13.Councillor Tierney agreed and said he whilst he supports improving the environment, the report recommends extreme measures that are nigh on impossible to implement. He agreed that the report requires further discussion and consideration.
14.Councillor Tierney agreed that the report appears to ‘split’ the County and supports the proposal that the Climate Cabinet should be a non-executive committee.
15.Councillor Mrs French endorsed other members comments. She confirmed that herself and Councillor Benney had attended a meeting in early 2020 in relation to this matter. She explained that a number of farmers had been present at the same meeting and whilst they support the sentiment, they strongly disagreed with a lot of the suggestions made.
16.Councillor Murphy stated that he too had attended meetings on this matter and said no consideration had been given to the cost of some of the recommendations. Councillor Boden clarified that the predicted cost to implement the report is £700 million per year for 10 years.
17.Councillor Lynn said he was disappointed to hear the suggestion that funding may be removed from improving infrastructure in Fenland as the area desperately needs this. He added that the report fails to address the issue of incineration too.
18.Councillor Benney concurred and said the suggestion to flood arable farmland is ludicrous as it would involve importing goods which in turn, would increase the carbon footprint making the recommendation counterproductive.
19.Councillor Benney expressed that the recommendations would severely harm residents and local businesses.
20.Councillor Boden noted members comments.
Cabinet AGREED to note the verbal report.
(Councillor Benney joined the meeting at 4.08pm)