East Herts Environment and Climate Forum Meeting
East Herts Environment and Climate Forum Meeting Wednesday 25 November 2020 – 10:30-12:00pm via ZoomIntroductionCllr Graham McAndrew (Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability) introduced the meeting and explained its format. He outlined the East Herts Climate Motion and the Council’s carbon neutral targets, and the broad policies under consultation to deliver on them. A further progress update will be presented at the January 2021 Forum. The Council’s sustainability action plan is updated monthly and is available on the East Herts website.East Herts Environmental Sustainability Action Plan Jonathan Geall, Head of Housing and Health for East Herts Council Action Plan review followed by Q&AThe Environmental Sustainability Action Plan is a working document which sets out the actions that the Council is developing to deliver the carbon neutrality targets within the East Herts Climate Motion. Progress on the plan is actively monitored on a monthly basis and is available, along with other information on sustainability, on the East Herts website at search term environmental sustainability.From the plan, Jonathan explained the progress made on projects since the last Forum meeting. In particular he focused on the following actions:Council’s own premises, people and service delivery.The Wallfields office LED project is nearing completion. Equivalent work at the Buntingford depot is also underway. Energy audits of council premises will be revised once retrofit work is completed.Electric vehicles will be trialled in the New Year 2021.BREEAM excellent energy and thermal efficiency standards are being built into the refurbishment contracts for Hertford Theatre and the Leisure Centres in Bishop Stortford and Hertford.Use of regulatory powers to promote action by others.The anti-idling signage project is ongoing across Hertfordshire including work to explore enforcement of anti-idling.Influence and encourage others to participate.Incentives include public use of the council e-car pool scheme and enhancement of the website to bring sustainability, energy efficiency and climate change into one location.QuestionsQ: Are carbon footprints being calculated against each council division, for example Housing and Transport, or are they for the district as a whole?A: There are 2 aspects to this. Firstly, the council measures its own carbon emissions based mainly on those arising from energy use in relation to its own buildings, transport fleet, and outsourced services. This is approximately 2.8 kilotonnes CO2 per year. However, for emissions generated by the wider District, nationally available data published by BEIS is utilised. Q: Is there an update on the Supplementary Planning Document (SPD)?A: The consultation is now closed. Planning colleagues are now reviewing the submissions with a view to the final document being available in March 2021.Decarbonising TransportTrevor Brennan, Strategy & Programme Manager, East Herts & Broxbourne, HCC PresentationTrevor delivered a presentation on transport policy, context and growth in Hertfordshire and explained the County Council’s transport plans in the East Herts area which are currently out for consultation.The Government has published a range of transport policy statements such as the Road to Zero.The England’s Economic Heartland (EEH) Pathways to Decarbonisation technical report looks at how to deal with CO2 at a subregional level. 2 of the 5 key pathways to 2050 carbon neutrality were highlighted: service delivery HGV and the commute.The targets, current gap analysis, strategy and action plan were discussed and summarised as follows:64% of traffic volumes are car based, requiring a 40% reduction to hit target through public transport, walking and cycling initiatives.The delivery and use of transport services, infrastructure, vehicles and fuel are all under evaluation. This scope ranges from bus stops, junctions and cycle paths and the efficiency of the materials they use to the provision of natural shade and the required dynamic of our streets in readiness for climate change.The evidence suggests that the majority of journeys under 5 miles could change to a different mode of transport.How people travel and research data into travel patterns (intra and inter town and street by street) must be considered.In the Eastern Area, congestion, inappropriate routing, lack of cycle paths and East to West transport provision are all highlighted as key challenges which also impact sustained growth.‘Transforming Transport’ will focus on walking and cycling, future technology for automated vehicles and the safety and health of both our human and natural environment.Recent analysis of traffic volume data is encouraging.Consultation requires consideration of both the where (geographical scope) and what (which investments) in order to deliver the Growth and Transport plan.The View from the FootwayReg Harman – Local resident and retired transport planner.PresentationReg delivered his personal thoughts on the context, issues and ‘so-what’ of enabling the pedestrian to be a key contributor to carbon decent.A high level of walking is thought to be already taking place with an estimated 3 in 7 visits to Hertford town centre being on foot.Encouraging environmentally friendly travel requires a mindset shift. Walkers (and indeed cyclists and bus users) should no longer be labelled as (or be) “vulnerable” road users. They should be seen and enabled as “sustainable travellers”.Via a series of photographs, the issues of encouraging sustainable travel on pavements were highlighted. Moving and parked cars; leaves; overhanging branches; cyclists; road, pedestrian, road works and shop signage; uneven surfaces; road narrowing; broken steps; inadequate lighting and undesirable underpasses were cited as obstacles to promoting pavement use.In his ‘so-what?’ summary, Reg suggested that changes to town-wide strategies and planning, infrastructure budgets and appropriately skilled staff are all required to deliver sustainable transport.Break Out roomsTrevor Brennan, Jonathan Geall and David Thorogood (Environmental Sustainability Co-ordinator at East Herts Council) each hosted breakout rooms for discussion and Q&A amongst the attendees. The hosts summarised the themes discussed in each room when the Forum resumed:Room1 - Discussion and questions arose around transport priorities; the realism of encouraging cycling; investment; the Government’s 10-point plan and the green revolution; footway investment; what should be promoted in terms of carbon effectiveness, and community engagement as a source of necessary assistance in delivering projects.Room2 - Topics included how to convince the public about the seriousness of climate change; the role of personal wellbeing in engaging public action/transforming thinking; sustainable travel initiatives and infrastructure; council tax incentives and/or penalties; fit for purpose bus services and park and ride, and the potentially detrimental impact of the 2030 new car initiative on public perception that this policy will resolve all climate issues.Room 3 - Themes included the potential for community engagement in identifying footway improvements; the potential for community highway audits; how to address redundant street furniture on pavements; options to remove pedestrian barriers to give higher priority to pedestrian rather than car users and, East to West Hertfordshire travel issues along with ideas on how to help resolve this.CloseCllr McAndrew thanked everyone for attending and for their active participation. He urged all to keep in contact and confirmed that a summary of the meeting would be shared via a link on the East Herts website Environmental Sustainability page.The next Forum meeting date was noted as follows:Thursday 21st January: 18:30hrsCllr McAndrew notes that Forum meetings are being held at a range of timings to allow the widest opportunity for people to be able to attend. It was accepted that it will not be possible to always make it work for all participants.For further information on the Forum including amendments and additions to the mailing list, please contact: david.thorogood@.uk. ................
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