The Canterbury Society welcomes the publication of the City Council’s draft Net Zero Action Plan and has submitted the following response ahead of the consultation deadline on Monday 6 October.
Our comments focus on:
- the need for clear performance indicators and public reporting;
- the importance of civic leadership and partnership working;
- the skills and structure required to deliver real change;
- and the risk that momentum is lost as local government reorganisation approaches
We thank Martin Vye for preparing this response on behalf of the Society.
NET ZERO ACTION PLAN
We note with approval the Council’s publication of its Draft Net Zero Action Plan, as proof of its recommitment to achieving net zero for its own operations. As stated , ‘Net Zero is a huge endeavour’.
In ‘How the Council reviews progress’, it is stated that the Action Plan will be reviewed annually at Scrutiny Committee. We urge the Council to establish a full list of Key Performance Indicators, comprehensive enough to cover all the Actions listed in the Plan. In addition, we urge the Council , in addition to the report to the Scrutiny Committee , to use every method of public communication to tell residents how the Council is progressing along the Roadmap, to show that the Council is serious about the priority it gives to net zero, and to encourage the general public to join with it in its ‘huge endeavour’.
A vital task, given the seriousness of the situation, is that the Council should use its leadership to persuade residents that climate change must be stopped, and that there are things they can do depending on their financial situation. In ‘Wider commitments’ it accepts that ‘the council is committed to support the Canterbury district to achieve net zero emissions by 2050’; and in ‘Partnership working’ it says ‘Canterbury City Council will nurture and grow existing relationships with other organisations in our district via the Canterbury Climate Change Partnership Board. This will include charities, community groups, and businesses from across the district.’ Inevitably the Council will be the leader on this Board. It will need to recruit this Board carefully. Then, as a first step it should examine all the Net Zero Plans of these other organisations, and seek ways in which these organisations can collaborate.
The Net Zero Officer Working Group will have to have many skillsets. They will have to be or become knowledgeable about what works in reducing carbon emissions; they will have to have inter-personal skills of a high order , to be able to persuade other organisations and residents to do what is necessary; and they will have to be able to craft successful applications for funds (We note that the Council has already been successful in obtaining funding from the Government for the installation of heat-pumps in the Kingsmead Leisure Centre, and £6.6 million for retrofitting of its social housing stock. However, it is likely that there will be more competition for this funding as time goes on) in Action 19 there is talk about developing ‘shovel-ready’ projects in preparation for ad-hoc funding announcements. We urge the Council to continue making this a priority.
In Action 16 there is reference to ‘making climate action a priority in the revised Local Plan.’ In order to achieve that it is essential that the Council insists that developers install PV panels in the roofs and heat-pumps in the 1149 new houses a year they will be required to give permission to build.
Finally, we recognise that the City Council will cease to exist in less than three years ‘time. This makes it even more urgent to establish a strong programme of work, and to cooperate with’ ‘its peers in other Kent districts, particularly in the East Kent region’. If Canterbury City Council engages in this ‘huge endeavour’ with intelligence and enthusiasm , and engages with other district councils in the area, then there is more likelihood that the new unitary council will pick up the challenge with equal determination.