Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Jenny Lynn, Andrew Cooper, Lucinda Yeadon and John Williams, Natasha Luther Jones, Rosa Foster Mark Duncan.

The meeting started inquorate.  Councillor Andrew Waller was in attendance from Agenda item 5 and the meeting became quorate.

There were no pecuniary interests declared by members at the meeting.

There were no items on the agenda requiring the exclusion of the press and public.

Copy Attached

Resolved:  That the minutes of the Green Economy Panel held on 20 February 2018 be approved

Presented by Jacqui Warren

The Panel considered a report which provided an update on progress against the Green Economy Panel’s major projects and programmes

·         Energy Accelerator

·         Better Homes Yorkshire

·         Resource Efficiency Fund

·         District Heat Network (DHN) Programme

·         Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI) Strategy and Delivery Plan

·         Zero Carbon Energy Strategy and Delivery Plan

·         H21

·         BEIS Local Capacity Support

Resolved:  That the progress against the Green Economy Panel’s major projects and programmes be noted.

Presented by Jacqui Warren

The Panel considered a report which provided an update on the Energy Accelerator (Accelerator) programme.

The Accelerator is a key initiative under priority three of the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) which aims to create a zero carbon energy economy by 2036.  It is a new innovative programme.  It will provide a project development support service to remove current barriers relating to a lack of project development funding and expertise.  This current lack of support is preventing investment in low carbon capital projects across the Leeds City Region.  It will provide a service to the public, private, academic and community sectors to develop projects around three key themes:

·         Commercial and domestic retrofit including integration of renewable energy into the built environment.

·         District heat networks.

·         Street lighting.

The Panel received an update on the Accelerator at the meeting on

20 February 2018.  The refresh of the Pipeline estimated a positive indicative pipeline of projects was still in place and in need of the Accelerator.  Based on this result, the Chair of the Panel was satisfied and the Panel recommend to the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Board that the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (the Combined Authority) consider and sign the European Investment Bank (EIB) ELENA contract for funding.  The LEP Board on 27 March 2018 approved the Combined Authority signing the Contract.  The Combined Authority approved the signing of the Contract on 5 April 2018.

Resolved:  That the progress on the Energy Accelerator programme be noted.

Presented by Noel Collings

The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Board provided a mandate in January 2016 to refresh the City Region approach to the delivery of green and blue infrastructure.  The previous approach was adopted in 2010.

The Green and Blue infrastructure Strategy and Delivery Plan was requested in light of the 2015 Boxing Day Floods that struck the City Region.  The LEP Board, in providing the mandate for the refresh, acknowledged that while the primary focus was the mitigation and adaption of future flood events, implementation of green and blue infrastructure measures can deliver multiple benefits across a wide range of areas.

The Panel considered a report and slide presentation which provided an update on progress to develop a Green and Blue infrastructure Strategy and Delivery Plan for the Leeds City Region and the Panel was asked to note the contents of the report and provide comments on the emerging findings,

Resolved:  

(i)            That the contents of the report be noted.

(ii)          That the feedback and comments on the emerging findings, especially in relation to the information outlined in 2.15 and 2.18 of the report be noted.

(iii)         That the questions and thoughts of the Panel following the Leeds City Region Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy and Delivery Plan slide presentation be noted.

Presented by Noel Collings

The Leeds City Region Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) sets out the ambition of becoming a `resilient, zero carbon energy economy’  To understand how the Leeds City Region could achieve the SEP energy ambition, the Energy Strategy and Delivery Plan was commissioned with support from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS).  The Energy Strategy and Delivery Plan is the named delivery plan of the SEP.

The Panel considered a report and slide presentation which provided an update on progress to develop the Energy Strategy and Delivery Plan for the Leeds City Region and the emerging findings of Work Package 4 and was asked to note the contents of the report and provide comments on the emerging findings, especially in relation to the information outlined in 2.15 and 2.18 of the submitted report

The Panel was presented with the following questions and was asked for their their comments and thoughts:

·         Given the possible areas of new work, which areas should be prioritised?

·         Are there any areas of possible new work which the Panel considered to be missing

·         Did the Panel think the possible mechanisms for delivery are suitable and appropriate?

·         Are there other possible mechanisms for delivery that the Panel think should be investigated?

·         Of the possible delivery mechanisms (both identified and potential new ideas from the Panel) which should be prioritised?

Resolved: 

(i)            That the contents of the report be noted.

(ii)          That the comments on the emerging outputs of Work Package 4 and progress to develop an Energy Strategy and Delivery Plan for the City Region be noted.

(iii)         That the questions and thoughts of the Panel following the Energy Strategy and Delivery Plan slide presentation be noted.