Agenda and minutes

Venue: Seminar Room, Nexus Building, (University of Leeds) Discovery Way, Leeds LS2 3AA

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Swift, Councillor Ferriby, Councillor Waller, William Firth, Richard Goodfellow, Natasha Luther-Jones, Dr Alice Owen, Ben Tongue, Gaynor Z Craigie, and Rosa Foster.

2.

Declarations of Disposable Pecuniary Interests

Minutes:

There were no declarations of pecuniary interests at the meeting.

3.

Exclusion of the Press and Public

Minutes:

There were no items that required the exemption of the press and public.

4.

Minutes of Green Economy Panel 25 February 2021 pdf icon PDF 137 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the Green Economy Panel held on 25 February 2021 be approved.

5.

Governance Arrangements pdf icon PDF 177 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report which set out the governance arrangements for the Climate, Energy and Environment Committee as approved by the Combined Authority at its meeting on 24 June 2021.

 

Members discussed the importance of making linkages between the Climate, Energy and Environment Committee and the other committees across the Combined Authority, particularly the Place, Regeneration and Housing Committee. 

 

Resolved: That the governance arrangements approved by the Combined Authority on 24 June 2021 be noted.

 

6.

Mayor's Pledges pdf icon PDF 403 KB

Minutes:

Members considered a report which set out the mayor’s manifesto pledges.

Members were supportive of the Mayor’s pledges and had the following questions and comments:

  • That hydrogen was a unique asset for the region and could be used to ensure a more publicly accessible charging hub model.
  • The need to encourage products for terrace housing for electric vehicle charging and the need to make sure that the grid was positioned to support electric vehicle charging.
  • Members asked for more information regarding the pledge to build 5000 affordable and sustainable homes and asked for more information regarding the pledge, specifically around what definition of sustainable the homes would be built to.
  • Members discussed the possibility to influence the decarbonisation of HGVs.

 

Resolved: That the report be noted.

7.

Climate and Environment Plan pdf icon PDF 278 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report that set out the West Yorkshire Climate and Environment Plan. The Plan was a starting point and set out the actions necessary to deliver a net zero carbon region with proposals for the next three years.

 

The Committee wished to formally note a letter of representation received regarding the carbon impact assessment of schemes. It was noted that a carbon impact assessment was in development and would ensure a better assessment of schemes for future schemes.

 

Members had the following questions and comments:

 

·       Members welcomed the West Yorkshire Climate and Environment Plan and felt it was well structured and comprehensive.

·       Members asked for clarification on the relationship with the carbon emission reduction pathways work and which pathway the Plan was based on.

·       Members noted that the first three years of the West Yorkshire Climate and Environment Plan set out policy actions which would fit into all 3 pathways and so a decision on which pathway the Combined Authority would follow could be made later.

·       Members discussed the carbon impact assessment as a useful tool but the information it would provide needed to be at the heart of future decision making.

·       Members asked for clarity on how the Committee could register their voice in decisions where concerns over carbon impact assessment remained.  

·       That the expansion of Leeds, Bradford Airport was at odds with the aim of achieving net zero by 2038 and that it was vital that the wider aviation industry be explicitly factored into the plan.

·       Members discussed the value of road schemes and that schemes designed to increase car volume were incompatible with the West Yorkshire Climate and Environment Plan. It was noted that some road schemes could help in the decarbonisation of road vehicles by promoting active travel or improving traffic flow to make bus services more reliable and so benefit passengers.

Resolved: That the Climate and Environment Plan be endorsed, and members comments be noted.

 

8.

COP 26 pdf icon PDF 370 KB

Minutes:

Members considered a report that provided an update on the activity planned in the region before and during COP26.

 

Members noted that the Mayor would be attend a national and international Metro Mayors event to discuss the role of cities and regions in the green economic recovery.

 

Members shared their plans for COP26 and members noted that the Combined Authority and West Yorkshire local authorities had been successful with an application from the Northeast and Yorkshire Energy Hub for £19,500 for five events to showcase local activity and projects to public, delegations and investors.

 

Resolved: That the Committee noted the upcoming activity before and during COP26.

 

9.

White Rose Forest Plan pdf icon PDF 183 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report which sought endorsement for the White Rose Forest Action Plan 2021-25. Guy Thompson was in attendance and provided a presentation which set out the White Rose Forest Action Plan 2021-25 ahead of its planned launch in November.

 

The presentation focussed on the programme targets and the delivery pathway and proposed that White Rose Forest partner in North and West Yorkshire continue to work in partnership to develop a full White Rose Forest Plan 2025-2050 that would have a recognised status in the national planning policy framework.

 

Members discussed the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion aspects of the White Rose Forest including the benefits of access to open space and the necessity to ensure it was accessible to all.

 

The Committee noted the challenges associated with the action plan including meeting complicated and varied landowner requirements.

 

Resolved:

 

(i)               That the WRF Action Plan 2021-25 be endorsed, ahead of its planned launch in November. 10.2

 

(ii)              That the proposal for WRF partners across North and West Yorkshire, including the Combined Authority, to continue to work in partnership to develop a full White Rose Forest Plan 2025-50 that will have recognised status in the national planning policy framework be endorsed.

10.

Flood Risk Management Update pdf icon PDF 190 KB

Minutes:

Members considered a report which summarised the Combined Authority’s work with partners to address flood risk management issues.

 

Delivery of the Leeds City Region Flood Review was ongoing with partners and members noted that consideration had been given to refresh the review considering priorities emerging from the West Yorkshire Climate and Environment Plan.

 

The Committee welcomed the update and discussed the synergy between the green streets programme, flood management and sustainable drainage scheme. Members also discussed the importance of parity of funding between natural flood management, which was low carbon and effective, and hard engineering.

 

Resolved: That the report be noted.

 

11.

Energy Accelerator End of Programme Review pdf icon PDF 265 KB

Minutes:

Members discussed a report which outlined an end of programme review of the energy accelerator programme following the programme closure on 31 July 2021.

A total of 45 projects had been considered for investment; of these 22 projects received a full energy accelerator feasibility support. 6 projects reached the required development stage within the timescales and were outlined in the submitted report.

Lessons learned from the delivery of the Energy Accelerator had informed the design of the Net Zero Region Accelerator and projects not able to come forward as part of the energy accelerator could be referred to this new programme.

 

Resolved: That the members of the Climate, Energy and Environment Committee note, subject to Final Report approval by the EIB:

 

(i)              That the programme has achieved its three primary KPIs, most notably securing an Accelerator Leverage Factor of 1:28, exceeding the EIB requirement of 1:20.

 

(ii)             That the programme has contributed significantly to the Tackling the Climate Emergency agenda by delivering 7785 tonnes annual reduction in CO2, annual savings of 22.15 GWh for energy efficiency (EE) projects, and annual production of 15.592 GWh energy production because of renewable energy sources (RES) projects.

 

(iii)           That a return of unspent grant of ~€ 0.427 million will be made to the EIB subject to approval of the figures in the Final Report.

 

(iv)            That projects unable to come forward within Energy Accelerator timescales have been referred to the Net Zero Region Accelerator, creating a legacy for this programme.