In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No 9.2 to allow Members to ask questions about Council activities. The replies to any such questions will be given by the Chair of the Council or relevant Committee or the appropriate Cabinet Member. Questions must be received in writing or by email to the Monitoring Officer by 12 noon seven clear working days before the meeting.
(a) Question submitted by Councillor Oscar Gomez Reaney to Councillor Charlotte Cupit, Portfolio Holder for Environment & Climate Change
Following this Council’s unanimous declaration of a climate and ecological emergency in July this year, can you provide an update for residents and Cllrs on what progress and actions have been taken so far to progress our agreed climate change action plan?
(b) Question submitted by Councillor Ross Shipman to Councillor Charlotte Cupit, Portfolio Holder for Environment & Climate Change
The Liberal Democrats note, with some concern, the investment in new diesel road sweepers despite the Council’s recent declaration of a climate emergency. We would therefore ask how Councillor Cupit feels that this investment is consistent with the Council’s climate change objectives.
Minutes:
In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No 9.2 Members were permitted to ask the Chair of the Council or relevant Committee or the appropriate Cabinet Member questions about Council activities.
Two questions had been submitted by Members under Procedure Rule 9.2 for this meeting.
(a) Question submitted by Councillor Oscar Gomez Reaney to Councillor Charlotte Cupit, Portfolio Holder for Environment & Climate Change
Following this Council’s unanimous declaration of a climate and ecological emergency in July this year, can you provide an update for residents and Councillors on what progress and actions have been taken so far to progress our agreed climate change action plan?
Councillor Oscar Gomez Reaney was invited to ask his question of Councillor Charlotte Cupit, Portfolio Holder for Environment & Climate Change.
Councillor Cupit gave a snapshot of a few examples to show how much work and effort, by officers and Members at all levels, was going into taking this matter seriously and implementing this at all levels wherever possible.
An example of this was this Council’s recent announcement of a £200k investment in Eckington Leisure Centre to improve its energy and thermal efficiency. Further, the Authority had been successful in its bids for EV charging points in the district’s town centres, starting with Dronfield.
The Council’s cross-party Climate Change sub-group had its first meeting to discuss progress and new ideas and was aimed at collaboration rather than criticism. The next meeting would look at timescales for each of the actions contained within the action plan; also assessing their contribution to reducing carbon footprint and prioritising actions.
Work was underway with Parish and Town Councils through the Parish & District Liaison and a ‘Parish Council Climate Change Action Pack’ would be available to all residents and parishes soon.
The first round of EcoSchools grants had been completed which had funded 11 Climate Change projects across the District. An EcoSchools Conference would be held the following year.
The Council has recently adopted a wild planting policy, and supported campaigns such as the Northern Forest and Woodland Trust to plant and encourage as many new trees as possible. New policies were also being developed to encourage new developments to incorporate solar, electric charging points and wildlife corridors and enhancements.
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION
In exercising his right to ask a supplementary question of Councillor Charlotte Cupit, Councillor Oscar Gomez Reaney queried whether residents could access information about the work that was happening and if they could get involved and the best way to signpost them to this information?
Cllr Cupit advised that an intensive communication campaign would be taking place, and directed residents to:
· everybodystalking.org; and
· NED’s Healthy Homes Programme
(b) Question submitted by Councillor Ross Shipman to Councillor Charlotte Cupit, Portfolio Holder for Environment & Climate Change
The Liberal Democrats note, with some concern, the investment in new diesel road sweepers despite the Council’s recent declaration of a climate emergency. We would therefore ask how Councillor Cupit feels that this investment is consistent with the Council’s climate change objectives?
Councillor Ross Shipman was invited to ask his question of Councillor Charlotte Cupit, Portfolio Holder for Environment & Climate Change.
Councillor Cupit thanked Cllr Shipman for his question. She advised that this matter was considered and published in July 2019, and the Minutes of the Executive Meeting where this was further discussed were also published with no decent.
She explained that there was no credible alternative, with technological developments not ready to market, and a need for Council equipment to be fit for purpose. The Climate Change Sub-Group are tasked to direct resources to amplify the results of carbon footprint reduction, and these actions were prioritised.
A smaller e-sweeper would cost three-times the cost of the purchased new diesel sweeper.
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION
In exercising his right to ask a supplementary question of Councillor Cupit, Councillor Shipman advised that he had researched an e-sweeper very easily, and questioned the research methods used to justify the purchase.
In response it was advised that this matter had been fully researched, and a sweeper of the kind suggested would not reach all areas of the district. An e-sweeper was specifically targeted at town centres and cities and did not have the robustness for the rurality of North East Derbyshire. It was anticipated that a suitable model may be available within the forthcoming 18 months and future options would be fully researched.