Agenda Item No. 17

Committee Cabinet Committee

Date 20 March 2001

Title of Report Environmental Action Plan

Plans None

By Director of Transport and Environment

District All

Purpose of Report To seek comment on the overall programme of active environmental work and agreement to new initiatives

RECOMMENDATIONS

Cabinet is recommended to:

1. endorse the attached Environmental Action Plan;

2. agree to seek comment on the Environmental Action Plan from organisations active in environmental matters;

3. as part of the County Council’s action to encourage residents to tackle waste reduction, to establish a pilot grant scheme from existing funds of up to £300 per organisation as a 75% contribution towards the establishment of local voluntary waste reduction groups;

4. with partner organisations, to re-examine current efforts to address river and coastal pollution;

5. supported by external funds, to establish a regular magazine to feature and support active environmental work by the County Council, partner organisations and volunteers;

6. agree the Council’s conservation priorities for implementation through the Sussex Downs Conservation Board and High Weald Joint Advisory Committee, set out in paragraphs 4.7 and 4.8;

7. develop in 2001/2002 proposals for a programme of environmental action for the non- AONB areas: Rye Bay and the Low Weald of East Sussex;

Supporting Information

1. BACKGROUND

1.1 The County Council carries out, or enables others to carry out, a wide range of pro-active environmental work. The Environmental Action Plan (attached as Appendix 1) brings together this active work in a single place, describing the County Council’s role and activities. The plan contains work based both on statutory requirements and on programmes to implement County Council policy. It sets out the County Council’s work to promote the environmental well being of the county.

1.2 Other documents describe other roles and actions. “A Sustainable East Sussex” (Local Agenda 21) for example, sets out the work of many organisations in East Sussex across the whole spectrum of economic, social and environmental issues. This Environmental Action Plan just covers active environmental work and only that by the County Council.

1.3 The aim is to revise the plan each year but to set out the Council’s priorities for three years ahead to give the guidance necessary to implement long term improvements. To support Best Value and other scrutiny reviews, comment on the plan will be sought from other organisations.

1.4 Consultation with organisations in 1999 showed that the County Council’s role and achievements in enhancing the environment were not as widely recognised as our work in some other subject areas. This plan responds to this, and to the challenge posed by the Audit Commission to set out our active environmental work in a single document. Through this plan the Council aims to:

1. improve the clarity of our aims and direction for our active environmental work; 2. improve knowledge of the Council’s role; 3. show our priorities and invite comment on them; 4. encourage even wider involvement in projects; 5. encourage complementary working between Council projects and those lead by others; and to 6. maximise funding and other contributions from non-County Council sources.

1.5 The Council aims to avoid environmental harm in carrying out all our activities, but, inevitably, we do cause damage as a by-product of delivering services. Our active environmental programme helps to compensate for this damage, as well as being desirable in its own right.

2. RESOURCES

2.1 Resources devoted to active environmental work are modest but we have been successful in attracting funding from other sources, for example by winning cash grants from the UK Government, the European Commission and other bodies. One difficult challenge is to design work so that it can be funded by external bodies as a time-limited project, but so that this short term assistance leads to long term, sustainable improvements.

2.2 This kind of pro-active work is just part of the remit of many of our environmental staff. Most spend a larger part of their time supporting Members, colleagues and other organisations, for example responding to enquiries, helping to formulate policy, responding to planning applications and assisting with the design of road schemes and schools. However, some time is available for staff to use relatively small budgets in creative, pro-active ways.

2.3 Much of our active environmental work is especially good value for money as it assists with other County Council priorities, for example work to support the timber industry and on ‘green’ tourism in turn support local employment.

2.4 In our environmental work, we maximise the use of County Council resources by acting with others, although this can make it less easy for others to understand the County Council’s unique, and varying, role in each partnership. Our achievements rely on the support, encouragement and hard work of many hundreds of volunteers across East Sussex, such as our 100 Parish Tree Wardens and trainee countryside rangers. We also recognise the very important contributions from other organisations.

3. PUBLIC CONCERN

3.1 Nearly all (96%) residents agree that “individual attitudes and behaviour towards natural resources and the environment need to change now to ensure that future generations have a chance of a decent quality of life”; only 1% disagree (MORI 2000).

3.2 Of those environmental issues suggested, two concerns for the future of East Sussex stand out from the rest:

· “pollution of rivers and the coast”, 59% “very concerned”; and · “damage to the rural and natural environment (i.e. loss of the countryside, wildlife, natural habitats etc.)”, 57% “very concerned” (MORI 2000).

3.3 Many residents feel that there is still much to be done and want to do more – only 20% feel that they have already done enough or as much as possible (MORI 2000). There is also more for the County Council to do. For example, almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents think that local councils do not give them enough information about the environment (MORI 2000).

4. NEW INITIATIVES

4.1 The first version of the Environmental Action Plan is an appropriate time to consider new directions and initiatives. External funding, such as INTERREG III, the landfill tax credit scheme and the lottery, also offer the possibility of extra resources. Members are invited to suggest their ideas for new initiatives; the suggestions below arise from work carried out in drawing together the first Environmental Action Plan.

Grant Aid for Core Activities 4.2 There is some demand from environmental organisations for core funding. As a result of reductions in environmental budgets and unlike some other Councils, we only offer grant aid for core work by the large organisations which we have been instrumental in creating: the Conservators of Ashdown Forest (£139,000 in 2001/2002), the Sussex Downs Conservation Board (£214,000), and the High Weald AONB Forum (£17,000 plus in-kind support worth £55,000).

4.3 Whilst organisations do find it relatively difficult to fund the core activities of their work (one- off, project funding is generally easier to find), it is impossible to say whether achievement on the ground is being hampered by a lack of an annual core grant. But there is a need to encourage further practical action, especially in the field of waste reduction, and residents have expressed a desire to be more active in environmental issues (MORI 2000). One need, not filled by other funding sources, is cash to support the establishment of new, voluntary groups. Up to a few hundred pounds to offset expenses at the start, would help groups to establish themselves and to formulate bids to other sources to fund projects.

Pollution of Rivers and Coast 4.4 The MORI survey of 2000 returned the same finding as the 1994 similar survey in East Sussex: that of a range of environmental issues presented, the public were most concerned about the pollution of rivers and the coast. The Council does take some action on these issues, for example by carrying out the conservation management of the coast at key sites, by leading the Seven Sisters Voluntary Marine Conservation Area and Sussex Sea Search project, by working with Southern Water to develop new waste water treatment facilities, by leading work planning for emergencies and co-ordinating responses to coastal pollution incidents. However, given the high level of public concern, current efforts should be re-examined to see what further could be achieved.

Regular Environmental Information 4.5 Current environmental information work by the Council includes the publication of the Meresman, the Environmental Events Calendar and seeking the publication of articles in existing magazines. However, most residents still feel that we do not give them enough information about the environment. Several organisations which we have created or give cash support, produce regular, attractively presented publications which cover all of their work, but we do not. Such publications are expensive to produce but opportunities exist to supplement the Council’s resources with external funds. For example, our French colleagues have expressed interest in a joint magazine about environmental action, funded through INTERREG III.

Sussex Downs, High Weald, Rye Bay, Low Weald Programme 4.6 The Council has lead the establishment of special programmes of environmental action for the Sussex Downs and the High Weald, and as has been successful in creating relatively large budgets for these organisations through grant aid and contributions from many organisations (Sussex Downs Conservation Board £1.2 m, High Weald AONB Joint Advisory Committee £360,000 in 2001/2002). Both organisations are about to start new three year work programmes and the Council has made suggestions for what they should include. To give Members representing the Council on the organisations, and officers some long term direction, the Council’s priorities to be pursued through these partnerships are suggested below.

4.7 The next three years are likely to see the creation of a national park and National Park Authority in the Downs area, and the County Council will devote considerable staff resources to try to ensure the best for East Sussex in these new arrangements. In the meantime, the conservation work of the Board will continue. The Council’s proposed priorities for work through the Sussex Downs Conservation Board for 2001/2002 to 2003/4 are:

i) assistance from the Sussex Downs Conservation Board in the delivery of the Local Transport Plan, especially the Tourism Without Traffic project; ii) the renewal and repair of surfaces of byways and bridleways; iii) the development of adequate support for social and economic matters ; and iv) the renewal of displays at the visitors centre at Seven Sisters Country Park.

4.8 The Council’s proposed priorities for the High Weald Joint Advisory Committee (or successor body) for 2001/2002 to 2003/4 are for the:

i) development of a High Weald AONB body which maximises external grant aid for desirable work at least resource cost to the Council; ii) High Weald AONB body to support regional efforts to revitalise the timber sector; and iii) for the High Weald AONB body to undertake, or support, practical conservation tasks through providing directly, or bringing significant extra resources for others to provide, countryside management services.

4.9 In the remaining areas of countryside in the county, conservation budgets are at a much smaller scale, although the needs of the countryside may arguably be greater. In Rye Bay, our action includes the management of the internationally-important Rye Harbour Local Nature Reserve and the management of Camber and Broomhill Sands, countryside management by our Rye Countryside Office and the INTERREG-funded Two Bays - One Environment project. In the Low Weald, the Council undertakes the conservation management of Ditchling Common, Chailey Common Local Nature Reserve, Markstakes Common, West Park Local Nature Reserve, and Park Wood.

4.10 Many aspects of conservation work in the Sussex Downs and High Weald are now well established and relatively well funded. Both have secured some stability in their funding. The Council’s focus for the development of conservation programmes now needs also to embrace the Low Weald and Rye Bay.

5. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

5.1 This action plan sets out the County Council’s actions actively to enhance the environment.

BOB WILKINS Director of Transport and Environment 20 April 2001 CABINET:C20MarchEnvironmentAct

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS Sustainability 2000. Research conducted for East Sussex County Council. June/July 2000. MORI. 1994 East Sussex Environment Survey. NOP.

Contact Officer: Simon Hickmott - Ext. 2660 Assistant Director: Steve Ankers - Ext. 1722 Local Member: all

APPENDIX 1

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN EAST SUSSEX COUNTY COUNCIL’S ROLE AND PRIORITIES 2001/2002-2003/2004

“Individual attitudes and behaviour towards natural resources and the environment need to change now to ensure that future generations have a chance of a decent quality of life”.

96% East Sussex residents, representative sample of 1,000 over 16 years, July 2000 (MORI). Introduction

Reflecting widespread public interest, the County Council’s six current corporate priorities include “enhancing the environment”. This plan sets out how we intend to take active steps to enhance the environment. Work principally undertaken for environmental reasons often assists with other County Council priorities.

We aim to improve the environment, and to avoid environmental harm, in carrying out all our activities. But we recognise that, inevitably, we do cause damage as a by-product of delivering services. Our active environmental programme helps to compensate for this damage, as well as being desirable in its own right.

The County Council has various roles in environmental matters. As representatives, we exhort others to take action and lobby for changes to legislation and Government funding schemes. We regulate certain matters and run contracts for services. We create partnerships and projects, and bid for extra cash from sources beyond the county, taking the lead in projects of county-wide significance. This action plan concentrates on the last of these roles.

Other documents describe other roles and actions. “A Sustainable East Sussex” (Local Agenda 21), sets out the work of many organisations in East Sussex across the whole spectrum of economic, social and environmental issues. This Environmental Action Plan just covers active environmental work by the County Council; strategies for each environmental subject area give more details than this plan (see Appendix 1). The “Structure Plan” sets out the County Council and Brighton & Hove City Council’s joint approach to land use and transport. The “Waste Strategy” sets out the County Council and Brighton & Hove City Council’s joint approach to waste. The “East Sussex Local Transport Plan” sets out a programme of action for transport and is the bid to Government for its funding.

The County Council is a large organisation, with a budget of over £1 million per day. But our resources devoted to active environmental work are modest, at around £1 million per year, so we focus these limited resources on actions that can make the biggest impact. We have also been successful in extending our environmental budgets by attracting a large amount of funding from other sources, for example by winning £1 million from the European Commission’s INTERREG II fund for 1999-2001. One key issue is to design funding bids so that this short term assistance leads to sustainable improvements.

This action plan responds to one particular challenge. The Audit Commission has invited the County Council to set out the scope of our active environmental work in a single document.

The County Council’s contribution to environmental action is made through the deployment of skilled, experienced and dedicated staff, whose passion for their subject area stretches well beyond the confines of the normal working day. Indeed, some even live at sites they manage and are always on call. However, many of our environmental staff also need to spend a large part of their time supporting Councillors, colleagues and other organisations, for example helping to formulate policy, responding to planning applications and assisting with the design of road schemes and schools. So active work is just part of their remit.

Finally, we rarely work alone. The environmental action set out in this document could not be achieved without the support, encouragement and hard work of many hundreds of volunteers across East Sussex, such as Parish Tree Wardens and trainee countryside rangers. We also recognise the very important contributions from other organisations.

Comment Welcome

This is the first version of this annual action plan and seeking comment on it will assist with the “best value” review of all of the County Council’s work. Comments are very welcome. In particular, organisations active in environmental work are invited to suggest how we could improve collaborative working still further.

Comments may be made at any time. This action plan is reviewed at the beginning of the calendar year for the financial year ahead. The County Council’s budget setting cycle starts in summer each year, for the budget of the following financial year, and longer term financial planning is continuous.

Comments should be sent to:

Bob Wilkins, Director of Transport and Environment, (Environmental Action Plan), East Sussex County Council, County Hall, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1UE.

Comments may be e-mailed to: [email protected]

A copy of this action plan appears on the County Council’s website (www.eastsussexcc.gov.uk). Public Concerns

People in East Sussex are concerned about environmental issues. These concerns are expressed in a variety of ways, from contributions to planning documents and objections to development proposals, to volunteering for tasks and devising projects.

The large volume of correspondence received by the County Council highlights a number of issues of immediate interest. To look at the wider picture, and to canvass the views of those who have not expressed an opinion, the concerns of the public as a whole were tested in 1994 and 2000. On these occasions, face-to-face surveys of large, representative samples of residents, were carried out for the County Council by NOP and MORI, using questions taken from comparable national surveys (“1994 East Sussex Environment Survey”, NOP and “Sustainability 2000”, MORI).

In 2000, given a ‘blank sheet’, the current issues of most concern were transport, crime and the impact of more building. Each was mentioned by 14-23% of those asked. Other environmental issues: waste, pollution and countryside loss, were mentioned spontaneously by 4-8% of respondents, so that these issues ranked alongside social matters.

Looking to the future, the 1994 and 2000 polls showed widespread appreciation for the need to change lifestyles. In 2000, nearly all (96%) residents agreed that “individual attitudes and behaviour towards natural resources and the environment need to change now to ensure that future generations have a chance of a decent quality of life”; only 1% disagreed.

In both 1994 and 2000, a majority of residents were “very” or “fairly concerned” about each environmental issue presented to them. Of those environmental issues suggested in 2000, two concerns for the future of East Sussex stood out from the rest:

· “pollution of rivers and the coast”, 59% “very concerned”; and · “damage to the rural and natural environment (i.e. loss of the countryside, wildlife, natural habitats etc.)”, 57% “very concerned”.

Residents are concerned and want to help. For example, across the county thousands are members of national and local environmental organisations and hundreds offer practical help each week. But residents feel that there is still much to be done and want to do more: in 2000, only 20% felt that they had already done enough or as much as possible. Only 1% felt that it was not really necessary for them to do anything (MORI).

There is also more for the County Council to do. For example, almost two-thirds (64%) thought that local councils do not provide enough information about the environment (MORI).

Vision

The County Council seeks to meet the needs of development and for change in a manner that is more sustainable in the long term.

East Sussex is not an island. We rely on environmental resources elsewhere and so it is important that we play our part in reducing the impact of the county’s activities on the wider world. For example, in terms of climate change, fossil fuel burned in East Sussex would require an area of forest several times the size of the county to absorb and store the carbon dioxide which we produce.

East Sussex is also recognised as making an important contribution to the national and international environment. For example, the Ashdown Forest, Pevensey Levels and Rye Bay area are all designated as internationally important for nature conservation. Two-thirds of the county, the High Weald and the Sussex Downs, is designated as being important landscape at the national level, and there are many nationally-important Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the county. We have a responsibility of stewardship for these special places.

East Sussex is also dear to us as our local environment. We love being beside the seaside and in the fresh air, just throwing pebbles or strolling on the grass carpet of the Downs. East Sussex is special because in a relatively small part of the country we enjoy a great variety of surroundings. We can feel remote on the quiet levels around Rye and Pevensey, and in the hidden meadows and patchwork of woods in the High Weald, but minutes later can be in a busy seaside town. Our towns and villages are well-loved for their different characters: Hastings, Bexhill and Eastbourne may be close neighbours but they still retain their individuality.

In East Sussex our history is part of everyday life. Reminders of several millennia of culture are all around us: 3,000 year old field systems, 2,000 year old castle walls, and 1,000 years of shipwrecks along the shore. Our culture today is still connected to our surroundings: we not only like living with old buildings but also enjoy cider from Horam, beer made in Lewes, and fruit, meat and cheeses from throughout the county.

East Sussex is also special because of its many curiosities. The towers of grand estates at Eridge, Firle and Laughton, the martello towers of Seaford, Eastbourne, Pevensey and Rye, the strange pyramids of St. Leonards and Dallington, and the netshops of Hastings all contribute to making this a place of delight.

But East Sussex is not without its environmental problems. Immediate improvements need to be made to parts of our towns, and long term work is needed to maintain our fundamental resources such as biodiversity and clean air. We are not yet investing enough to make the best use of our renewable resources, such as our woodland.

Our vision is for a county that invests in its environment, repairing damage and celebrating character and diversity. This requires active work to compensate for gradual and accumulating decay. The following sections set out our approach to this active work, subject by subject.

LANDSCAPE

Situation

The landscape of East Sussex is one of its finest assets and a significant reason for attracting residents and businesses to the county. Two-thirds of the county is designated as being in one of two nationally important Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: the Sussex Downs and High Weald. But all the East Sussex countryside is highly valued, it is part of the social and economic resource of the county.

County Council’s Role

The County Council’s overall aims are to celebrate, conserve and enhance the urban and rural landscape of East Sussex by the application of professional skills in landscape planning, design, creation, management and presentation. We recognise the demand for economic and social development, and the challenge is to accommodate these whilst increasing the landscape capital of the County. We work through advice, influence and direct action, leading by example.

We undertake:

· landscape planning: we work pro-actively by planning the landscape of specific sites which need to be developed or redeveloped;

· landscape design: our professional urban and rural designers apply their skills to a wide range of landscape and environmental issues;

· landscape creation: we implement projects to achieve landscape change and enhancement, for example at Eastbourne Park, through the Ouse Estuary project, and in the creation of the Millennium Greens of Uckfield and Heathfield; and

· landscape management: we offer advice, guidance and the implementation of the management of landscapes, both new and established ones.

Detailed Strategies

The County Council has carried out various studies of the landscape of the county: work to define remoteness has been published; other work to asses the landscape character is to be published.

The Sussex Downs Conservation Board and the High Weald AONB Joint Advisory Committee have also published strategies aimed at conserving the natural beauty of these areas (see below). The County Council makes specialist environmental and other technical contributions to the work of the Sussex Downs Conservation Board and High Weald AONB Joint Advisory Committee.

Action Through Partnerships

The County Council was a leading organisation in the establishment of the Sussex Downs Conservation Board and High Weald AONB Joint Advisory Committee. Both undertake conservation work in their AONBs, are supported by a wide variety of organisations, and attract significant grant aid from Government, through the Countryside Agency.

The County Council makes large financial and other in-kind contributions towards these organisations. In 2001/2002, the County Council will contribute £214,000 in cash towards the Sussex Downs Conservation Board, and £17,000 in cash and £55,000 in kind to the High Weald AONB Joint Advisory Committee. The County Council is the employer, treasurer and manager of the staff of the High Weald Unit, and the employer and treasurer for the Board.

Support for Voluntary Activity

The County Council supports local initiatives to improve the environment of towns and villages through the time of specialist staff.

Information and Education

For messages to be heard they need to be well presented in visual and written form. Landscape work requires graphic and interpretation designers and we employ such specialist staff, which are in turn available to present other visual material about other environmental work. Recent projects include the presentation of the Sussex Biodiversity Action Plans (see below).

Leading by Example

The County Council

Key Issues

The key issues for the landscape of the county are:

· giving further support for landscape conservation through the land use planning process, incorporating landscape assessment and guidance, particularly the conservation and enhancement of remoteness and tranquillity;

· ensuring that new development maintains a sustainable environmental and economic balance;

· involving residents in maintaining and enhancing the character of their place;

· creating and managing sustainable urban fringe open spaces; and

· creating and managing sustainable coastal open spaces.

Programme for 2001/2002 to 2003/2004

High priorities for the 3 years ahead are to:

· carry out further work in Newhaven, in particular the Ouse Estuary Project;

· carry out further work in Eastbourne Park, in particular at West Langney lake;

· complete the design and creation of the Uckfield and Heathfield Millennium Greens;

· draw up a development plan for the creation of a new country park at Pebsham;

· publish landscape assessments and guidance for organisations in the County; and to

· revise, update and publish the East Sussex Trees and Woodland Strategy (see Woodland below). BIODIVERSITY

Situation

Biodiversity, the variety of species and habitats and their condition, is a key indicator of sustainable development. If our wildlife is not thriving then we are not making progress.

Wildlife in East Sussex, as in the UK as a whole, has generally been in decline since the second world war. Following the Biodiversity Convention signed at Rio in 1992 and the publication of the UK Action Plan in 1994, the Sussex Biodiversity Partnership has been promoting wildlife conservation throughout the area. Through the partnership, local authorities, national agencies and voluntary sector organisations have begun to set out the challenge for key habitats and species in a series of habitat and species action plans. The County Council has undertaken to lead the work on habitat action plans for road verges and minerals sites, and a species action plan for Spiked Rampion. We are a contributor to many more.

County Council’s Role

The County Council’s overall aim is to increase public access to wildlife. Other nature conservation organisations are principally concerned for wildlife for its own sake, we take action so that people can enjoy it. The County Council seeks to ensure that the most important sites for wildlife are as accessible as possible to the public. This includes supporting surveys of habitats and species, and enabling public access to such data (‘intellectual access’).

To conserve key habitats that are important for the whole county and to secure public access, the County Council has bought land, led the creation of legal agreements with owners about land management and helped to establish active programmes of conservation. We have led the creation of six Local Nature Reserves and have secured other legal agreements. For two of the major nature conservation sites in East Sussex that are important at the international and national level, Ashdown Forest and Rye Bay, we have been the lead agency in establishing long term regimes of conservation management.

We manage our own countryside sites and those of others in order to promote biodiversity.

Where development schemes offer opportunities for habitat creation or enhancement these are implemented in line with national and local Biodiversity Action Plans, for example at Eastbourne Park and the Ouse Estuary (Newhaven).

Recent legislation, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, has significantly increased local authorities’ responsibilities for the conservation of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), however the County Council already puts considerable resources into the positive management of SSSIs it owns or manages (e.g. Ashdown Forest, Ditchling Common Country Park, Chailey Common Local Nature Reserve).

Detailed Strategies

Detailed biodiversity action plans, which set out specific targets, have been published for arable land, chalk downland, floodplain grassland, hedgerows, heathland, neutral and acid grassland, reedbeds, saline lagoons, shingle and woodland. Other action plans are in preparation.

The Sussex Downs Conservation Board and the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Forum have also published strategies that include significant sections on active nature conservation work.

Action Through Partnerships

The County Council creates or takes part in partnerships to assess what needs to be done and to take action. Through the Sussex Wildlife Conservation Liaison Group, wildlife professionals meet regularly to consider issues and promote solutions.

To promote conservation at sites that are important at the county scale, the County Council takes part in, and where necessary leads, implementation work. To conserve it, the County Council bought Ashdown Forest. Today, we are the largest cash contributor to the work of the Conservators of Ashdown Forest and are their ecological adviser. In 2001/2002 we will contribute £139,000, around one-half of the total budget of the Ashdown Forest Conservators. We also make major cash contributions to the Sussex Downs Conservation Board and High Weald Joint Advisory Committee to enable them to undertake nature conservation work.

At Rye Harbour, the ‘jewel’ in a crown of important sites from Pett Level to Dungeness that have three separate international designations, the County Council leads the conservation partnership. This work has been extended by two successful bids led by us to the European Commission’s INTERREG II fund for the “Two Bays, One Environment” projects, which enables us to act with our French neighbours undertaking similar biodiversity work. We employ the staff at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and contribute around one-third of the total annual budget.

The County Council has taken a major part in attracting grant aid from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the conservation and management of heathland in the Weald of Sussex and Kent. The five year £1.2 million “Conserving the Weald’s Heathland Heart” project is managed by High Weald Unit; the County Council holds the contract within the Heritage Lottery Fund and is responsible for the project.

In partnership with District and Borough Councils, the Sussex Wildlife Trust and English Nature the County Council has promoted the identification of Sites of Nature Conservation Importance throughout the county. Identification of these non-statutory sites provides important guidance to landowners and planning authorities and can assist with access to conservation grants.

Support for Voluntary Activity

Most data on biodiversity is collected by volunteers. To support this, the County Council occasionally pays for unusual expenses incurred in data collection or analysis, and helps to pay for the collation of the data at the Sussex Biodiversity Records Centre. Local groups are also supported in other ways, for example, we give the High Weald office of the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group free office accommodation and free use of computers.

Volunteers also support us. We are responsible for the maintenance of roads and roadside land (“highway”) and some of this land is important for wildlife. Indeed, some plants in East Sussex have their last remaining stronghold on highway land. Volunteer botanists have carefully identified these “Wildlife Verges” and have enabled the County Council to maintain a record of them and to create a mowing regime to let the special plants grow and flower.

The County Council is also active in the marine environment and led the establishment of the Seven Sisters Voluntary Marine Conservation Area in 1986. It has been a major partner in Sussex Sea Search, a project working with volunteer divers to collect biodiversity data on seabed habitats. Sea Search surveys have led to the identification of Marine Sites of Nature Conservation Importance, the first to the identified anywhere in the UK.

Information and Education

Large numbers of people visit sites that we own or manage and see information about biodiversity or are actively engaged in activities run by our staff or partners. For example, 500,000 visits are made each year to Seven Sisters Country Park, owned by the County Council, where the staff and volunteers of the Sussex Downs Conservation Board maintain the visitor centre. Here at Exceat, we also offer free accommodation to the Sussex Wildlife Trust to carry out a programme of biodiversity education for schools across the park. The Ashdown Forest visitor centre receives around 10,000 visits each year and also attracts school parties.

In the Rye Bay area, the “Two Bays, One Environment” project supports biodiversity information and education work. Each year around 100,000 visits are made to the nature reserve at Rye Harbour, with over 8,000 visits made in 2000 to the very modest information area in Lime Kiln Cottage, Rye Harbour.

The County Council’s Guided Walks Programme (see below), introduces thousands of people each year to aspects of biodiversity throughout the county. The County Council also uses its East Sussex Eco-Schools Programme to support action on biodiversity, by for example including special ‘twilight’ briefings for teachers on the Biodiversity Action Plan process.

Leading by Example

Each site owned or managed by the County Council which is important for wildlife has a site management plan and a programme of active conservation work.

All County Council site management staff offer guided walks and other events to the general public to help to explain our work. Particular efforts are made to provide disabled access and many sites have special facilities, such as wheelchair-adapted bird watching hides and level paths in woodland.

Key Issues

Information and education work so far tends to attract and support those who already have some interest in biodiversity. Whilst this is valuable and important, further initiatives could be taken to draw in those new to nature study, by for example:

· introductory wildlife appreciation linked to ‘green’ tourism initiatives; · bringing local biodiversity issues to life through high quality general environmental publications; and · demonstrating easy steps that everyone can take to support wildlife.

2001/2002 to 2003/2004

High priorities for the 3 years ahead are to:

· seek extra funds from beyond the county such as from the Government, the European Commission’s INTERREG III programme and from the Lottery; · undertake new work to introduce people to nature, through for example the production of a guide to the nature of the Rye Bay area; · support the production of eight further biodiversity action plans, as part of the Sussex Biodiversity Partnership, and pursue their implementation; and to · monitor progress on biodiversity targets and take remedial action. HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT

Situation

East Sussex has a particularly rich historic environment with elements as diverse as prehistoric settlements, medieval battlefields, iron-furnaces, ancient woodland, parks and gardens and defensive works. Yet the historic environment is much more than just a collection of individual sites, it is all the evidence of past human activity that can be seen, understood, felt or remembered. It is the foundation stone for our knowledge of ourselves, of our world and of our past.

A recent national MORI poll (Sept. 2000), commissioned by English Heritage revealed overwhelming support for the historic environment and its protection. Over 96% thought it important that both school children and adults should be given an opportunity to find out about the past. Over 90% thought that heritage was important for providing places to visit and things to see and do, for encouraging tourism, creating jobs and boosting the economy. Some 88% agreed that there should be public funding to preserve the heritage.

The historic environment is fragile and archaeological sites cannot be renewed or replaced once they are lost. For example, a plough damage survey conducted in 1980, and reviewed in 1996, showed that 40% of the ancient monuments in East Sussex suffer regular damage.

The County Council aims to encourage a sustainable approach the conservation of the historic environment and to develop a stronger understanding and awareness of the heritage across the whole county. Activities that meet our current social and economic needs do not need to irreversibly compromise the integrity of the environment.

The Role of the County Council

For many aspects of the historic environment, the County Council is the only source of appropriate independent archaeological advice within the County. We maintain the Sites and Monuments Record, and use it to advise Councils, developers and others of the likely impact of their work, and to help guide active conservation work. With the Sussex Archaeological Society and local archaeology groups, and supported by national organisations especially English Heritage, we devise and implement projects to conserve our historical heritage.

One important County Council role is giving advice to agencies that are considering offering grants to others. We help agencies to avoid giving grants which would harm the historic environment. For example, we are consulted by the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency and Forestry Commission; we would welcome consultations from others.

The County Council created and hosts the East Sussex Archaeology and Museums Project (ESAMP). ESAMP is a leader in the field of archaeological and museums training in East Sussex, and each year provides 40 long term unemployed people the opportunity to reassess their career prospects and to re-train. In turn, trainees make a major contribution to the interpretation of the historic environment. With 2½ full-time equivalent staff, the project is largely funded by training contracts and by selling services to schools, museums and others. ESAMP has been handicapped by obtaining much of its income from short-term training contracts but a three year training contract is being sought with the Department for Education and Employment.

Detailed Strategies

The detailed strategy for archaeological work in the county was produced by the County Council in consultation with others in 1993. It needs some updating to reflect current views on sustainability, local distinctiveness, lifelong learning, social inclusion and citizenship. A number of other agencies have also produced strategies which take into account archaeology and promote the conservation of the historic environment. For example, land use plans of the County Council and District and Borough Councils provide the legal force to ensure that we assess the likely impact of development and conserve the historic environment.

Additionally, the County Council is the lead local partner in work to inform planning and development activities which annually yield around £100,000 archaeological work. Three projects in partnership with, and funded by, English Heritage, will pinpoint particular activities that would most beneficial for the conservation of the historic environment (“Extensive Urban Surveys”, “Historic Landscape Characterisation”, and a “Research Agenda for Archaeology in South East England”).

Action Through Partnerships

English Heritage is our key national partner in respect of the protection, research and presentation of the historic environment. One result of this has been cash assistance for the establishment of a computerised database of all known archaeological sites and monuments in the county.

A key local partner is the Sussex Archaeological Society. The Society contributes to the running of ESAMP, notably in provision of accommodation at Anne of Cloves House in Lewes and at Michelham Priory.

Support for Voluntary Activity

There is a large voluntary sector concerned with conserving the historic environment, including a number of active archaeological groups and local historical societies. The County Council offers expertise, practical assistance and information to these groups. The County Council may also offer financial help to groups to acquire data or undertake works, where this is of use to the County Council or important at the county level. Members of these groups often kindly assist County Council staff with fieldwork.

Information and Education

ESAMP is the main way in which the County Council undertakes heritage education. This work also promotes social inclusion through training long term unemployed people for work and assisting them in the development of personal skills. ESAMP also contributes to life-long learning, offering public education through its own activities and in partnership with others, including the Sussex Archaeological Society and the University of Sussex.

The County Council also includes education about the historic environment in guided walks in the “Exploring East Sussex” programme, at WoodFair and FoodFair at Bentley, and in the County Library Service’s “Novel Approach” events. We offer public access to the County Sites and Monuments Record whenever there is room at our County Hall office. Contributions to publications at local and national level remain an important way of communicating information about the historic environment of East Sussex. In recent years County Council staff have written for academic journals, as well as popular and specialist publications.

Leading by Example

At County Council owned or managed sites we seek to promote the sustainable management of the heritage component of the wider environment. For example, at Park Wood (Hellingly), which we manage under contract for the Environment Agency, our greater understanding of the historic resources within the woodland has led to its improved management and interpretation.

Key Issues

The key issues for the historic environment are:

· increasing development in the county, as a result of housing allocations, the resumption of some trunk road schemes and pressure for new waste sites, will require additional reactive work and may reduce the resources available for an active programme by all agencies; · the Sites and Monuments Record, created by the efforts of a wide range of volunteers and organisations and held by the County Council, needs to be more accessible and to be updated so that it can be viewed remotely by those promoting and assessing development proposals; and · the training of unemployed people through the East Sussex Archaeology and Museums Project needs secure, longer term finance and may need new premises over the next three years.

Programme for 2001/2002 to 2003/2004

High priorities for the next three years are to:

· establish the East Sussex Archaeology and Museums Project on a sound financial footing;

· make the Sites and Monuments Record and other historic information available, on line, to the public and organisations;

· update the current Archaeology Strategy to reflect current thinking on the historic environment; and to

· seek extra funds for the conservation of the historic environment from English Heritage, the European Community, the Heritage Lottery, the landfill tax credit scheme and other potential grant giving bodies.

WOODLAND

Situation

In the UK we import around 90% of our timber and wood products. At the same time, many of our local timber businesses and woodland owners are struggling. Sustainable production methods in which buyers have confidence, such as independently certified schemes, offer growing markets and help to look after our landscape and local biodiversity. Buying locally produced goods reduces the need for long distance transport and its environmental impact, and supports local production and processing employment.

East Sussex is one of the most wooded counties in the UK, with 16% of our land under tree cover. An unusually high proportion, around two-thirds, of the county’s woodland is ancient, that is under continuous woodland cover since at least AD 1600, when reliable records are first available. Almost one-half of the county’s woodland is semi-natural, that is not derived from planting, containing native trees and shrubs, and is particularly important for wildlife.

County Council’s Role

The County Council’s overall aim is to ensure the long term health of our hedgerows and woodland, so that in East Sussex we can produce local timber, provide jobs, conserve biodiversity and protect the character of the landscape. We have particular expertise in forestry and over many years have won support from the European Commission and UK Government for our innovation in this field.

The County Council supports active conservation across the county through grant aid, where there is a gap in other schemes, and by creating and supporting the East Sussex Parish Tree Warden programme (see below).

Detailed Strategies

The County Council led the creation of the multi-agency East Sussex Trees and Woodland Strategy in 1990. The strategy is currently being revised in consultation with organisations throughout the county. Consultation is underway and comments are welcome.

The County Council has supported the production of local trees and woodland strategies in the Boroughs of Hastings and Eastbourne by the provision of advice and grant aid.

Action Through Partnerships

Support for the development of the forestry sector needs to take place at various geographical scales, from the whole of Europe to the Parish level. The County Council is a member of the European Forestry Institute and has led partnerships to win cash from the European Commission on three occasions for woodland work (from the LIFE fund and INTERREG II twice). At the national level, the High Weald Land Management Initiative, created by the County Council and Wealden District Council, is now supported by £800,000 of national Government cash through the Countryside Agency.

At the regional level, the County Council has led the creation of Weald WoodNet, a partnership of private, public and academic organisations. Weald WoodNet invented an ‘exchange and mart’ magazine “WoodLots” to enable small timber suppliers and users to find each other. The format of WoodLots has now been copied across the UK; the County Council produces the south-east edition of WoodLots.

A development of Weald WoodNet, Woodland Enterprises Ltd., is currently creating a Woodland Enterprise Centre at Flimwell, to foster woodland initiatives. The County Council bought the site, contributed a small proportion of the cash needed for the development (bringing in European Commission and UK Government grant aid), and contributes expertise to the project. To continue to lobby at the regional level, the County Council has led the creation of the South East Region Local Authority Woodland Network (SERLAWN), which brings together economic development and environmental expertise.

Support for Voluntary Activity

The County Council invented the idea of Parish Tree Wardens, as a voluntary activity to keep a close eye on the state of trees at the local level. The idea has been taken up across the whole of the UK and the national network is now sponsored by National Grid. In East Sussex, the County Council supports the Parish Tree Warden network by offering general guidance to Parish Council and volunteers, five training sessions each year for wardens, and mailings to wardens to encourage initiatives. We help Parish Tree Wardens to design village tree schemes and offer technical support for Parish Tree Surveys.

To support active conservation where there is no financial support from other agencies, the County Council offers 50% grant aid and advice for hedge planting or restoration schemes. Cash for this hedgerow scheme has been won by the County Council from the European Commission’s INTERREG II fund; it is also supported by cash from English Nature.

Information and Education

The County Council created WoodFair in 1996 to bring together woodland owners and managers, timber producers and users, to meet, exchange ideas and do business. As well as this trade-to- trade exchange, WoodFair at Bentley informs and educates various target audiences through specialist seminars for woodland owners, hands-on training, and as a public show. It has gone from strength to strength with 25,000 visitors so far and is the largest event organised by the County Council.

WoodFair includes education for schools, and over 1,000 students have benefited so far from the special programme devised for them.

Leading by Example

Where the County Council owns or manages land, rangers work closely with the County Woodland Officer to ensure that we operate good conservation practice. Highways tree policy is currently under revision.

The County Council uses some local timber, for example, the footpath stiles and signposts installed by countryside management staff are made from local timber wherever possible.

Key Issues

The key issue for woodland in East Sussex is addressing the widespread public concern about the loss of biodiversity, in woodland caused by a drastic decline in traditional management over recent decades. Issues are identified in the Woodland Habitat Action Plan for Sussex (Published September 2000), and will be further developed to encompass the wider social and economic perspectives in the revised Trees and Woodland Strategy for East Sussex, to be published in September 2001.

Programme for 2001/2002 to 2003/2004

Key initiatives for the 3 years ahead are:

· developing WoodFair (together with FoodFair) so that they become largely self-funding by 2002, aiming for 20,000 visits to WoodFair in the period of this plan;

· opening the Woodland Enterprise Centre and supporting its development as a centre for inspiration and technical education about woodland management and timber use;

· support the development of the Parish Tree Warden network in East Sussex through training and assistance in parish - level initiatives, such as parish woodland surveys;

· delivery of advice to landowners (many of whom are not farmers) on appropriate management of hedges, trees and woodland throughout the county;

· financial support to encourage appropriate management of hedges, trees and woodland, through a programme of grant-aid, to support practical measures for habitat and landscape improvement, in cases where other agencies are unable to support this work;

· develop an appropriately trained workforce, capable of implementing sensitive environmental forestry. This may be carried out in conjunction with Plumpton College and delivered at either Ivyland Farm, or the Woodland Enterprise Centre, Flimwell;

· develop markets for locally-produced timber. Again this would be in conjunction with the Woodnet partners, and should encompass the use of local timber in construction, heating and renewable energy production;

· as part of our ‘green’ housekeeping programme, demonstrating the use of local wood as fuel.

COUNTRYSIDE RECREATION

Situation

Informal countryside recreation can improve health, raise environmental awareness and help to sustain the rural economy, as well as bringing enjoyment to a large proportion of the population. It depends on easy access to the countryside, in particular sites at which the public are welcome to roam freely and the rights of way network. East Sussex has a wide variety of attractive countryside with more than 2,500 miles of rights of way, and around 30 country parks and other sites open to the public. In common with the rest of the country, East Sussex has seen a rise in both the numbers of people visiting the countryside and the range of recreational activities.

There are, however, problems:

· the rights of way network has improved but we are still a long way from meeting the Government’s targets of having all the network open and well maintained; · opportunities for cycling and horse riding are restricted by the limited and disjointed network of bridleways and quiet roads; · the distribution of country parks and other sites with open access is uneven, and there are many towns which have very limited opportunities of this kind; · there are conflicts between countryside recreation and other land-use interests, particularly farming; · problems include litter, trespass and dogs interfering with livestock; and · most visitors to the countryside use the motor car, and this is a major contributor to the growth in road traffic.

County Council’s Role

The County Council’s overall aim is to improve the opportunities for recreation in the countryside. This requires a county-wide network of a range of recreation opportunities: from the ‘fine grain’ of many public footpaths and local parks, to a few, long distance trails and large country parks. To provide this network, we record, protect and maintain all rights of way, we own key sites, manage sites for other owners, and seek agreements for open access to further sites.

Principally to enable countryside access, but also to protect the landscape and wildlife, the County Council owns: Ashdown Forest, Seven Sisters, Ditchling Common, Forest Way and part of the Cuckoo Trail, Camber Sands and Broomhill Sands. We also own Bentley Wildfowl & Motor Museum, which includes areas for informal recreation (although unlike the others a charge is made for entry).

At sites owned by other organisations, the County Council manages land with a mix of recreation and wildlife conservation objectives. The sites which we manage are: Chailey Common, Markstakes Common (South Chailey), West Park (Uckfield), Park Wood (Hellingly) and part of Weir Wood Reservoir. All except Park Wood and Markstakes Common are Local Nature Reserves. The income from managing the land of others enables the County Council to run a larger team of rangers, with greater career prospects and higher quality training for staff.

The County Council’s programmes of countryside management include:

· leading the development of a network of high quality long distance paths; · co-ordinating and publishing programmes of guided walks and cycle rides; · providing and promoting self-guided circular walks and cycle routes; · improving access for the disabled and less mobile; · working with private landowners to provide new access and to minimise conflict with recreation where this is a problem; · promoting opportunities to access the countryside without using the car.

Detailed Strategies

Work on countryside recreation is guided by the East Sussex Access to the Countryside & Rights of Way Strategy, published by the County Council in 1995. Annual “Milestones Statements” update the progress on recording, maintaining and promoting rights of way. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 will introduce new requirements to review the access strategy and to draw-up annual “Rights of Way Improvement Plans”. Locally, countryside management work is guided by a number of management plans for specific sites.

Other organisations have also published strategies and plans which include significant sections on countryside recreation, in particular the Sussex Downs Conservation Board and High Weald AONB Forum.

Action Through Partnerships

The County Council is involved in partnerships at a number of levels in order to enable countryside recreation. At the regional level, the County Council takes part in the South East Walks Network to raise the profile of the region as a walking destination through initiatives such as improving and promoting the network of long distance paths and holding an annual Walks Festival. In cash terms, the main partnerships in which the County Council is involved to promote access to the countryside are the Sussex Downs Conservation Board and High Weald AONB Forum, the former deploys staff to maintain rights of way, and both undertake initiatives to publicise opportunities for recreation.

Specific projects, such as the production of leaflets promoting cycle rides in the Rye area or walks from railway stations, are often achieved through partnerships with a variety of bodies, including transport providers and local businesses. The County Council manages a number of important sites in partnership with other organisations, these include the Cuckoo Trail (also see above).

Support for Voluntary Activity

Volunteers play a major role in helping the County Council to manage sites, maintain rights of way and promote access to the countryside; they also offer valuable advice. Around 400 different volunteers help to maintain rights of way, clearing paths, replacing stiles and bridges, and many other tasks. This effort adds the equivalent of at least £250,000 per annum to the budget available from the County Council.

Many guided walks and cycle rides across the County are led by volunteers, often in association with voluntary organisations. This work is a key element in our attempts to encourage more people to start walking and cycling, and to raise levels of environmental awareness.

A large number of volunteers also help countryside management staff with work at country parks and other sites. Among them are the trainee ranger teams at Lewes and Rye, who work full-time alongside the County Council’s paid officers. Trainees usually stay for between 8 and 12 months, and the County Council provides the experience and training which are now crucial in seeking paid employment in the field. The scheme has a success rate of more than 75% in helping the trainees to secure employment.

Information and Education

The County Council produces a range of leaflets and other literature detailing the opportunities for countryside recreation. These include the twice-yearly “Meresman” newsletter and pages on the County Council’s website. The County Council’s programmes of guided walks and cycle rides, “Exploring East Sussex” and “Cycling East Sussex”, inform and educate thousands of people each year.

At the countryside sites which we own or manage there are information and interpretation boards which help to explain what visitors can do and see, and which encourage appropriate conduct. Children’s events run by the countryside management staff are extremely popular, with attendances of around 200 children each year. Local schools are also welcomed at guided at the sites which we manage.

Leading by Example

The public may roam freely over country parks and other open land owned by the County Council. We have made adaptations and won awards to ensure that there is easy access for wheelchair- bound visitors, but we have more to do in this respect.

Key Issues

The key issues are:

· increasing resources so that a countryside management service can be offered across the whole of the High Weald (rather than just in Ashdown Forest through funding the Conservators, and directly in the eastern end of the county); · implementing the part of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act which introduces local access fora, this will require additional resources; · improving the standard of maintenance of the rights of way network, and catching up on the backlog of claims for new rights of way; · adding new paths and access opportunities for horse riders and cyclists, and extending the ranger service to maintain them; · reducing the dependency of countryside recreation on car use, through promoting more use of public transport and access close to where people live; · raising the profile of the County as an attractive walking destination; and · creating more country parks or similar sites near towns which currently have little in the way of such facilities, e.g. Heathfield, Bexhill.

Priorities for 2001/2002 - 2003/2004

High priorities for the next three years are to:

· host the South East Walks Festival in East Sussex in 2001; · improve the Wealdway and 1066 Country Walk in order to raise the standard of the strategic network of long distance paths; · put all rights of way and other access onto the computerised geographic information system, and seek ways of making this accessible to the public; · complete the National Cycle Network in East Sussex, to provide the ‘spine’ for a range of recreational cycling routes; · promote walks and cycle rides linked to public transport; · expand the countryside management service in the High Weald; and · pursue the opportunity to create new country parks between Bexhill and Hastings, and between Newhaven and Seaford. AIR QUALITY

Situation

As far as is currently known, and in comparison with current national health-based standards, outdoor air quality in East Sussex is generally good, but there are exceptions.

First, the county is commonly the part of the UK which suffers from the greatest number of episodes of ozone pollution. Ozone monitoring at the Government-run Lullington Heath (Alfriston) site, which is a good indicator of ozone pollution for the whole of the west of the county, show around 50 days per year when standards are breached.

Second, concentrations of nitrogen oxides along some roads approach the level set as the UK standard to be achieved by 2005. Concentrations are generally expected by the Government to may reduce as emissions per vehicle kilometre are improved, but this gain may be outweighed by greater levels of traffic. More monitoring is required to observe trends and to pin point ‘hot spots’.

Third, little is known about levels of fine particles in East Sussex. This monitoring is expensive and has only just begun at a local scale. Fine particles are the widespread pollutant of greatest health concern in the UK, contributing most of the 20,000 premature deaths each year estimated by the Government to be due to some air pollutants.

Little is also known in East Sussex about levels of other, less common, pollutants. Little is also known about the scale of the health impact of air pollution in the county. Techniques for “health impact assessment” are being developed.

County Council’s Role

Good health in East Sussex is one of the County Council’s six corporate priorities.

In East Sussex, traffic is the greatest local source of many air pollutants. As the transport planning and traffic management body for the county, the County Council has a key responsibility for traffic- related air pollution. As a landowner and major employer, we have concerns for the health of the environment and our staff.

The County Council is required by the 1995 Environment Act to support Borough and District Councils in the review and assessment of air pollution, and in the delivery of cleaner air.

The strategic land use planning work of the County Council can make a long term contribution to air quality, for example by steering development so as to minimise emissions as a result of traffic. We are also the minerals and waste planning authority, so we produce land use plans for these subjects and decide whether land may be used for, for example energy from waste plants (the Environment Agency considers licences for large, potential polluting processes).

The County Council has supported the creation and development of the pan-Sussex initiative, the Sussex Air Quality Steering Group. This group brings together the County Councils, Brighton and Hove Council, and all District and Borough Councils (except one), the health authorities and universities, to share expertise and consider air pollution issues. The Group pays for the employment of a specialist in air pollution (Project Development Officer). The County Council contributes a small annual subscription and we have used our experience to bring in extra funds from the European Commission (see Air Rives-Manche below).

The County Council has supported the development of the Health Improvement Programme (HimP), a multi-agency partnership led by the East Sussex, Brighton and Hove Health Authority. This programme includes action on air pollution.

Detailed Strategies

Borough and District Councils have led the production of air quality reviews and assessments, and may go on to produce local air quality management strategies. We have contributed to these reviews. The production of a pan-Sussex air quality strategy is being considered by the Sussex Air Quality Steering Group.

The County Council’s Local Transport Plan contains targets for action on air quality.

Action Through Partnerships

Professionals meet as the Sussex Air Quality Steering Group on a quarterly basis. So far, the work of the Group has included the development of an emissions inventory to estimate the sources of air pollutants in Sussex.

The County Council devised and successfully led cash bids to the INTERREG II fund, winning £205,000 cash for the Air Rives-Manche programme, which comprises 2 projects: Air Rives- Manche Sante (assessing some aspects of the health significance of air pollution), and Air Rives- Manche Sensibilisation (extra pollution monitoring equipment and support for Green Travel Plans). Discussions are underway with Sussex and French partners about a bid to INTERREG III.

Support for Voluntary Activity

The County Council has supported the development of a local air pollution forecast service, which it is hoped will encourage drivers to consider other ways of travelling on days when higher levels are predicted.

Information and Education

The County Council has supported the publication of a brochure for schools which enables teachers and students to examine the air pollution that they create through travel choices. This “Transport Emissions Assessment” was produced by the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection and promoted to schools in the East Sussex Eco-Schools Programme.

The Air Rives-Manche programme has been designed to give a boost to information and education about air pollution. This will include an inter-active website and mobile display which will enable participants to find out about air pollution levels in their area and to see how they could best reduce their own contributions.

Leading by Example

The County Council has lead by example both in terms of those things with direct effects on air pollution and those with indirect effects. We have:

· bought a low emission vehicle for use by Chairman of County Council on ceremonial duties (dual fuel LPG and petrol engine); · introduced 4 electric cars and 1 electrically-assisted bicycle for use by all staff; · built cycle routes and led bids to bring in extra cash for cycle route building; and · continued to support bus services with over £2 million cash each year.

Key Issues

The key issues in East Sussex are:

· establishing a reliable and comprehensive air quality monitoring and public information service; · working with our Sussex, regional and continental neighbours to establish the importance of air pollution sources from beyond the county; · encouraging the public and organisations to play their full part in reducing pollution emissions, especially those which lead to the formation of ozone (our most critical pollutant) · to bring together disparate activities which aim to raise interest amongst the individuals and organisations in year (“Don’t Choke Britain Month”).

Programme for 2001/2002 to 2003/2004

High priorities for the next three years are to: groups to tackle waste reduction · complete the Air Rives-Manche programme which will deliver better air quality monitoring and information, and which will assess the health significance of air pollution in East Sussex; · bid with our French neighbours for extra cash from the INTERREG III programme to address the key issues; · support ‘green’ travel plan work by various agencies in Lewes to encourage changes in travel behaviour in the town; and to · help to develop a multi-agency programme of public involvement and action during June each year. BUILT FORM

Situation

The built environment of East Sussex, both new and old, combines with the landscape character and historic environment, to establish the particular qualities of the towns and settlements that contribute to making the county a desirable place to live in and visit.

It is essential that these special qualities are appreciated and conserved when any new development takes place. Urban details and individual buildings that make a significant contribution to the quality and individuality of particular areas need to be retained.

County Council’s Role

The County Council seeks to ensure that any new development is not only of high quality but also respects the physical, townscape, landscape and historical constraints and opportunities of its setting.

The County Council has obligations under both the Local Authorities (Historic Buildings) Act 1962, and the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 Act to conserve and enhance individual buildings and areas of historic interest.

Detailed Strategies

The County Council works with Borough and District Councils, and other bodies at national and local level including the private sector, in the preparation of design briefs for major new development schemes, urban regeneration and area-based conservation schemes.

Action Through Partnerships

At a national level, the team represents the County Council on both the Civic Trust’s new ‘local authority partnership’ initiative and as an affiliated member of the English Historic Towns Forum.

In cash terms, the main partnerships in which the County Council is involved in at present is active participation in the three Conservation Area Partnership Schemes (CAPS), in Lewes, Eastbourne and Hastings, where our annual financial contribution is currently £5,000, £10,000 and £20,000 respectively. Our cash contribution, together with others locally, attracts grant aid for CAPS from English Heritage.

Support for Voluntary Activity

The County Council’s Built Environment Fund offers cash support to Charitable Trusts, Parochial Church Councils and private individuals to assist in the repair of Grade I and Grade II* Listed Buildings. Such grants often achieve high ‘gearing’ and sometimes contribute to ‘matched funding’ for seeking lottery grants. We work with English Heritage, and District and Borough Councils, to set priorities for the deployment of funds. The County Council has recently carried out a review of environmental grants, which included the Built Environment Fund and has agreed to continue to support the fund subject to a number of revisions to the criteria that now have to be satisfied.

Information and Education

A leaflet is currently being prepared to promote the Built Environment Fund for this coming financial year, 2001/ 2002, which will include a new application form which will clarify the criteria that will have to be satisfied for a grant award to be considered.

Leading by Example

The County Council seeks to set high standards of design in its own building or highway developments. We employ specialist staff to give general design advice on projects where we are the developer, and to give more detailed design advice on traffic management and traffic calming schemes.

Key Issues

The key issues for the County Council in this subject area to retain the specialist staff in order to be able to give the range of professional advice required and to maintain funding for both the Built Environment Fund and for the County Council’s contribution to CAPS.

It may be possible to attract further external support for urban conservation initiatives, for example through English Heritage’s “Heritage Economic Regeneration Schemes”, but this may well require extra cash from the County Council.

Programme for 2001/2002 to 2003/2004

High priorities for the next three years are:

· promoting the Built Environment Fund to ensure equal access to it; and · participating in Heritage Economic Regeneration Schemes within the County. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT (‘GREEN’ HOUSEKEEPING)

Situation

As a major employer delivering a large number of services, the County Council has a significant environmental impact. For example, we are a large user of fuel to heat schools, offices and community buildings.

For many years, we have had various programmes to address particular aspects of our environmental impact, for example monitoring of energy and water consumption in Council buildings. These initiatives now need to be brought together in a coherent programme.

County Council’s Role

As one of the largest businesses in East Sussex, we have a duty to reduce our environmental impact. As an organisation which is exhorting others to act in an environmentally responsible way, we need to continue to improve our environmental performance.

Structures and Resources

The County Council employs an Environmental Co-ordinator to lead on this work. Many other staff make significant contributions, for example those involved in the purchase and monitoring of energy and water supplies.

Detailed Strategies

The County Council revised its environmental management policy in 2000, as the existing policy was over 10 years old.

Action Through Partnerships

In order to make our environmental management work more effective we work through a variety of partnerships. For example, we are working with the University of Sussex to understand our significant impacts better, and we work with other local authorities to devise the most effective ways of addressing these impacts.

We work with others to obtain funding for projects that enable us to reduce our environmental impacts. For example, together with the international charity, Global Action Plan, and the East Sussex, Brighton and Hove Health Authority, we have successfully bid for a grant of £76,500 from the landfill tax credit scheme both to fund work to assess and reduce our waste, and to assist others in East Sussex to do the same.

Support for Voluntary Activity

Reducing our environmental impact is achieved in part by encouraging individuals to take action themselves. We encourage County Council staff to take action at work and at home, for example through simple but practical actions set out in materials from Global Action Plan.

Information and Education

New County Council staff will soon have an environmental management component of their induction process, and an environmental section will be included in the programme for responsible driver training. All staff will shortly be kept informed of what environmental management work is being carried out by the County Council by means of a regular ‘green’ housekeeping newsletter.

In addition, we will produce an annual report to set out our targets and achievements in the field of environmental management and will circulate this widely.

The policy sets the framework for “green” housekeeping work. An environmental management programme for 2000-1 has been drawn up in order to implement this policy.

Leading by Example

The County Council has:

· as a pilot, set a policy in the Transport and Environment Department for a 10% annual reduction in business mileage, by each group of staff. This has been supported by a variety of measures, for example encouraging staff to work at home for up to 10 days per year; · purchased electric vehicles and dual fuel vehicles, as well as bicycles to be used by staff (see: “air quality” section above); · set a target to reduce the amount of solid waste generated in County Hall and Pelham House by 25% by summer 2001 from levels measured in October 2000; · monitored the energy and water consumption in all our buildings for a number of years, to enable us to detect, identify and remedy the potential causes of abnormal usage; · installed energy efficient items in many Council buildings, for example, low energy light fittings in County Hall; · installed water saving measures in many Council buildings, for example, sensor devices in the urinals in Pelham House to ensure that they only operate when required;

Key Issues

The key issues are:

· to ensure that the environmental management work carried out by the different departments in different locations throughout East Sussex is co-ordinated as one programme in order to ensure best use of limited resources; · to establish a measured “baseline” of all current significant impacts against which to gauge the success of work to reduce these impacts over time; · to provide staff and the public with regular information in order to encourage action, demonstrate good practice and explain the level of progress being made over time.

Programme for 2001/2002 to 2003/2004

Key initiatives for the 3 years ahead are:

· to measure the baseline of all current significant impacts; · to implement annual environmental management programmes; · to produce annual progress reports against targets; · to achieve the 25% reduction target for solid waste being generated in County Hall and Pelham House by summer 2001 from October 2000 levels; · to devise and achieve targets aimed at reducing staff car mileage and increasing the relative use of alternative modes of travel; · to work with suppliers and contractors to reduce the environmental impacts of our procurement decisions; · to seek external funding to extend the waste minimisation project to all County Council buildings, and for capital funding of energy efficiency measures. \\owl\files\spider\C20Mar2001EnvironmentActionPlan.doc