Committee: DEVELOPMENT AND REGENERATION SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
Date: TBC
Report of: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SCRUTINY PANEL
Contact Sabeena Domun Officer:
TITLE OF THE REPORT
Sustainable Development Scrutiny Panel – Findings
NON-CONFIDENTIAL This report does not contain information which warrants its consideration in the absence of the Press or Members of the public.
PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
To advise Members of the Scrutiny Committee of the outcome of the investigations of the Sustainable Development Scrutiny Panel.
The report also sets out the various recommendations of the Panel, which are for Members approval.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Members are asked to approve:
(i) The recommendations made to the Executive Member for Development and the Executive Member for Regeneration; and
(ii) That the Executive Member for Development and the Executive Member for Regeneration be asked to prepare a report setting out their response to the recommendations contained in this report. That these responses be presented back to the Development and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee within six months.
Page 1 of 12 1 1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background
At the Development and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee held on 14 August 2007 the Sustainable Development Scrutiny Panel was established to examine Bolton Council’s mainstreaming of principles, in relation to Sustainable Development, into its corporate policies and service delivery.
The Panel was subsequently appointed by Full Council and comprised:
1. Councillor Phil Ashcroft (Chair) 2. Councillor Derek Burrows 3. Councillor Roger Hayes 4. Councillor Barbara Ronson 5. Councillor John Walsh 6. Councillor Laurence Williamson
The Panel also invited the Executive Member for Development, the Executive Member for Regeneration and Members of the Regeneration and Development Scrutiny Committee to attend its meetings.
The Panel was supported through its investigations by the following officers:
Peter Cathery – Sustainable Development Team Leader, Sustainable Development Team, Development and Regeneration. Keith Davies – Director of Development and Regeneration. Sabeena Domun – Senior Scrutiny Officer, Legal and Democratic Services. Tim Hill – Chief Planning Officer, Development and Regeneration. Barry Simons – Principal Officer – Strategy, Sustainable Development Team, Development and Regeneration.
1.2 Reasons for Review
Sustainable Development was becoming a very important issue with particular regard to climate change and was beginning to impact the work of most Local Authorities. By its nature, sustainable development was becoming relevant to everything, as a simple principle, it could sometimes be perceived as being too big, too pervasive and leading to confusion. The publication of the UK Strategy, “Securing the Future” in 2005, established the issues needed to be addressed and how sustainable development would be achieved. It also answered many of the confusing issues.
The Sustainable Development Scrutiny Panel, it was decided, would focus on physical development with the focus being on buildings, roads, land use and infrastructure, which were all classed as contributors to the achievement of sustainable development - how buildings were designed, what materials were used, how efficient they were, how aspects of design could change behaviour, as well as how did development psychologically affect people. All these issues and points and many others besides were thought to be intrinsic to the creation and shaping of
Page 2 of 12 2 sustainable communities, which had been a key focus in the publication on, “Securing the Future” for sustainable communities.
Therefore, it was decided that the focus for this Scrutiny Panel should be on raising the awareness of sustainable development best practice nationally, compared against the current situation in Bolton and as a result, there were 4 key themes that were scrutinised as part of this Panel investigation, viz, Sustainable Consumption and Production, Climate Change and Energy, Natural Resource Protection and Environmental Enhancement and Sustainable Communities.
1.3 Process and Evidence
The Panel met on six occasions and during the course of its considerations, the Panel, in additional to oral evidence from officers, also received various reports.
Background – reports
The Panel received reports regarding the publication, “Securing the Future”, which laid out key directives for the future of sustainable communities. Special consideration was given to the Sustainable Development Toolkit and its application and benefits for its introduction into the future of sustainable development in Bolton for 2007.
The work of the Sustainable Development Team
The role of the Sustainable Development Team at Bolton Council was outlined and a report looked at the future priorities for sustainable development in the Bolton area for 2007. The challenges and opportunities that were emerging locally as well as looking at priorities that were recognised as the official national agenda as defined by the Government, through the UK Sustainable Development Strategy, “Securing the Future” and the various consultation documents that were currently being drawn up or awaiting Executive Member ratification.
Comparing Sustainable Development in Bolton
The Panel received a report detailing the results of a comparison assessment with other Councils within the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) area. Consideration was given to the activities that were also in place and had been previously reported and the key priorities of the UK Sustainable Development Strategy “Securing the Future”. The report was proposed as a response to the Panels’ queries and as a result, Bolton’s performance within sustainability, as measured three years ago, showed that Bolton was generally progressing similarly to the North West Region and the UK picture across sustainable development measures. No comparison could be sought with other Local Authorities, as there were no official statistics currently available, although the adoption of the national, UK Sustainable Development indicator would resolve this.
Page 3 of 12 3 Supporting Sustainable Development in the Region/Sub Regions
The Panel received a report regarding the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies that provided sustainable development goals and structures and recognised that this matter was key to the quality of life in the regions. These key objectives were in areas such as design and construction, talking climate change and energy efficiency, green infrastructure and the basis for the preparation of the Local Development Framework.
Witness Sessions
In addition to receiving evidence from officers identified in 1.1 above, the Panel received 5 presentations. The Panel indicated that the list they received of expert witnesses drawn from a wide range of groups and organisations, were of a very high standard and that the message regarding climate change and sustainable development was being put across.
Debbie Robinson from the Co-Operative (Co-Op) gave a presentation to the Panel, highlighting the importance of procurement and best practice lead by the Co- Op through food labelling. Areas of concern in relation to sustainability, that were established from the customer through a marketing survey included the following:
The Whole Truth, based on informing the customer of the truth on food labelling.
Food Integrity, with regards to informing the consumer about what was put in food.
Healthy Living, ensured that products would be made available that would help towards a healthier lifestyle, and;
Globalisation and Poverty allowed the Co-Operative to make clear the view that they were against unscrupulous exploitation of workers and the Co-Op ensured that this was part of their sustainability contract.
Further information was given to the Panel regarding the Environment and Sustainability concept which was of great important to the Co-Op as they would shortly be the first company to introduce a Fair Trade, ‘Bag for Life’, allowing them to work closely with India as part of a long term contract.
The Co-Op was also seen to be very proactive and taking responsibility for generating materials sensibly, including the introduction of bio-degradable bread bags and carrier bags. They also maintained their standard of quality when dealing with sustainability and the environment, by reducing the amount of paperwork and looking towards new technology to increase productivity.
Page 4 of 12 4 Professor John Handley of the University of Manchester gave a presentation to the Panel on the implications of climate change for Bolton Council and how the Local Authority could reasonable respond to these changes.
The onset of climate change meant that the social and economic mixture of Bolton was to change over a period of time, leading to warmer winters and hotter, drier summers, with rainfall intensity increasing. Therefore sea levels would rise as a result of these changes.
It was estimated that by 2080, there would be 56% more rainfall with reduced rainfall throughout the summer, interacting with increased rainfall in the winter months. The key impact on Bolton was that this could include severe river flooding, subsidence, wind and storm damage.
Discussions were underway between the University of Manchester and the Peak District National Park Authority to learn more about saving moorland from the potential of fires. Further talks were taking place with AGMA, with regards to looking into what steps could be taken to get the message across to the public about climate change. The option of entering into a formal arrangement or joint project with Manchester University on climate change was wholly supported by the Panel.
Bill Darbyshire of the Environment Agency informed the Panel of the steps being taken to avail potential impacts on areas controlled by the Environment Agency towards the effect on climate change. These areas included, flood risk management, water resources, waste management, land quality, conservation and ecology, monitoring and assessment and the incorporation of the Water Framework Directive.
Anne Selby of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust advised the Panel regarding the work of the Trust. She informed the Panel of the land management expertise of the Trust, the Trust’s Environmental Resource Centre in Bolton, the purchase of Brockholes Wetland site, and provided an overview of the Trust’s work. This overview was presented in six sections: ecological services or life support; health and well being; skills and job creation; educational aspects of the Trust; green infrastructure; and agriculture.
Emphasis was placed on the economic importance of addressing environmental problems such as pollution, congestion and mono-cultural landscapes, as well as other important aspects such as bio-diversity and that, “The Environmental Economy of England’s Northwest: A Driver for Economic and Social Progress”, had recently been updated. Training was being provided by the Trust, particularly to young people on the Government’s New Deal programme. The Trust had also provided a climate change teaching module to schools, following on approach by Lancashire County Council.
Page 5 of 12 5 Derek Richardson of the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit informed the Panel regarding the work of the Unit. He indicated that the Unit was predominantly a planning organisation. The Unit pursued two strategies, the first was a defensive one, to protect important sites and species through the land-use planning system and the second was a pro-active approach, to enhance and create environments.
Sites of Biological Importance, of which Bolton had a number, received a relatively low level of protection. It was rare for developers to bring forward proposals for protected sites on Unitary Development Plans. The Unit held a record as to where protected species were known to be found in Bolton. The pro-active strategy of the Unit included the Greater Manchester Biodiversity Action Plan (www.gmbp.org.uk), the Lowland Water Vole Project and the Dragonfly Atlas for Lancashire and Greater Manchester.
Mike Tregear, Head of Strategy at Bolton Council, informed the Panel about what constituted a sustainable community. Looking from both a Local Authority perspective and of the community itself, an explanation was given as to what was involved in a sustainable community; decent, affordable houses, good access to public transport, schools, hospitals, shops and a clean a safe environment in which to allow people to live in their communities. The future of sustainable communities could mean that children who had a high level of transferable skills would be able to attend schools that were perhaps placed at the opposite ends of the Borough, on the basis that transport links were to be improved for accessibility.
Each community should also be active, inclusive, safe, well run, environmentally sensitive, well designed, well connected, thriving and fair. The Panel were informed that the running of the community should include the community as a whole and communication with the Local Authority should be maintained in order for boundaries to be established. Money could be accessed to help those deprived Wards in Bolton from Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, for funding environmental projects through the introduction of a sustainable development financial model.
The Panel were notified of Bolton Council’s long term view for sustainable communities, including the following programmes; The Inner Urban Programme City Challenge, relevant aspects of the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB), Neighbourhood Renewable Strategy and fund and maintenance of the Croal Irwell Valley.
2.0 The Current Situation
The UK Sustainable Development Strategy “Securing the Future” featured a key chapter on Sustainable Communities that deals with how Local Authorities should approach the future of sustainable development, the decisions that needed to be made for future generations and beyond. This would allow the Sustainable Development Team to identify targets that needed to be met to fulfil the large and vast task ahead, to lead on Council policy, to try to outline the awareness of Climate Change, by expressing the opportunities that were available for doing so and finally, to deliver the priorities for sustainable development in Bolton for 2007.
Page 6 of 12 6 There would shortly be further draft consultations on the issues of both Sustainable Development and Climate Change, most notably, the Draft SPD on ‘Sustainable Design and Construction’, which currently required the confirmation of the Executive Member for Development and the Executive Member for Regeneration. There was also a draft consultation document for the Planning Policy Statement (PPS) on Planning and Climate Change that was awaiting verification from the Executive Members. Included in this list of future consultations were, the Climate Change Bill, where the Government had committed itself to addressing both the causes and consequences of climate change. The Bill would include a clear, credible, long-term framework for the UK to achieve its goals of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and ensuring that steps were taken towards adapting to the impacts of climate change. There was to be a DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) consultation on Water Efficiency and a Code of Conduct on new duties under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.
2.1 Leading the way
The Sustainable Development Team were now leading the way on two key areas of Council policy, which were:
1. Co-ordinating and promoting the delivery of the new five year, corporate wide Environment Strategy, including transformational actions of rolling out Environmental Management Systems across the authority and ensuring that the Council was making a positive response to the challenges of Climate Change.
2. The promotion of wide ranging partnership based activity to support the aim of bringing sustainable development to all communities through the Council’s external relationships and initiatives within Bolton Vision’s Local Strategic Partnership. The creation and development of the Sustainable Development Forum would be central to this work.
2.2 Getting the message across
The Panel were advised that the Sustainable Development Team had recently achieved success in raising awareness of climate change and the way this would have a direct effect within the Bolton urban area, including;
Members had received briefings on renewable energy, climate change, sustainable procurement and affordable warmth, which had been greatly accepted;
Environment strategy resulting in renewable energy installations at Leverhulme Park, UCAN Centre and the Valley School;
Community Energy workshops;
Citizen’s Panel consultations on environmental priorities and behaviour;
Support for the award winning Bolton Fairtrade Town campaign; Page 7 of 12 7 Greater Manchester Low Carbon Conference;
MBDA, Horwich (staff and business awareness event) and;
Teachers Resource Directory and website.
2.3 Opportunities for Raising Awareness and Action on Sustainable Development in Bolton.
Regular enforcement with the introduction of policy drivers and daily media interest meant that the Sustainable Development Team envisaged an increase in the amount of public expectation and level of action shown by Bolton Council in leading by example and responding to the new agenda proposed by the UK Sustainable Development Strategy, “Securing the Future”. A key role would be given to the Sustainable Development Team in showing how the Local Authority and its strategic partners could improve performance, particularly around environmental impacts and risks, providing the achievement of sustainable development in communities around the Bolton Council area, thus increasing the awareness of climate change and sustainability.
Use of the Sustainable Development toolkit should be expanded across the vision partners. The toolkit would require updating and be launched with the refreshed Vision and actively promoted as a key link document.
2.4 Priorities for Sustainable Development in Bolton for 2007.
The following priorities had been put together by the Sustainable Development Team for 2007:
A Community Ambassadors Sustainable Development consultation of 50 community groups from Bolton’s priority areas would inform the nature of future practical support for communities across Bolton achieving sustainable development outcomes and benefits;
Mainstreaming sustainable development indicators to assess the movement to a more sustainable community, locally and globally;
Identifying opportunities and synergies within the Local Authority’s Organisational Change agenda and potential support and resources for delivering on sustainable development outcomes through a wide range of policy areas and initiatives, in order to retain Bolton Council’s 4* CPA rating;
There would be an Environment Strategy launch, promotion programme and delivery arrangements. Bolton Council had signed up to 2 major public commitments, the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change and the North West Climate Change Charter;
An Environmental Management System across the borough to better manage and reduce the organisations environmental impacts and identify opportunities for efficiencies and probable cost savings; Page 8 of 12 8 The Environment Strategy highlighted the potential for further energy efficiencies to continue the progress already achieved and there were a number of forthcoming events that would spotlight Bolton Council’s performance, including:
- Consultation on the draft SPD (Supplementary Planning Document) on Sustainable Design and Construction; - Consultation on the draft PPS on Planning and Climate Change - The Climate Change Bill; - DEFRA consultation on Water Efficiency; - A Code of Conduct on the new duties under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006; and - The Government’s proposals for the future of Carbon Neutral Homes and the result of the Stern Report on the Economics of Climate Change.
The local Bolton Sustainable Development Appraisal Toolkit (developed with Forum for the Future) had been approved for application to all major Council plans and strategies. The process had already been piloted and used to appraise a range of plans in the Local Development Framework, which would be commended to other organisations in the near future;
Expanding the scope of Education for Sustainable Development through the Network of schools and youth organisations and looking to integrate the benefits for future generations within the Government’s ‘Sustainable Schools’ initiative and with the existing ‘Healthy Schools’ and ‘Eco-schools’ programmes; and
Influencing a variety of regional and Greater Manchester strategic initiatives, for example, Croal Irwell Regional Park and Greater Manchester Energy Centre feasibility.
3.0 Investigation and Recommendations
During the initial scoping of its review, the Panel identified that many external speakers would be necessary to help to inform views of the Panel. This had been undertaken to a high standard and provided a practical review for the Scrutiny Panel in response to the UK Sustainable Development Strategy, “Securing the Future”.
Following its investigations, the Panel framed 6 recommendations, where it felt improvements could be made. Each recommendation is considered below, with a statement of the Panel’s reason’s accompanying each recommendation.
Recommendation 1. To assess the possibility of using Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 monies to be directed into climate change mitigation and adaptation projects, ecological and environmental improvements, or of such provisions being put in development briefs. Funding had been and continued to be available for deprived Wards however; general Borough-wide funding was much more problematic. This is a recommendation in the hope of sourcing this funding assistance locally, considering that Bolton Town Centre Page 9 of 12 9 was likely to experience over £500 million of development within the next 10-15 years. Trafford Council use the allowance of their Section 106, amounting to £1.5 million to fund tree planting and other environmental and climate change projects.
Recommendation 2. Examine whether it is possible to undertake training for Members on the Planning and Highways Committee. The Panel found that Members of the Planning and Highways Committee will benefit from training on sustainable development, due to the amount of changes that are now taking place and this knowledge will be invaluable when dealing with planning applications.
Recommendation 3. Investigate whether it will be possible to educate children for the future of sustainable communities. The Panel learnt that in order to maintain a sustainable community, education as such, needed to begin at grass root level. Therefore the Panel proposes the further development and enhancement of all aspects of Education for Sustainable Development in schools and colleges across the Borough.
Recommendation 4. Consider the future involvement of external partners and sustainable service delivery to examine the achieving the priorities for a successful sustainable community. The Panel acknowledged that in order to meet all the tasks faced within the Sustainable Development Team over the next year, further assistance from outside bodies, as well as extra resources which would be needed to be able to provide the knowledge and expertise to Bolton Council in meeting its aims, both in the long term and short term.
Recommendation 5. Consider the continuance of the Scrutiny Panel, as a Policy Development Group (PDG) to ensure the work of the Panel continues. The Panel recognised, that although a lot of information was shared over the six meetings from officers and external presentations, it seemed that there was still a lot of information that required further examination and that the information was on- going that would require further updates on a regular basis. Therefore, as a result, the Panel were interested in allowing Sustainable Development to be progressed further as a PDG. This would allow for specific site visits to take place to Buckshaw Village, Chorley, Stamford Brook and the Solaris Centre in Blackpool. As a PDG, a report or expert witness would be brought to the Panel in order to begin to introduce and discuss the concept of Sustainable Development financial planning to the Council, relating to the Council’s budget as a test for funding or funding applications. There could be potential use of an abridged or adapted Sustainable Development Toolkit for this purpose.
Recommendation 6. To examine the further option of entering into a formal project arrangement between Bolton Council and Manchester University to further research and enable climate change adaptation measures for Bolton and the urban environment. Following the presentation to the Panel from Professor John Handley of the University of Manchester, it was deemed important that a close relationship be maintained with the University to ensure that relevant climate change measures were brought to the Council’s attention and possibly subsequently adopted as policy.
Page 10 of 12 10 4.0 Conclusion
The Panel acknowledges that the scope of the review was limited in the field of sustainable development but were very keen to ensure that the work of the Sustainable Development Team was continued as a PDG. This would enable the large amount of work that is still to come through from both legislation and in terms of how the Local Authority tackles Climate Change, to be considered.
The Panel expects that the work left over in this area will be addressed. Obvious such examples would include the proposal of continuing the work of the Panel in PDG format, (without which, the Panel is mindful that important and useful information would not be conveyed). Also, training for Planning and Highways Committee Members was thought to be useful, given the new information and documentation that was now available.
Overall, the Panel felt that it received evidence enabling it to examine what Bolton Council was doing in order to respond to the increased amount of coverage that Climate Change was obtaining and also how much sustainable development was evolving in both the community and through the Local Authority. Having said that, a number of recommendations for improvements were still identifiable.
Panel Members are aware that a small number of its recommendations may have on-going costs. However, it is not for the Panel to accurately cost and assess the budgetary implications of its recommendations. It is anticipated that any such costings may well be contained in the Executive Members’ response to the Panel’s recommendations. The Panel is also conscious that some of its recommendations will require careful consideration. Accordingly, the Panel requests that the Executive Member for Development and the Executive Member for Regeneration present their response to a meeting of the Development and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee within six months.
Page 11 of 12 11 Appendices:
Appendix 1: Sustainable Development, 19th December 2006 meeting.
Appendix 2: The Work of the Sustainable Development Team, 19th December 2006 meeting.
Appendix 3: Debbie Robinson, Co-Operative, presentation, 14th February 2007 meeting
Appendix 4: Comparing Sustainable Development in Bolton, 2nd March 2007 meeting
Appendix 5: Supporting Sustainable Development in the Regions/Sub Regions, 2nd March 2007 meeting.
Appendix 6: Climate Change statement – update, 2nd March 2007 meeting.
Appendix 7: Professor John Handley – University of Manchester, presentation, 2nd March 2007 meeting.
Appendix 8: Bill Darbyshire – Environment Agency, presentation, 2nd March 2007 meeting.
Appendix 9: Anne Selby – Lancashire Wildlife Trust, presentation, 21st March 2007
Appendix 10: Derek Richardson – Ecological Consultant, presentation 21st March 2007.
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