Committee: DEVELOPMENT and REGENERATION SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
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