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.