City Council Meeting - Wednesday, 24th January, 2018 5.05 p.m. Summary: During the Liverpool City Council Meeting on 24 January 2018, Deputy Mayor Councillor Ann O’Byrne put an Amended Motion to Council under the heading of ‘Protect Our Parks and Green Spaces’, which included the following – ‘Council welcomes the protection given to green spaces across the city in the final draft Local Plan, in particular the recognition that there ‘is no need to allocate open space to meet the City’s housing requirement’. Council welcomes the protection given to green and open spaces in the Local Plan by their classification on the Policies Map as covered by Policies GI 1, GI 2 and GI 3. Council believes that the draft Local Plan provides the basis for a new consensus in the city that can protect Green and Open Spaces and support the provision of new housing. Council calls on councillors to act responsibly and support plans to build houses on brownfield sites. Council welcomes the proposals in the Green and Open Space Review and is working to implement it. Council asks the Mayor to reconvene the Review in the run up to the 2020-2023 budget round to report on progress in protecting green and open spaces, implementing their recommendations and securing sustainable funding for parks and green spaces.’ The Substantive Motion was approved by 54 votes to 7 by Council. Councillors and committees Agenda item 254 Protect Our Parks and Green Spaces by Councillors Lawrence Brown, Tom Crone, Sarah Jennings, and Anna Key • Meeting of City Council Meeting, Wednesday, 24th January, 2018 5.05 p.m. (Item 254.) Minutes: Motion by Councillor Lawrence Brown and seconded by Councillor Tom Crone that – “Liverpool's parks and green spaces are key to the future health and prosperity of the city. We are fortunate to enjoy the tremendous range of green and open spaces that exist today, many of them donated to the city by our predecessors. It is right and proper that these vital assets should be protected for current and future generations to enjoy and benefit from long into the future. The combination of central Government cuts to the Council's revenue funding base and the fact that the provision of parks and green spaces is not a statutory service means that threats to green spaces have increased, including: · Housebuilding; the national requirement to build more homes has put pressure on green spaces across the city. · Plans to install 3G sports pitches at four hubs will see green space disappear at those sites. · Enlivening' of parks by putting on more events e.g. parts of Sefton Park are now severely damaged. · Other ad hoc developments including car parks, office buildings etc which are gradually eating into the green fabric of the city. Council considers that the time has come for important green spaces across the city to be protected from development. The publication of the Green and Open Spaces Review in October 2016 provided an opportunity for the Council to formally adopt policies to provide greater security to our parks and green spaces but this has not been the case to date. Council requests the Mayor and Cabinet to: · Formally adopt the recommendations of the Green and Open Spaces Review as Council policy. · Consult with Historic England with a view to adding key parks including Calderstones Park, Walton Hall Park and Greenbank Park to the Register of Parks and Gardens. · Work with councillors, residents' groups and partners to identify green spaces which should be protected from development. Council further requests that a progress report is brought to a full meeting of the City Council prior to September 2018.” _____ Amendment by Councillor Ann O’Byrne and seconded by Councillor Nick Small that all text after the first paragraph be deleted and the following replacement text be inserted – “Council welcomes the fact that despite the cuts to Council funds by the previous coalition Government and now the Conservative government, the Mayor and Cabinet have continued to invest in our green and open spaces and bring forward measures to improve facilities and their use. These include • Plans for 20 new natural play areas; • Creating hundreds of new community gardens and the first new allotments for over 50 years; • Investing in essential work in Calderstones Park and Princes Park lake; • Creating a new vitality trail and improving waterways in Sefton Park; • Commitment to fund protection of the Allerton Oak, a thousand year old tree in Calderstones Park; • Support for the Mandela 8 project on the island in Princes Park lake; • Securing additional Section 106 funds to invest in green and open spaces; • The Horizon 2020 project to create new green corridors and improvements to waterways, building on ideas in the Green and Open Space Review; • Proposals for a new charging policy for events in the city’s parks and open spaces, which will increase income to support our parks and green spaces and encourage a shift in use; • Creation of new parks, such as Alt Valley Park. Council welcomes the protection given to green spaces across the city in the final draft Local Plan, in particular the recognition that there ‘is no need to allocate open space to meet the City’s housing requirement’. Council welcomes the protection given to green and open spaces in the Local Plan by their classification on the Policies Map as covered by Policies GI 1, GI 2 and GI 3. Council believes that the draft Local Plan provides the basis for a new consensus in the city that can protect Green and Open Spaces and support the provision of new housing. Council calls on councillors to act responsibly and support plans to build houses on brownfield sites. Council welcomes the proposals in the Green and Open Space Review and is working to implement it. Council asks the Mayor to reconvene the Review in the run up to the 2020-2023 budget round to report on progress in protecting green and open spaces, implementing their recommendations and securing sustainable funding for parks and green spaces. _____ A Vote was taken on the Amendment when there appeared – For the Amendment – 52 Against the Amendment – 4 Abstentions – 3 The Amendment was carried and became the Substantive Motion. _____ A Vote was taken on the Substantive Motion when there appeared – For the Motion – 54 Against the Motion – 7 Abstentions – 0 The Substantive Motion was carried unanimously and it was resolved accordingly. Health Benefits: Mitigating Air Pollution and Improving Urban Microclimate Dr Konar Mutafoglu Senior Policy Analyst, Green Economy Programme, IEEP Workshop The Health and Social Benefits of Nature and Biodiversity Protection 27 January 2016, Brussels #naturehealth #naturefit4all A project funded by the European Commission (ENV.B.3/ETU/2014/0039) and workshop hosted by the Committee of the Regions Session Questions • What are the health and social benefits from protected areas and wider green infrastructure in terms of air pollution and heat stress? • Are there any good examples of these benefits (and their values) across Europe? • Who has driven this practice? What tools and measures have enabled progress? • To what extent are the experiences replicable and transferable across issues and across Europe? A project funded by the European Commission (ENV.B.3/ETU/2014/0039) and workshop hosted by the Committee of the Regions Analysing Nature Based Solutions 1. What is the problem? Key drivers and variables 2. Health burden? Including social and economic impacts 3. What contribution can nature make? What does the science say? 4. Natura 2000? Do protected areas play a role? 5. Green Infrastructure? Any green innovations? 6. Governance? How can we capitalise on benefits? A project funded by the European Commission (ENV.B.3/ETU/2014/0039) and workshop hosted by the Committee of the Regions 1. What is the Problem? Air Pollution Heat Stress • Urban air quality • Temperatures already persistantly poor across higher in urban spaces due Europe – mostly linked to to UHI (up to +12oC) transport • Climate projections: ~75% • 2011-2013: 75% of urban of EU urban populations populations in EU-28 exposed to increased heat exposed to harmful levels stress (EEA 2012) of PM, O3, BaP (WHO 2015) A project funded by the European Commission (ENV.B.3/ETU/2014/0039) and workshop hosted by the Committee of the Regions 2. Health Burden Air Pollution Heat Stress • Risks linked to cardiovascular • Forecasts: increased heat and respiratory disease related mortality across EU (EEA 2012) • Poor air quality linked to • 2003 heatwave: 70,000 400,000 deaths in EU-28 in deaths 2012 (EEA 2015) • Heat induced output losses up • Largest environmental health to 0.5% of GDP by 2100 risk in Europe (Hubler 2007, Lancet Commission 2015) • Annual economic burden >EUR 1 billion (WHO Europe) A project funded by the European Commission (ENV.B.3/ETU/2014/0039) and workshop hosted by the Committee of the Regions 3. What contribution can nature make? – Air quality A number of nature based solutions to air quality. Many of them are overlooked in existing debates, which focus on 1. 1. Providing barriers or sinks for pollutants: most research has been done on this pathway, mixed evidence, complex variables (e.g. street canyons), uncertainty. Could be valuable in highly polluted streets, increasingly applied in cities 2. Providing clean air oases: (large) green spaces lack pollutant sources and have markedly cleaner air than other urban spaces A project funded by the European Commission (ENV.B.3/ETU/2014/0039) and workshop hosted by the Committee of the Regions 3. What contribution can nature make? – Air quality 3. Interaction with climate: cooling effect of vegetation and water promotes clear air exchange through urban spaces 4.