Draft Minutes
Attendees
Catherine Causley, East Devon District Council
John Amosford, Public Health Devon
Louise Sawyer, Devon and Cornwall Police
Louise Marshall, Active Devon
Aaron Harverson, Active Devon
Amy Brett-Schneider, Exeter City Council
Betty Tsang, Devon Climate Emergency
Lucinda Brook, Plymouth City Council
Alice Gent, Exeter City Council
Andy Seaman, University of Exeter
Clare Jones, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Collette Germon, Devon Partnership NHS Trust
William Elliott, Teignbridge District Council
Jason Ball, Mid Devon District Council
Donna Sibley, North Devon and Torridge District Councils
Adam Williams, South Hams and West Devon Councils
Apologies
Emily Reed, Devon Climate Emergency
Doug Eltham, Devon County Council
Alex Mitchell, East Devon District Council
Helen Hicks, University of Exeter
Morag Aiken, South West Water
David Rose, South West Water
Matthew Blythe, East Devon District Council
Luke Mitchell, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Julia Wordley, Devon and Cornwall Police
Tracy Hendren, East Devon District Council
Jen Manning, Dartmoor National Park Authority
Jacqui Warren, Torbay Council
1. Minutes of the Previous Meeting
- Decision Wheels Discussion: Catherine and Lucinda discussed the progress and potential of the decision wheels project. Lucinda mentioned that the licensing model might not be feasible, but the developer can still build the wheels. Catherine acknowledged this and decided to look for alternatives.
- Draft Minutes Review: Catherine reviewed the draft minutes from the previous meeting. The minutes were agreed.
- Freedom of Information Requests: Catherine mentioned the Freedom of Information requests from the Climate Score Cards and the free training they are offering. She noted the council’s interest in the Climate Score Cards and the upcoming evaluation.
- Monitoring Indicators Update: Catherine provided an update from Emily on the monitoring indicators, thanking everyone for their feedback. Emily will be assigning ratings and sharing them in due course.
- Business Support Harmonisation: Catherine mentioned that Jacqui had a meeting with Charlie and Rob to share learnings about business support. Catherine highlighted the East Devon Climate Action Fund programme, which offered £207,000 worth of support to businesses and is happy to discuss this further.
2. Project Progress Report
- The progress reported appended to these minutes was considered.
- Catherine shared the good news about the overall resumption of growth in follower numbers, mainly driven by the newsletter, which is well-read. She also mentioned the decline in followers on Twitter/X and LinkedIn. The new Climate Emergency Support Officer will review the strategy for social media engagement to counter the decline in followers on Twitter and LinkedIn.
- Plymouth City Council Funding: Lucinda provided an update on Plymouth City Council securing £458,000 worth of funding from Salix for a retrofit project at Hareward House. She explained the use of the Plymouth Climate Emergency Investment Fund for feasibility studies, to unlock capital for suitable projects, balancing the need for upfront revenue with capital investment to secure match funding.
- Transport Progress Update:
- Catherine highlighted a number of activities from the Transport Progress Update:
- Public Consultation: Catherine announced that the Transport Plan for Torbay and Devon will soon go out for public consultation. This plan includes various initiatives aimed at improving transport infrastructure and promoting active travel.
- Electric Bike Hire: The procurement for an electric bike hire scheme by Devon County Council is set to launch in autumn 2024. The scheme will initially focus on existing locations and may expand based on its success.
- Speed Limit Reduction: The draft Devon and Torbay Local Transport Plan includes proposals to reduce speed limits on certain A roads to achieve decarbonisation and road safety objectives.
- Hybrid Car Club: The procurement for a hybrid car club will also launch alongside the electric bike hire scheme in autumn 2024. The initial focus will be on locations where Co-cars were previously docked, with potential for relocation based on demand.
- An Introduction to Active Devon
- Active Devon Initiatives: Louise and Aaron from Active Devon provided an update on their initiatives. They emphasized the importance of behaviour change in promoting active travel:
- Adult Cycle Training: Louise and Aaron discussed the adult cycle training program, which offers free sessions to help adults gain confidence in cycling. The program includes one-on-one and group sessions, with bikes and helmets provided for participants.
- Travel Information Packs: Active Devon is working with housing developments to provide travel information packs that encourage sustainable and active travel. These packs include community challenges and adult cycle training information.
- Child Pedestrian Training: Active Devon has taken on child pedestrian training to promote safe walking to and from school. The training is funded by Vision 0 SW and aims to reduce congestion around school gates.
- Behaviour Change: Louise and Aaron emphasized the importance of behaviour change in promoting active travel. They use the COM-B model to design interventions that address capability, opportunity, and motivation.
- NHS Collaboration: Claire expressed gratitude to Aaron and Louise for their support in providing e-bike training for NHS staff. She shared a positive experience of introducing e-bikes to community physios in Torrington.
- Local Plan and Regeneration Projects: Catherine expressed interest in integrating active travel into the local plan and regeneration projects. She sought support from Active Devon to ensure these initiatives are embedded from the start.
Follow-up Actions:
- Decision Wheels: Look for alternative solutions for decision wheels licensing. (Catherine)
- Minutes: Email Emily with any amendments to the draft minutes from the 21st of August meeting and September 26th meeting. (All participants)
- Active Travel: Follow up with Active Devon and DCC on the behavioural interventions being implemented for active travel. (Lucinda)
- Local Plan Support: Contact Active Devon for support in integrating active travel into the local plan and regeneration projects. (Catherine)
- Active Devon Conference: Check out the Active Devon conference on the 5th of November for sessions on active travel and climate themes. (All participants)
Appendix 1
Project Progress Report
Period: August to September 2024
Partnership Update
General Communications
Follower numbers have resumed growth following a decline in July 2024, mostly accounted for by the newsletter which performed best. Though follower numbers declined slightly on X and Linked In. The strategy on these platforms will be reviewed by the new Climate Emergency Support Officer.
Figure 1- DCE Online Following
Partners’ Notable Activity
Activity is recorded centrally on the Taking Action pages of the Devon Climate Emergency website.
- Plymouth City Council has secured £458,353 from the Salix Grant and Climate Emergency Investment Fund for building retrofit works at Harewood House in Plympton.
- Exmoor National Park Authority has announced they have halved their carbon emissions since declaring a climate emergency in 2019, putting them on track to reach their organisational goal of net zero by 2030.
- Devon County Council has been awarded £200K from the Local Net Zero Capacity and Development Fund for a decarbonisation plan for Heathfield Industrial Estate in Bovey Tracey and to explore the development of solar energy on landfill sites.
- Exeter Police Community Support Officers have been using electric bikes to cut emissions and improve engagement with the community.
Oversight of the Devon Carbon Plan
The Progress Reports detailing known activity against each action are on the website. A summary of the number of actions categorised by each RAG status is provided below, split by theme.
Note that each theme of the carbon plan is reviewed every 6 months, which means the RAG status will not change significantly within the monthly periods of this progress report.
Economy and Resources has seen one further action become rated as green from amber this month and one of the red actions become marked as completed, the government have been engaged on the issue and there are no further routes to pursuing it.
Blue = Completed
Green = Generally progressing well
Amber = Progressing but geography or scope is limited
Red = Not started or activity significantly limited
Grey = Not yet assessed
Built Environment
| Economy and Resources
|
Common Issues – Finance required to expand geography – Finance required for more people resource, particularly spatial planning – Uncertainty regarding the implications of a written ministerial statement on Local Plans.
| Common Issues – Clearer guidance from government on aspects of waste management needed – Finance required for more people resource
|
Energy Supply
| Food, Land and Sea
|
Common Issues – Availability of capital finance
| Common Issues – Complexity of agendas, e.g. Land Use Framework and Local Nature Recovery Strategy – Finance required to expand geography and scope
|
Transport
| Cross-Cutting Themes
|
Common Issues – Public concern about EVs and reallocating highway space for sustainable modes – Grid capacity – Availability of capital finance
| Common Issues – Finance required for more people resource, particularly spatial planning – Finance required to expand geography |
The first phase of monitoring indicators are online. The University of Exeter is helping to expand the indicator set, which will be added to the web page incrementally.
In July, the University delivered their report to the secretariat proposing indicators to monitor progress towards the 60 milestones in the Devon Carbon Plan. Work is commencing with the Tactical Group’s involvement to update the monitoring indicators to reflect their proposals.
Oversight of the Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Climate Adaptation Strategy
The Climate Impacts Group is continuing its programme to review all the risks and near-term actions each year.
No change to the RAG ratings this month.
At the June meeting of the Climate Impacts Group, it was recommended that the Response Group seek reassurance from Southwest Water that the immediate issues of coastal water quality and cryptosporidium are not detracting focus from the preparation of the Water Resources Management Strategy.
Update: Meg and Emily met to discuss the concerns of the Climate Impacts Group regarding Southwest Water (SWW). It was decided that this issue should remain on a watching brief until the end of 2024, following correspondence from SWW that the Water Resources Management Strategy is now expected later this year due to delays caused by the election. Additionally, the Devon Climate Emergency Secretariat will attend the West Country Water Resources Multi-Sector Working Group, which SWW have invited it to, to ensure that climate change issues are being adequately considered.
Feedback from the Climate Task Force
The Devon Climate Task Force held its latest quarterly meeting in June and made the following recommendations, to be considered by the Response Group in July.
- The Task Force considers the recent decision by the Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee (HATOC) to end the Active Streets Trial in Heavitree and Whipton as a major setback to providing safe infrastructure for walking, wheeling, and cycling, contrary to the Devon Carbon Plan. The Task Force recommends that the Response Group give urgent attention to updating plans for achieving Action T11 (Reallocate road capacity to sustainable modes), to avoid further delays on progress towards Goal TB (Using active, shared and public transport is safe, efficient and affordable). They urge the Response Group to consider the national evidence of the effectiveness of Low Traffic Neighbourhood measures in future schemes, which demonstrate benefits for active travel and air quality in the areas.
September Update: The Transport Planning team have collated examples of where Action T11 is being implemented elsewhere. This will be shared with the Climate Task Force later this month.
- The Task Force would like to see further progress on action F10 (Explore how the County Farms estate could be used to demonstrate low-carbon agriculture.) They also encourage other partners that own land that is farmed to do the same.
August Update: Devon County Council is looking at further opportunities to enhance this activity.
- Housebuilders have mandatory requirements to put in electric vehicle chargers. But in Devon some housebuilders are being told by National Grid there will be significant delays before the chargers can be connected – some as late as 2027. The partnership should consider how this situation can be improved.
August Update: There may be an opportunity to feedback to government via the recently-launched consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework.
Updates on the Climate Task Force recommendations from March:
- Consider understanding what is needed to move each action from amber to green.
August Update: No progress this month. Will be looked at shortly now there is extra capacity due to the appointment of the Climate Emergency Support Officer which will free-up some of Emily’s time.
- Mass-market retrofitting of buildings is still not happening quickly enough because the costs are high and the revenue savings are small in comparison. A retrofit summit should bring together key players to have a deep conversation about long-term solutions and to prepare a retrofit strategy.
August Update: The Energy Saving Devon partnership submitted an expression of interest in response to an invitation from the MCS Foundation to pilot a support package for local areas to develop retrofit strategies. This would deliver a series of four full-day workshops. Unfortunately we were not successful. Further funding opportunities will be looked for to take this project forward.
- The role of spatial planning in net-zero is not being delivered fully. Need to revisit conversations with the Devon and Cornwall Planning Officers Group (DCPOG) to refresh the needs of planning teams and subsequently reengage Team Devon.
August Update: Doug attended the DCPOG on June 6th. It was agreed for a sub-group to prepare examples of how planning authorities have incorporated policies that implement the policy asks of the Devon Carbon Plan into Local Plans. These examples will be used as a checklist by planners when updating Local Plans. A sub-group has been identified but has yet to meet due to capacity to coordinate this. Will hopefully meet in September.
Devolution Update
In the light of the announcement of the general election, Torbay Council and Devon CC are seeking clarity from Government officials on how the legislative process for setting up the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority will be affected.
Discussions about how to prioritise the £16m capital spend in 2024/25 are continuing, much of which will contribute to net-zero.
