The purpose of the programme was for individual delegates from a range of authorities to enrol on the programme to identify, refine, and then progress a challenge that would be beneficial to their authority and community, and that of others, within the frame of creating green jobs, aiding a green recovery and tackling the climate emergency.
The programme was constructed in a way that delegates would also learn from their action Set colleagues and those across the whole cohort. In addition, they would also learn and gain knowledge from the two technical webinars run.
This section is a collation of the individual challenges that officers and members tackled.
Bristol City Council
The L&L Together – creating green jobs course with LGA and Transitional Space
I was delighted to see, early in 2021, that the LGA was offering a programme focused on ‘creating green jobs’. As a Green councillor this is exactly the sort of development work I felt was needed. While we talk about building back better and new green jobs I’ve had many thoughts about not only what we can do for our communities but also how we develop the new jobs of the future that are useful and most beneficial.
I applied, though was concerned that the programme was for ‘leaders’. Although, as Greens, we were in opposition, we do strive to lead the agenda and propose positive ideas that can be adopted. We do seek to influence and lead soon, however, and I asked if I could get a place on that basis.
Successful in gaining a place I already had a fairly formed idea of what I wanted to explore: my project was about the need for Green Jobs and the Green New Deal to achieve climate justice and wider sustainable development goals by ensuring maximum local benefits as well as to the climate from carbon saving. This was based on my experience of discussions and briefings about Bristol’s City Leap initiative.
It’s a much delayed carbon saving programme that is seeking around £1billion in investment to develop new carbon saving infrastructure and programmes for the city. It's an ambitious scheme building on many previous renewable energy and energy-saving projects over many years. I’ve been a supporter and actively engaged with the development of the idea, but also anxious that some local grassroots projects and wider benefits would be missed or negated if the whole package of city leap project gets handed over to an international investor with no local roots in the community.
In my view, outsourcing projects and signing over local energy assets to the eventual winner of a complex and slow procurement process would be a loss to the city. I’d like to see carbon saving and local wealth creation go hand in hand. Many years ago as part of the Bristol Energy Network, a group of dozens of local energy initiatives including some who have created new and innovative infrastructure in the city, I helped draft its Bristol Community Strategy for Energy, a statement of values and asks designed to ensure recognition for local skills, jobs, shared responsibility and control, education, advice and wider benefits. This has been used to ensure some support for some community owned assets like a wind farm and solar farm in the city.
I also have a background, pre-councillor days, in local, national and European policy development for sustainability and this included being author of the Government’s Public procurement toolkit for social enterprises [DTI, 2003]. In my view we need a more localised effort at procurement, ensuring that knowledge, skills, and a stake in carbon saving projects are enhanced at a local level where possible. My aim in this approach has been to develop a response to large scale carbon saving that builds community wealth.
As we got going I soon saw the approach being taken was quite unusual for a local government programme. An action learning, participant-focused emphasis: inquiry, questioning, and mutual support. I’ve undertaken action learning before so I wasn’t phased, but it did mean a slightly slow start I think, and the number of councillors in the programme, along side a majority of officers, was relatively small. We saw little of the officers as we formed a single politicians’ sub group. I found it fairly easy to frame and suggest lines of inquiry that prompted self reflection and deeper clarification by other participants. My sector experience and policy background probably helped.
As I explained my challenge and my initial focus was finding support for my approach: the need for evidence of multiple benefits and a social value approach to procurement –something I have promoted locally and nationally in the DTI toolkit [DTI, 2003]. One learning I soon made is how slim the focus is on this approach in conventional projects, and how little joined up thinking there is often. I’ve taken part in community wealth building workshops but they were quite generic [for example, the need for regional banking; the so-called Preston approach] with little about carbon saving, except the work of groups like Community Energy England.
As a Green the supportive aspect of the team process resonated with me. It was straightforward, despite some frustrations about the very different amounts of experience among the group. The collaborative approach fits with Green ways of doing things: cross party, partnership working, and constructive.
It didn’t take long to realise I had a lot of knowledge in the field in many ways – being less of a layperson due to my policy background. I found I gave quite a bit of support to others’ learning but to some extent felt I needed a deeper guide into the literature and the field itself. Serendipitously, a research report was published by two local consultants and practitioners in the energy field on the case for more community led and devolved approaches to major carbon saving projects in Bristol’s City Leap. This was really helpful as it showed that I wasn’t a lone voice in the opposition seeking to shift the direction of the international procurement process, but part of a movement for local wealth building allied to the myriad of necessary carbon saving projects. I was conscious that lead contractors often talk up the subcontracting but then take most profit for themselves; sometimes with barely a new cover over a report they bought in cheaply and resold dear; sometimes offering a nod to local community involvement but only as so-called ‘bid candy’. I’m now talking to groups about how to ‘lock in’ any commitments to work with grassroots energy projects in the city when the council procurement is completed.
A third phase in the programme was the pace of political change – witness the 10 asks for candidates: bristolenergynetwork.org. I’d started out in a third largest party opposition group. This was of course an influencing role. I then sought evidence and this was furnished by the research. However, as the local election got underway, and my time got consumed by re-election work, the agenda in the city started to include the need for a green recovery and serious action to tackle climate change. While community wealth building wasn’t explicit part of a green recovery the need for city wide retrofitting plans, and for tackling climate change were talked about a lot more than ever before. The agenda has clearly moved on.
The election outcome, with a massive swing to Greens - 11 members becoming 24 - was heartening, as well as overwhelming! So was the fact the report had come out while we were working on this programme, and the engagement we now expect from local groups in the city agenda and in the light of political change.
A new dimension for me at the same time is that I’m offering mentoring through the LGA and to new colleagues so some of my learnings from the Action Learning process as well as the issues I’d focused on are now more topical and relevant than ever.
A few final points in summary and by way of feedback to LGA:
- I’m delighted the LGA offered support through this programme;
- The focus on ‘asking powerful questions’ and action learning are not new to me but it was a very useful approach to go through in depth;
- The focus on framing questions, not giving advice, nor seeking knowledge and expertise is unusual – though we did have some conventional webinar teaching and expertise inputs during the programme, and that was a good mix;
- I’m sure that the sector and members in particular would benefit from a future programme that focuses on how the work can be applied in councils of different stages in such agendas as Green Jobs and who is doing what and where do different approaches work with multiple benefits and social priorities alongside carbon and economic development.
Cllr Martin Fodor, Bristol.
Buckinghamshire Council
My experience of being a Councillor is one of being a performing juggler – a blog
I walk on to the stage with difficulty as I have one foot in a bucket of very thick mud, when I get to the spotlight I sit on a firm but comfortable chair and I start performing in front of a live audience, there are no dress rehearsals. Around me there are other Cabinet members doing the same sort of thing so I have to use ears and my voice to listen to what is going on around me and talk in a competitive way but realising that each of us have an important part to play in the performance and while all this is going on we have got to keep the public’s attention and appreciation.
I am sitting on the chair because that is my base and my family support, taking on some of my work but if it is taken away it would result in me collapsing in a heap to the floor.
It is as if three of my limbs are performing but my right leg is in a bucket of very thick sludge – that right leg represents those who like where they are and do not want to change and although these people are still good people they resist all change and move very slowly.
My left leg is balancing a ball which makes sure you work across all areas keeping an overall balance of life, work, play and family.
One arm has three revolving rings representing the cycle of meetings, keeping fellow members informed and the third ring represents your residents who you represent whether they voted for you or not. You are their advocator and I am their link in a two way communication with the Council when needed.
Your final limb is the interesting one, it is a very nimble hand that is juggling balls. The more balls the more things you are dealing with, they could be your Cabinet role, working up new policies and putting all the background detail behind those policies.
You are not in front of the audience for four minutes, but for four years.
If you dare look to the wings you see another ball winging its way towards you, you cannot drop one, you just make sure that all these balls stay in the air and of course they are different sizes representing their different priorities.
In my case those balls are:
- Waste, spanning from dog bins and litter right across the spectrum to putting all our non recycling rubbish through an incinerator which produces enough electricity for 40,000 homes and putting less than 1% into landfill. Yes, it does produce Carbon Dioxide but if you put it into landfill you are producing methane which is twenty times worse. We now put less than 1% of waste into landfill and most of that is inert;
- Putting through a Climate Change Strategy that will get us to Carbon Neutral by the latest date of 2050 but if we can achieve it earlier so much the better;
- Planting a tree for each citizen in Buckinghamshire, that is around 550,000 trees over the next ten years;
- Enhancing the biodiversity of the County by rewilding or diversity banks; and
- Doing my local Councillor role at the same time
So my story is all about constantly moving forward, learning along the way and being aware of what is approaching well beyond the horizon so I am well prepared when it comes into sight.
So I asked to join this course to learn more about green jobs and how I can pass on that knowledge so it is being recognised in everyday work of the Council. Joining this course I soon realised that the picture around the Country on climate change was varied and different.
In my own case I have got it up the agenda in a corporate way, we are discussing the subject of green jobs with our colleges and Bucks Business First and with the Local Enterprise Board. I have dates in my diary for reporting back but waiting to see if I am continuing in my Cabinet role.
My slant was on how to get this being talked and actioned upon across the whole Council.
Coming out of lockdown making sure that green jobs and climate change are never forgotten and is prioritised in the post epidemic, and was included in any plans for bringing the County back to something like the new normal.
The way we have listened and talked about each of our areas we want to achieve has widened all of our knowledge on this subject, whether it be retrofitting our houses, as members who are in the majority party, minority groups, how we want things to change and how to do it, we also are recognising that although it is one large subject, it means different changes in different parts of the country and different actions between our cities, towns and countryside, including the way we need farming to change to be more environmentally aware of their ways of working.
I have become more aware of my knowledge and listening to new ideas and sharing my experiences over the years.
What has surprised me is that it is the old adage that if you want something done you ask a busy person and all of us on this course have tried to attend along the way whilst we are still doing our normal business.
I have found the course rewarding and it stretched our knowledge across the members of it. My father used to tell me, you have two ears and one voice so use them in that order and I have found this advice invaluable on this course, the atmosphere was one of respect and sharing our thoughts and experiences.
I found that although we came from across the spectrum of politics we respected each others’ opinion, circumstances and experiences. We have learned that green jobs will increase by five-fold over the next 30 years but to the public these green jobs is a second division subject. The majority of the public do not know the detail of what is required in their own circumstances, there is a denial to the need to reduce car travel and changing their cars for electric. The car industry needs to bring down the cost of the new generation of green cars. Many people are very worried about changing their gas boiler and move over to alternatives, ground sources are ugly and involved a major upheaval. We have got to recognise that to change over could mean destroying beautiful gardens and patios.
Buckinghamshire has just come through an election and starting a completely new Unitary Council made up of 147 Councillors of which half are new Councillors that have just entered the political arena.
We are at a stage of knowing the new Leader but no one else, this is after a year of the transition Council being made up of 196 members of the five Councils (four District and one County) in lockdown and achieving success through “Teams” meetings.
The new Council is made up of 113 Conservatives, 15 Lib Dems, six Independents, six Wycombe Independents, four Labour, two Independent Network and one Green.
I have enjoyed all of the members’ and officers’ company and hope we stay in contact.
Can I thank you all for sharing your time with me and each other and wish you well in the quest you each have and may the force go with you.
Cllr Bill Chapple, Chairman of the Transport, Environment & Climate Change Select Committee
Cheshire East
Action Learning Research: Green Recovery, Retention and Creation of Green Jobs
My absolute purpose was to ensure that emerging policy for a Green Recovery, including the creation/retrofit of green jobs, was deliverable for rural areas as well as urban.
My research focused on:
- sustainable travel to work.
- how planning policy could be updated to reflect the Green Recovery in a timely manner, for both new and extant permissions.
- the influence of agri-food contracts/procurement on the Green Recovery.
- the reach of agri-food businesses to underpin rural jobs in both manufacturing and professional services.
- the importance of digital connectivity.
- the importance of enabling local jobs for local people.
Obstacles:
- many councils have benefitted from a Rural Mobility Government Grant to enable a dial ride style of bus service. However, my conversations with a sample of existing employees showed that whilst dependent on the model it could be useful they were unlikely to use it to get to work.
- cycling and walking were more likely to occur, but it would require massive investment in creating cycle/walkways along already crumbling rural roads.
- the ability to influence planning policy either by supplementary planning documents or neighbourhood plans is limited, particularly for those authorities who haven’t an adopted or up to date Local Plan.
- that local authorities have an essential role, particularly in conjunction with LEPs, in supporting agriculture/agri-food with strategic policies for clean growth in the rural economy.
- that agri-food business is well placed to example and deliver green jobs.
I learnt of its work towards meeting the needs of climate change and its ability to absorb/offset carbon and studied an agri-food business where:
- government LEADER Grant Funding energised investment in new plant and machinery which has reduced energy consumption, improved water collection and animal welfare.
- the importance of attracting and retaining employees is uppermost, including the need for locally sourced labour and/or for provision on site.
- a chain of influence can and is driving climate change via sales contracts and procurement of agri-business and how this model examples ‘Green Jobs’.
I broadened my search to the National Farmers Union who have a raft of research and advice on carbon reduction. I sense work started early to ‘dispel myths’ and has resulted in a clear understanding of what government, local authorities and business would achieve most if ‘they work together’; whilst worrying in a sense it does seem that the practice of ‘council climate change emergency’ announcements has highlighted a gap in guidance and inherent knowledge within local authorities.
The NFU are clear that, ‘agriculture is also uniquely placed as both the source of 10% of UK emissions as well as a sink. Farming captures carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and turns it into a wide range of foods, fibres and fuels. By capturing and storing carbon, agriculture can generate negative emissions. Farmers also manage substantial carbon reserves already present in soils and vegetation’.
Interestingly they set out their Net Zero Aspiration to Councils in three pillars which reference some areas of my original search:
Boosting Productivity to Reduce Emissions:
- This pillar evidences the role of procurement in supporting the local economy, creation and retention of jobs.
- It perfectly articulates the need of an agile, well resourced local planning authority which is willing to energise Local Development Orders and fast tract vital Building Modernisation. (Note: I am concerned that if councils continue to under-resource planning, jobs will be lost not only in agri-business.)
- The need for joined up action on digitalisation with opportunity for on farm mobile and broadband infrastructure.
- Promotion of electric charging point infrastructure in rural areas.
- The pivotal role in providing engagement between Agri R&D Centres, facilitate agri-tech investment and promote knowledge of new technologies across commercial businesses.
Storing Carbon on Farmland:
- Just how local authorities can work with farmers and growers to find mutually beneficial solutions to invest in tree planting and incentivise good management of existing tree stocks. (Note: I believe this is key in avoiding misunderstanding when councils make announcements without, e.g. engaging with their council tenants.)
- Explore the opportunity to ‘carbon offset’. (Note: I see this as such an opportunity to educate and example.)
- Whether woodland is in existence or whether new areas that start work now, create new jobs via promotion of new markets for locally produced timber and wood fuel.
Renewables and the Bioeconomy:
- A clear policy to promote the opportunity of renewable energy infrastructure.
- A clear policy to support the concept of carbon capture and storage.
- Creation of energy networks.
I believe that Green Jobs can be delivered in a rural area but it also requires:
- A review of how rural jobs are accounted for by LEPs. I believe that figures are currently skewed in that jobs created by rural businesses are not accounted as such, which I believe undermines the influence of agri-business.
- That Local Authorities should adopt a Rural Strategy with a policy of Rural Proofing and most importantly one of ‘We can do this Together’.
I would like to thank the LGA, Mike Green of Action Learning and colleagues whose steer was invaluable. I learnt of work that is already underway to ‘bridge the evidenced knowledge gap’ and I was delighted to be able to connect the LGA and NFU in this regard.
Cllr Rachel Bailey, Vice Chair, Audit & Governance Committee
Cotswold District Council
Green Business Pledge
I have been Economic Development Lead at Cotswold District Council since July 2020. The Council’s Administration has declared both climate and ecological emergencies and responding to these forms a key part of the Corporate Plan. I was asked to put together a “Green Business Pledge” for local businesses to sign up to, committing them to reducing their carbon emissions and this is my ALS challenge. This sounds straightforward, but these things are rarely as easy as they sound at first! Enrolling in the LGA’s Leading and Learning Green Jobs Action Learning programme, I used this as my challenge to work on.
The first step was to research what was out there already. There are a range of pledges that businesses can sign up to, ranging from Business Declares to the UN Global Compact. Many of these are lengthy and complicated and can be bewildering, particularly for small businesses who have lots of other competing pressures on their time and resources. I wanted something that was easy to understand and which led to tangible action, rather than a pledge which just gathered dust once signed.
Our choice was whether to simply adopt an existing pledge, to create our own or to work to create one across the whole of Gloucestershire. The first option would have been the easiest, but probably not the most effective for the reasons I have stated – especially given that Cotswold District business base is made up of 90% of micro-businesses with 9 or fewer employees. Creating our own would be more work, but would give us the opportunity to tailor something for our own circumstances and put the District Council at the front and centre. Partnering with other Gloucestershire councils and the LEP would give scale and, by its nature, look more joined up to the outside world, but risks moving at the pace of the slowest.
Having taking a briefing note to informal cabinet, their preference was for a Cotswold pledge. I also took a similar paper to the Cotswold Economic Advisory Group, made up of key stakeholders. They were supportive but a couple of key players – the LEP and the Federation of Small Business – were clear in their preference for a countywide scheme. I also recruited St James’s Place Wealth Management, our largest employer, to assist me and have been working closely with their Head of Environmental Strategy.
Another challenge came from left field when I discovered, quite by chance, that a local Environmental Consultant was working independently on a similar countywide pledge. I contacted him and thankfully our thinking was largely the same, so we have agreed to work together and I introduced him to the LEP and others.
The Action Learning programme has helped me along this journey in a number of ways. It taught me to look further along the horizon rather than just focusing on the next stage. For example, it prompted the thought of businesses exchanging best practice once the pledge was up and running. It also underlined to me the importance of having a robust communications plan.
The questioning helped me to find solutions to overcome obstacles along the way and to take ownership of them rather than having them imposed on me. It’s also highlighted that we all face similar challenges and while collaboration within the sector is generally good, perhaps it ought to be the default option.
It’s also taught me that we need to have well-defined goals and detailed action plans, with regular reviews to keep them on track. I haven’t completed the journey envisaged by my ALS challenge, but I know where I’m going and I’m further ahead than I otherwise would have been.
Paul James, Economic Development Lead
Craven District Council
Resources to support a community-led climate friendly recovery in our towns and villages
This project started with a broad question: ‘How can we enable a green recovery in our towns and larger villages?’
This was one of the key questions that had arisen from our Climate Emergency Strategic Plan review for 2021. With our response to the COVID-19 pandemic well underway, Councillors, businesses and community groups have a shared interest in developing approaches to planning and supporting town and village centres to reopen and develop in a way that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.
The Action Learning Set process helped to focus and redefine the question until it became a more clearly targeted and achievable project. The experience and insights of others allowed them to ask challenging and open questions that have led to a clear and practical objective with measurable impact. The Action Learning Set also allowed me to consider a very large number of options for improving the project in a short space of time. In additional to this, the ‘wrap around learning’ that was provided proved useful – particularly the session focusing on leadership and communication styles, which helped to change the emphasis of the project to one that is community-led and owned, rather than Local Authority planned.
The ‘output’ of the project will be a set of learning and reference materials on key topics for town and parish councils, community groups, businesses and residents. These materials will provide information about the opportunities for development that are available under a range of key headings (energy efficiency & energy generation, greener travel, reducing waste, circular economy, land and nature). These resources will contain details of local and national funding opportunities and support mechanisms as well as short case studies showing how similar projects are already realising benefits.
The resources are being produced in collaboration with one town and one larger village in the District, with the support and involvement of their parish councils and community climate action groups. They are expected to be completed in September 2021.
There have been many benefits from engaging in the Action Learning process. The practical key benefits for the success of this project have been:
- Refining the question, and therefore the scope of the project, to an achievable goal.
- Considering the impact of the project and defining measurable outputs.
- Refocusing our way of working on the project, to make it genuinely community led rather than centrally planned.
Engaging in the process also had many personal and professional development benefits including:
- Insight into the professional experience of colleagues in other authorities
- Acknowledging the importance of dedicating time to reflection
- Mutual professional and emotional support gained from working with others in similar circumstances
- Understanding of the Action Learning process, which we may use locally to address our challenges in the District
Rob Atkins, Exchequer & Performance Manager
Dorset Council
Turning Dorset into a Low Carbon visitor destination
One of the objectives in Dorset Council’s draft Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy is regarding sustainable tourism and specifically turning Dorset into a low carbon visitor destination. It involves writing an action plan and forming a stakeholder forum group by December 2022.
The challenge
Firstly to define what a low carbon visitor destination is, to calculate the carbon footprint of Dorset’s tourism industry at this moment in time and then agree actions on how to achieve a reduction in that footprint, aiming for net zero by 2050.
The solution
To engage as many stakeholders as possible in the process of writing the plan to get them on-board from the start. To develop two sides of the plan. One to encourage visitors to be sustainable when they take their holiday or day trip in Dorset and the other to help tourism businesses lower their carbon footprint.
The actions
During the time which the action learning sets have taken place, Visit Dorset (which is Dorset Council’s tourism service and which I am part of the team) have already played a role in shaping the ‘Towards 2030’ prospectus which has been put together by the Great South West Tourism Partnership. The prospectus includes a £10 million project to help businesses become more sustainable and promote the South West as an eco-friendly visitor destination. The Prospectus will be used to bid for government funding to support the tourism industry in the South West.
I have also created a new section on our tourism industry website to encourage and help businesses lower their carbon footprint, as well as helping to plan two webinars on electric vehicles. With transport and travel being a large part of a visitor’s carbon footprint we need to find ways to encourage people to travel to and around Dorset in the most sustainable way possible, involving public transport, walking, cycling and using electric vehicles. The webinars were run in April by the Energy Saving Trust and BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole) Council to tell the viewers about what types of electric cars/vans are available and the benefits against petrol/diesel vehicles as well as installing electric vehicle charging points and what grant funding is available.
The impact
Visit Dorset already promotes eco-friendly travel to visitors, for which I have written most of the content for this section and will continue to enhance. My current project is to add more walking trail information and create a cycling short-break webpage to encourage visitors to travel around Dorset without their car or take a completely car free holiday.
I have also written a draft SMART action plan to take the project forward:
SMART action plan
Specific
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Measurable
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Achievable
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Relevant
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Timely
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Visitor focused campaign on slow tourism (closely linked to sustainable tourism)
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Campaign complete
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Campaign will subtly encourage visitors to eat locally produced food and drink, travel around on foot, get back to nature etc.
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This campaign is aimed at visitors who have a partial interest in the environment, but wouldn’t normally engage in specific eco-friendly practices.
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December 2021
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Audit Dorset sustainable tourism projects which are already in progress/completed to avoid duplication
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Audit complete
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Audit will show which projects/themes are not being focused on
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Consider if projects not being worked on will lower destination carbon footprint
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December 2021
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Work up case studies with Dorset Council tourism businesses (country park/outdoor education centres) to showcase how carbon footprint can be lowered
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Case studies created and promoted
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Case studies will encourage other businesses to calculate their carbon footprint and lower their carbon footprint
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Case studies will showcase what can be achieved
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December 2021
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Online surveys – for both tourism businesses and visitors
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Surveys complete
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Surveys will provide evidence on which areas to focus efforts
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There is little data available for Dorset giving the views of both visitors and businesses regarding sustainable tourism
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December 2021
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Start discussions with partners regarding the issue of tourism seasonality
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Working with partner organisations, decide what are the main issues of seasonality in Dorset
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Results will go towards a plan of action
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Seasonality is closely connected to visitor management, sustainability and the destination offering
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June 2021
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Deliver webinars to tourism businesses on reducing waste/plastic, reducing food waste, installing renewable energy
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Webinars completed and feedback attained
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Webinars will be aimed at businesses to encourage them to lower their carbon footprint
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Webinars will focus on different aspects of Dorset Council services, i.e. waste, carbon reduction, plastic free
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March 2022
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Measure carbon footprint of tourism in Dorset
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Footprint calculated
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Calculation will give a starting point for reducing the footprint
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Goals/targets could be set to achieve reduction in footprint by key dates, aiming for net zero by 2050.
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June 2022
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Sustainable tourism partnership forum created & plan formulated
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Forum created and plan written
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Plan will show what has already been achieved and what still must be done
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Plan will provide a direction for action for the next 3 years
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December 2022
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How is the new approach being sustained?
I am dedicating one day per week to sustainable tourism although this may change in the future as the Growth and Economic Regeneration service, I am part of will shortly being going through a restructuring process.
Lessons learned so far
There are many strands to sustainable tourism and that is closely linked to other areas of work including seasonality, slow tourism, environmental protection, visitor management and destination management. I will be focusing on what can be achieved in the next 3 years.
Links to relevant documents
Rachael Shefford, Tourism Officer
Hastings Borough Council
Retrofitting the existing housing stock
Reducing energy demand from existing housing stock is a key action of the Councils Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan – carbon emissions from the existing housing sector account for 49% of the towns total emissions.
Improving the existing housing stock brings many co-benefits such as making our homes more resilient to the impacts of a changing climate, reducing fuel bills, eliminating fuel poverty, improving health, supporting local employment and economic growth and the development and growth of new skills. It is estimated that the investment needed to bring all homes up to an EPC C rating is anything between £35 and £65 billion across the UK by 2035 – a huge opportunity for green jobs and skills development. (BEIS)
The retrofitting agenda is a complex challenge. To date retrofitting has been subject to and impacted by the start-stop nature of national funding and ad-hoc national policy as well as more recently supply chain and skills shortages, especially as regulations change. Delivering a retrofit agenda requires a collaborative multi-disciplinary approach in order to be able to deliver the scale of the challenge and the pace that is required. By 2035, over 13 million homes need to be upgraded to an EPC rating of at least an EPC C to meet national climate change carbon emission reduction targets.
At least 19 million homes in the UK still need to be made low carbon, low energy and resilient to a changing climate, the opportunities for green jobs is vast. Retrofitting presents a huge opportunity for local communities, businesses, higher and further education, local authorities and government to work together and be part of the solution to retrofitting our homes.
We have learnt a lot from taking part in the BEIS retrofit pilot and the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery schemes; slowly a local supply chain has started to emerge that can deliver improvement works that meet the requirement of PAS 2035 standard and take an integrated approach to any required works. A whole house plan is required for every home which can then be delivered over time with the right finance support mechanisms in place to help cover some of the high upfront costs whilst ensuring homeowners receive accurate advice and support. Each home is individual, a one size fit all approach will not work.
Next steps
Plans are underway to bring key services areas together from across the organisation to show case what has been delivered to date and facilitate a discussion about the opportunities and challenges that have arisen so far and develop a whole organisation approach for delivering the retrofitting agenda into the future. Historically only housing, climate change and fuel poverty teams have been involved in the delivery of retrofit projects. Service areas to be include housing renewal, development control from planning services, building control, economic development and regeneration, towns fund and housing enforcement and climate change team, and senior managers. This will help to ensure that we develop a robust approach to this agenda going forward. Later in the year we plan to run a workshop with private Landlords to encourage them to take advantage of national funding as it becomes available to retrofit their assets whilst meeting the requirements of MEES.
In summary
The existing housing sector has a crucial part to play in the transition towards net zero. The next 10 years will be pivotal in setting us on track to meeting the 2035 carbon reduction targets for the UK and the towns climate emergency ambitions. It will require behavioural change and individual buy in from everyone that owns a home, whether a private landlord, social landlord or individual. Everyone will need to buy into the retrofitting agenda. Local authorities have a key role to play in facilitating these discussions. Local leadership will be essential to ensure that new skills are developed in new technologies and whole house retrofitting. Existing employers will need places and resources to learn about new ways of working and to develop new skills to ensure they can meet new regulations; this in turn will help to develop and evolve the supply chain needed.
Chantal Lass, Climate Change Programme Manager
Kirklees Metropolitan Borough
Poor Air quality has been classified as the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK, and a wide group of stakeholders has a role to play in improving air quality, including individuals, businesses, and public sector organisations. It is important to generate relevant guidance to align wider priorities and create opportunities to achieve better outcomes tackling air pollution
The leading and learning programme has been instrumental for me to reflect about relevant priorities to the green recovery principles and climate change response to be integrated into a wider Low Emission Strategy (Working within the wider economic, social and environmental context) and identify what skills could be used to deliver the policy and local government ambition relevant to both Clean Air and a Low Emission Future
The experience of active listening Demanded real effort for me, to ask questions that add value to the discussion, while the reflective process promoted in myself being a more active part of the team. About the benefits of the programme, I could say that a lesson that will stick with me is that Persistence in building the solution, but adapting the plan according to new approaches product of a good team interaction
Beyond the challenge that I brought to the programme, I witnessed in real life how could be achieved the collaboration and co-delivery of wider objectives rather than focus in competing priorities, a theme that is present in our daily work as local government officers, as individual the most valuable lesson that I will keep in my daily job is ask more baseline questions to gain better or fully understanding of challenges asap and, in that way promote more team interactions and development of more effective solutions
Key actions and next steps
Required skills, resources and relevant stakeholders identified through the ALS, were incorporated in the project workstreams to promote the awareness and achievement of the intended outcomes of the West Yorkshire Low Emission Strategy to be delivered between 2021 – 2026.
Johanna Rosario, West Yorkshire Low Emission Strategy Officer
Leeds City Council
Developing a toolkit of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
Background
I am currently in opposition on Leeds City Council and Chair of the Scrutiny Board (Environment, Housing and Communities). I enrolled in the LGA’s Leading and Learning programme to address a specific issue related to green jobs and the green recovery.
Overview of the project
How can I get Leeds City Council to develop a toolkit that SMEs can use to maximise both the financial help and practical support on offer to them that is low on bureaucracy and high on ease of deliverability?
Stakeholder list
The key people and organisations I needed to engage and progress the project:
- Clean Growth and Innovation Programme Lead: West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA)
- Chief Economic Services Officer: Leeds City Council
- Chief Officer Sustainable Energy/Climate Change and Air Quality: Leeds City Council
- West Yorkshire Mayor: WYCA
- Institute of Directors
- Chamber of Commerce: Leeds Chamber of Commerce
- Federation of Small Businesses: Leeds Fed. Of Small Businesses
- Local Enterprise Partnership: Leeds LEP
- CBI
- Green Investment Bank
What have I found out?
As part of the Action Learning Programme I began to realise there were more questions than answers initially emerging:
- WYCA have an Economic Recovery Plan costing £60m but basically it is just a plea for funding. They have a commitment to net zero by 2038. They have a Green Enterprise Foundation and are running something called “Innovate Edge” which is in the form of a Pitch Fest.
- Leeds City Council are developing a Recovery Plan and have already developed an Inclusive Growth Plan. They are running a Matching Event in June which will match people to Green Jobs.
- There is no definition of what a “Green” job is. Is it acceptable for part of a job to be “Green” and the rest standard, or working towards being fully “Green” or should it be “Green” from end to end? Do businesses know what is involved, how do they ensure their supply chains are carbon neutral?
Communications Plan
The communications needs to be multi-layered and ensure access for all. There are a number of different strands:
- a website to access with the toolkit in it.
- workshops – online via webinars / seminars
- a slot on local radio
- regular newsletters that people can sign up to
- press campaign
- make use of social media – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc
- stakeholders’ websites should carry all the information and link to the toolkit.
SWOT Analysis of current situation
A critical element in progressing the project will be overcoming any weaknesses and mitigating any threats, whilst building on strengths and capitalising on emerging opportunities. Some of these are laid out below:
Looking ahead
On a strategic level we need to address the following medium to short term goals:
- We need finance for people with ideas to be supported to start up.
- A number of industries and services in the Leeds City Region that can be used to build on people’s ideas so that local supply chains can be used.
- Good manufacturing base in Leeds which is a great starting point.
- Getting into school curriculums and the education sector so that young people identify with green jobs as a career opportunity.
- Encourage and support colleges and Universities to develop qualifications to British Standard and quality marks so that they are recognised in the industry.
Practical actions
We need to take some more immediate, specific and practical actions:
- Work with the LGA and get them to take a lead
- Identify entrepreneurs with a product idea and match them with funders as soon as possible – CBI or Chamber of Commerce as a starting point.
- Look for opportunities to get it into mainstream discussions so it becomes a main item in a number of fora.
- Leeds City Council Executive Board need to have regular reports – make it an “obsession”.
- Look at which of the Council’s policies conflict with the green agenda.
Lincolnshire County Council
A Climate Partnership for Lincolnshire
Challenge
In order to achieve net zero carbon status local government needs to reduce its own emissions and engage with the various sectors of the wider community to help in reducing their carbon emissions. This note sets out how Lincolnshire County Council is looking to engage with its business community to reduce their carbon emissions so that the whole county can reach net zero by 2050.
Overview
Climate change can only be successfully tackled by all elements of society working together to reduce their carbon emissions. Many organisations in the public and private sectors already have detailed action plans of what they will do to reduce their climate impacts. However, there are some businesses that have not yet addressed the issue. In order to remedy this Lincolnshire County Council is looking to step up its engagement with local businesses on climate change and environmental issues and to assist in delivering a community wide low carbon economy that meets the local and national targets of achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050. This will be achieved through the establishment of a Climate Change Partnership.
Carbon emissions from business
An analysis of the countywide carbon emissions in Lincolnshire has shown that the commercial and industrial sector is directly responsible for just under 30% of current emissions. This equated to 1.1 million tonnes of carbon emitted in the 2018/19 financial year.
Examples from elsewhere
As part of the research for how business could be engaged on carbon emission reductions examples from elsewhere were studied. Several local authorities around the country have established climate change partnerships to facilitate their engagement with the wider community on climate change and other related environmental issues. Examples include the Suffolk Climate Change Partnership, Sheffield Climate Alliance, Zero Carbon Cumbria and Carbon Neutral Cornwall. These partnerships typically include the county and district councils (or equivalent) and include partners from other organisations such as the Environment Agency, local water company, local universities, business groups and businesses active in the local area.
Climate Change Partnership Projects
Business Lincolnshire is a business support programme that already works with businesses around the county. Part of their offer includes support for businesses on resource efficiency audits – identifying areas where they can reduce their waste or re-use their waste materials. The Climate Partnership can build on these established links to engage with firms on wider environmental issues.
A good way to have a wide impact in a short space of time is to introduce a number of small scale trial projects that can be quickly reviewed and promoted to other similar businesses if they produce carbon savings. A wide range of trial projects were proposed, including the following:
- Carbon Pledge: A simple pledge will allow business to demonstrate an initial commitment to reducing their carbon emissions.
- Environmental Accreditation: Support for businesses to prove their environmental credentials. There are a number of existing accreditation schemes which can help businesses to develop an environmental management system – such as Investors in the Environment.
- Business Resilience Support: In some locations the impact of climate change are more apparent than in others. Businesses in these locations need to give thought to how they would carry on trading in the event of flooding, heat waves, other extreme weather, etc. A simple business resilience guide would assist with this.
- Environmental Skills Review: The local LEP has funded a review of environmental sector in the county and this has highlighted some skill shortages in specific sectors – such as the retro-fitting of domestic properties. There are opportunities to work with the further education sector to address these shortages.
- Small scale grant support: A grant support scheme to introduce environmental improvements was considered. This could be used to add PV solar panels, energy efficiency improvements or ev charging points.
- Electric Vehicle Support: The number of electric vehicles in use is growing rapidly and the sale of purely petrol and diesel fuelled vehicles are being stopped from 2030. Businesses need think about getting their firm EV ready. A guide will be produced, which is based on the experience of other businesses.
- Biodiversity for business: some business premises have the potential to have great biodiversity value. This project would look at installing small scale interventions to increase the biodiversity value of the site – these could include bird boxes, planting areas, trees, etc.
- Greening supply chains: this trial project would work with businesses to look at the climate impact of their supply chains and how it can be reduced.
Climate Summit
In order to launch the County Council's zero carbon plans and the Climate Partnership a Lincolnshire Climate Summit will be held in October 2021. This will be informed by the build-up to the global climate summit in Glasgow (COP26) in November. The Summit will provide an opportunity to launch the climate partnership and look for businesses that would like to be involved.
Resourcing
Budgets for these projects are limited, so it was decided to see if funding bids could be used to set up the projects. The Communities Renewal Fund and the upcoming shared prosperity fund represent opportunities to get funding to start some of the Climate Partnership work.
Partnership working
The research into developing the Climate Change Partnership has identified that there is already a great deal of work underway around the county on reducing carbon emissions. There are many opportunities to work together with district councils, business groups, national bodies and businesses to share best practice and set up trial projects.
Dan Clayton, Sustainability Manager
North Norfolk District Council
Role related learning
Sphere of Influence
A significant learning experience during the ALS has been understanding/coming to terms with the sphere of influence that I have in my role relating to the specific project that I have been working on.
When I took on the 110,000 tree project I thought I might be able to change some of the fundamental elements of the scheme – i.e. change the main measure of success, 110,000 trees, to something that I believed may be more impactful. It soon became clear however during the project that this was not feasible and I was not going to be able to make this change. There was too much political support and publicity around the figure. Realising the things I was unable to change allowed me to accept the scope of the project and to focus on what ‘successful delivery’ might look like. There have since been aspects of the project that I have been able to shape and influence, but learning what the boundaries of my role are, and my personally ability to influence change, has been a helpful process as it has defined how the project has moved forward.
Empowering
Whilst having not been able to change some aspects of the 110,000 project there have been many elements of the project that I have been able to have considerable shape and influence over. This process has been empowering and has helped me to establish my own position within the council as someone who is knowledgeable, passionate and keen to ensure that we deliver first-rate projects (I only started in post in December 2020).
Stakeholders to become partners
In order to progress the 110,000 trees project I have needed to work quite closely with a range of stakeholders. These include businesses, third sector organisations, community groups, and individuals. However throughout the project, and my time on the ALS programme, my relationship with stakeholders has developed into closer working partnerships which has opened up the door to work on furthering many of the council’s other ambitions regarding action on the climate change emergency.
Catalysts
Whilst the 110,000 trees projects is a fairly discrete piece of work - in so much as it has a clear and measurable outcome and end point, it has served as a catalyst for future projects and schemes in the District which seek to address the council’s climate change action agenda. This was not an intended outcome but is rather a helpful and pleasing side-effect! As a result of the 110,000 trees project I have developed some fruitful and long-lasting partnerships with organisations who we hope to work with closely to achieve our net-zero carbon emissions targets. In this context the 110,000 project has served as a great springboard.
Reflecting on the ALS: Speaking and listening
The action learning set process is one that gives all people equal opportunity to speak, vocalise their thoughts and feelings and to listen. The ALS methodology worked particularly well - I have been at training sessions, or courses, where only extroverted people speak up, or ask questions or provide insights, however I felt the ALS put everyone, extrovert, introvert etc on an equal playing-field. It also almost goes without saying that in professional life there is not a lot of time to talk to people and to be listed to in the way that the ALS provided so this was refreshing, novel and a way of learning that I particularly enjoyed.
Sector
The local government climate change sector is obvious a fast-paced and moving feast. The ALS highlighted to me how diverse the sector is and how many different areas often single officers, or small teams are expected to cover. There is still a struggle towards mainstreaming the climate change agenda and the green recovery is one that is going to have to be championed by a few for the benefit of many. I think that officers working within the sector are under huge amounts of pressure, not to mention the complicated politics which still enshrine the climate change and environmental agenda. This reflection has only reinforced to me the importance of the networks developed through the LGA and is something that I would like to see continued/progressed.
Personally
Throughout the ALS and the development of the 110,000 trees project I have learnt a lot about myself. I now recognise that I have strong values and that I believe in achieving ‘the best’ and not just ‘getting the job done’. In the past I have considered myself to be very pragmatic and perhaps not someone who subscribes to a set of beliefs, values or theories. The 110,000 project, and the ALS, has however drawn out of me a real sense of what I believe to be the right thing. This does not just apply to environmental and climate change outcomes/excellence, but also to being a steward of public money and a public servant.
Project highlights
There have been many project highlights. From a purely project focused perspective it has helped me to understand the 110,000 project in a new way and has allowed me to accelerate the progression of the scheme in a way I may not have otherwise done. I think one of the greatest highlights of the project has been the discussions with other colleagues across the country. Working in the climate change sector brings many challenges and it was interesting to hear about the ups, downs high and lows that others have experienced.
I have also felt really privileged to have been listened to, and to have listened to, such a kind and thoughtful group of people – something that the ALS process really nurtured and encouraged. As a newcomer in a new organisation starting during a lockdown, the ALS have seemed like a group of colleagues to me in the same way that my own team do at my own council! This was an outcome and highlight that I did not expect form the ALS programme but one that I found to be particularly enriching.
Project challenges
I think one of the most challenging things about the ALS programme is that it made me confront a project that I may have otherwise put to one side. Being relatively new to the council and being tasked with a range of challenging projects from net-zero action planning to policy development, to citizen engagement, to staff workshops around the climate crisis, it would have been easy to ‘park’ this scheme for a few months. In addition to this, the project that I chose to bring to the ALS is one that, by its very nature, I have found a challenge therefore questioning, thinking and interrogating it in such detail was challenging, but of course thought provoking from the beginning of the programme right through to the end.
Annie Sommazzi, Environmental Policy Officer
South Oxfordshire District Council
As cabinet member responsible for climate change and nature recovery in addition to being leader (because I believe these are so important and pervade nearly all our activities) I was attracted by the title of the course. I didn’t know what to expect from it. My council, South Oxfordshire District, is part of the Ox-Cam Arc which is viewed by government as a growth area (a goose which is supposed to lay golden eggs to spend on levelling up?). Councils across the Arc have adopted environmental principles which mean that we need good green growth. Hence the need for jobs with good environmental outputs.
The course format was new to me but turned out to be interesting and it was useful to hear about others experiences and opinions. In fact my choice of retrofitting using local green jobs as a project was very much influenced by Martin’s project. I thought it might be useful to work in a similar field and also much retrofitting will be needed to reduce energy usage in our homes. The very practical session given by Charlie on retrofitting was very worthwhile and I was glad I was able to get one of our new climate change officers to attend too.
My project has moved on. We are now working in partnership with the other Oxfordshire councils and OxLEP (from the jobs, skills and apprenticeships point of view) on retrofitting. Much will depend on what funding might be available.
But retrofitting will come via two routes for those who can & those who can’t afford it:
For those who can afford to pay for retrofitting themselves we need to convince people that it is a worthwhile thing to do, for a number of reasons, financial, climatic and moral and to advise on what might be appropriate for their property.
For those who can’t afford to pay for retrofitting themselves funding sources will need to be found, probably via government grants through whatever route. There may be a need to decide where best to spend what will probably be limited funding. We shall need data on the condition of our housing stock and the financial status of the residents to aid fair use of limited resources.
Here is an extract from a cabinet update to show where we’d got to in early May:
- Retrofit Scrutiny Committee (South) has established a Task & Finish group, including 2 representatives from our adjacent council, to review retrofit in Oxfordshire. The review will include:
- Barriers to retrofit
- Best practise in other LAs
- National funding and support
- Local skills landscape
- Options for how the councils can best take retrofit forward
- Green Homes Grant Scheme likely to be devolved to LA’s which will increase funding for retrofit within the districts. Awaiting guidelines from HM Government. All Cllr briefings to be held on 10 and 12 May on the scenario modelling that will inform the development of each Councils Climate Action Plan.
In summary, I think I have managed to move retrofitting and the examination of local skills for carrying it out up the agenda but measure of success will be the resulting warm homes using less polluting energy!
Cllr Sue Cooper, Leader
Tandridge District Council
Entering your first Grand Tour: taking the first steps with social housing retrofit within an Action Learning Set
Like many things we do in local government, our ambition is not often the issue, especially when it comes to climate change and reducing carbon emissions. We know that reducing consumption and emissions across our activities and estates is the right thing to do, for many reasons.
Consequently for authorities that have significant holdings of social housing, retrofitting these to achieve net zero is a big prize that we would love to win. Although when preparing to embark on what seems like a cycling Grant Tour - a long and complex multi-stage race that requires a lot of time, money and effort - we must be careful not to adopt the wrong race strategy or “go into the red” [burn out] at the wrong time.
Social housing retrofit is complex and difficult to grasp, especially for smaller district and borough authorities. The potential costs of retrofitting thousands of properties certainly gives one pause for thought. For instance, how to accurately assess the condition and requirements of the property stock, navigate external funding opportunities, manage tenants’ expectations, and produce technical solutions in a sector where technology is rapidly changing and advancing – will hydrogen do for retrofit what the derailleur gear systems did for cycling? Regardless, like any team that enters a Grand Tour, there is a lot of capital and reputation at stake for Council’s starting out on retrofit.
Fortunately Grand Tours are team races, engaging with colleagues, in and outside of our authorities, can enhance our competitiveness in the carbon reduction race. Slipstreaming teammates by sharing lessons learned and resources can lessen our individual workloads. Adopting a questioning / action learning approach with colleagues can also improve Stage planning and race management, by using others’ perspectives to focus the retrofit challenge in light of our authorities’ specific context, such as reducing the short-term scope and concentrating on immediate Stages, so we don’t become overwhelmed with the scale of the challenge and can manage our fitness over the long-term until we reach the finish line.
Having chosen to work on retrofit within a team working Action Learning Set, in partnership with the LGA and Transitional Space, and outside of the normal silos (even just your own authority) led me to some broader lessons on retrofit, and potentially climate change more broadly:
- Like any team entering a Grand Tour, empowerment is key to being competitive in the race, that is, having sufficient resources (equipment & budget) and support (Member & Senior Management).
- Remain focused on the immediate manageable goals but not losing sight of the long-term one either. It’s not helpful to focus on the ultimate goal, retrofitting thousands of properties with limited budget and capacity. Taking each Stage one at a time, reading the road and conditions as they change, can allow flexibility to adapt to new technology, approaches and external funding streams.
- Incentives: everyone involved in a professional Grand Tour - the teams, support staff, sponsors - need incentives for action regardless of the value of the ultimate prize. Therefore it behoves us to consider what motivates each stakeholder specifically if we are going to reach our collective 2030/50 goal.
Action Plan
- Where are the gaps?
- We do not have an accurate survey of the condition of our social housing properties and what they require, exactly, to become carbon neutral.
- We expect that there may be multiple low-carbon heating solutions, however we are unsure which ones are the most suitable and whether new, more appealing, options will come to market in the near future. This issue makes it difficult to produce a specific project plan.
- What are you already doing well?
- Identified our goal and understand the urgency and complexity of completing it.
- Have colleagues on board, including at other Surrey local councils
Outcomes (One Planet Living Principle)
- Zero Carbon Energy – To make our Council housing properties more energy efficient and switch them to a low-carbon energy supply.
Actions
- Speak with Business Improvement Manager to confirm the delivery timescale for an IT project that would enable our Community Surveyors team, and potentially external contractors, to conduct accurate property assessments.
- Confirmed that the software should be available in June 21. [Done]
- Double check the upgrade includes the mobile-app / on-the-go element – May 21
- Calculate implementation phase timeline with Surveyors team – Jun 21
- Further actions will be depend on the outcome of the above
- Begin survey of our properties using the new system (schedule to be confirmed)
- Begin scheduling “quick-win” retrofit works and identify more complex / expensive projects and begin to plan approach to these.
- Co-setup a retrofit Hub for Surrey Local authorities: to share knowledge and resources
- Raised and agreed with county climate change officers group that the idea should be produced.
- Prepare brief / proposal for our next meeting this month – Jun 21
- Agree TOR, members, meeting forum and frequency of meetings – Jul 21
- Hold first meeting, and schedule – Jul/Aug 21
- Support the lead delivery officer with his research into low-carbon heating options, which will result in an options appraisal for our Councillors to review – ongoing
- Hydrogen literature review – Jul 21
- Options appraisal
- Confirm whether we can apply to the LAD2 fund for social housing retrofit works
- Meet with Greater South East Energy Hub as part of pre-questionnaire [Done]
- Meet with Lead Surveyor and Director of Communities to confirm we could be in a position to proceed with match-funding approach and project scope:
- Insulation works
- 1-2 off-grid pilot projects (swap from boilers for air source heat pumps) [Done]
- Follow-up meeting with Hub with Lead Surveyor – May 21 [Done]
- Complete funding questionnaire for Hub and managing agents (i.e. suggested number of properties and works) – Jun 21
- Future actions to be determined by following stages of the funding process.
Indicators
- Number / % of social housing properties with a validated and up-to-date EPC rating of C
- Number / % of social housing properties with a validated and up-to-date EPC rating of A
- Number of installs – loft insultation
- Number of installs – cavity wall insulation
- Number of installs – low carbon heating
- Number of installs - other
- Qualitative report on potential low carbon pilot projects.
Monitoring and reporting
- Monthly – as part of the climate change programme internal reporting
- June 21 – Strategy & Resources Committee as part of the climate change programme update.
- November 21 - Strategy & Resources Committee as part of the climate change programme update (annually thereafter).
- Before end December 21 – Housing Committee, options appraisal for low carbon heating solutions for our social housing.
William Mace, Project, Policy and Performance Specialist
Test Valley Council
Introduction
Test Valley is in central southern England and, like most, has its pockets of deprivation but is relatively affluent. Therefore my focus is on business support rather than physical regeneration.
Providing free expert advice, grants, accommodation, networking etc requires a “business-friendly” outlook. I was attracted to this programme to connect business support with Climate Emergency.
TVBC declared a Climate Emergency and produced an action plan. It refers to working with the business community but focuses on the Council.
My Challenge
“To encourage and support skills training for businesses involved in carbon reduction activity.”
I looked at business/skills rather than environmental or community aspects and chose my challenge before I became aware of the business aspects of carbon reduction. As I learned, I refined the challenge:
First, as the result of the specialist property (retrofitting) webinars in April I focused on domestic property green jobs; and
Second, in speaking to tradespeople, I realised that sustainable heating is not yet competitive so began to focus on retrofitting, “fabric first”.
Understanding the landscape
I assumed, from Government announcements and media coverage, that a small, developed market for retrofitting and the installation of low carbon heating systems was thriving and therefore I could connect businesses and training providers.
I spoke to many agencies: EM3 LEP, South East England Energy Hub, FE Colleges, private training providers, a housing association, colleagues in TVBC and Hampshire County Council as well as businesses providing “green jobs.” I realised that the domestic housing green jobs market is not properly articulated and replacement of the Green Homes Grant (Local Authority Delivery 2 grant) leaves much to do.
Broadband revelation
My revelatory moment came in the April panel webinar the comparison was made between green jobs (retrofitting/low carbon heating) and delivering superfast broadband.
The comparison is perfect because the parallels are there: ten years ago, as BT enabled its exchanges, one by one, for basic broadband, we’d never heard of ADSL, bandwidth, Gigabit fibre, streaming etc. and didn’t know who was doing what to achieve Government targets. In those ten years we’ve achieved 95% superfast coverage, in part, through a network of county superfast broadband partnerships. They managed BT Openreach contracts (e.g. www.hampshiresuperfastbroadband.com) to which district councils contributed. Government invested about £1.1bn in its Superfast Broadband Programme 2010-17 and in 2020 announced a further £5bn, to reach 85% of premises with 1 Gb/s by 2025.
Hampshire Superfast Broadband is the local hub for sharing information and best practice among businesses, public agencies and customers.
The LGA should recommend the creation of county “green jobs hubs” to connect the Great SE Energy Hub Greater South East Energy Hub Trades DPS with district councils, businesses and others and drive the local agenda over the next decade there are other outcomes and actions to be put forward.
One Loving Planet outcomes
Equity and economy – creating safe, equitable places to live and work which support local prosperity and international fair trade
Culture & Community – Nurturing local identity and heritage, empowering communities and promoting a culture of sustainable living
Zero carbon energy – making buildings and manufacturing energy efficient and supplying all energy with renewables.
How to achieve?
Working with local parties and the Greater SE Energy Hub (LADS 2 grants), namely EM3 LEP, TVBC Environment and Health
Promoting the 5 year (April 2021-March 2026) Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for Energy Efficiency Measures to local businesses
Awaiting the successor system for accredited training providers and promoting training opportunities in Hampshire.
Personal reflections
- Very grateful for people’s support and suggestions, which helped me refine my focus; for the friendly collaborative learning process and how it was managed.
- Have learned a lot about the business and skills training side of Climate Emergency both through colleagues in my action learning set, Helen our tutor and the webinars.
- Action learning encourages an enquiring style of thought which helped me.
- Having started on this learning journey I would like to continue, as the wider momentum gathers pace, both with my action learning set and through the LGA.
In my own particular journey I have moved from being agnostic to changing the award category being sponsored by my council in the 2021 Test Valley Business Awards to “business reducing carbon footprint”.
Action Plan (using One Planet Living framework)
Context Analysis Framework
Context Analysis Framework
Already Doing
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My Challenge
“To encourage and support skills training for businesses involved in carbon reduction activity.”
Key things which come to mind:
This project focuses on the property-related sub sector of “green jobs” ie how consumer demand for carbon-efficient buildings and heating can be stimulated, the business supply chain can respond and new skills training can be provided to support this growth over the next few years.
1. Test Valley “green jobs” relating to property
Jobs: LGA research suggests about 780 (68%) of Test Valley’s “green jobs” at 2030 will be in low carbon heat and building insulation. The rest will be in low carbon fuels, low carbon services and EV.
However, local anecdotal evidence (Test Valley businesses known to be in retrofit/green energy sector etc) suggests this may be an underestimate and there may already be at least 1,000 jobs in the property element of green jobs in Test Valley (2021). (Eco Tech Ventilation; AES Ltd; Chimflue; AirVent Technology etc.)
Furthermore, there are other green jobs sectors eg manufacturing electric bikes: Cancha.
Property-related green jobs: domestic properties account for 30% of energy and 19% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. 19m. out of 29m. homes need to be made low carbon to bring to EPC C. This will cost £35-65mbn. By 2035 or £73m by 2035. (HOC Environment Audit Committee March 2021)
2. Supporting local businesses to reduce carbon by:
- promoting greentechsouth.com
- preparing for locase.co.uk/about
- preparing for Test Valley Business Awards with TVBC sponsoring a reducing carbon award
- being a members of Hampshire Chamber of Commerce Green Innovation Steering Group Meeting
3. Understanding the local landscape of organisations involved in “green jobs” including:
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Frameworks
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Are you using any other frameworks? How do they relate to the OPL Principles?
- Equity and local economy – creating safe equitable places to live and work which support local prosperity and international fair trade.
- Zero Carbon Energy – making buildings and manufacturing energy efficient and supplyi9ng all energy with renewables.
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How do we feel?
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Not optimistic yet.
The challenge is urgent: the built environment needs to be almost completely de-carbonised by 2050 through energy efficiency and low carbon heat. To achieve this 19m homes need upgrading to EPC A,B or C by 2035. Overall we need to have reduced our carbon emissions by 68% in the next 9 years - by 2030.
The main impetus for change can only come from Government by encouraging private business (through incentive and penalty) to reduce emissions and invest in carbon reduction goods and services for others, including public consumers.
Much is being achieved but, in relation to the domestic property sector, which accounts for 19% of UK gas emissions, the £1.5bn. Green Homes Grant has been replaced by a £0.5bn. Local Authority Delivery Scheme 2 (LADS 2) which will only target the worst insulated homes and those occupied by households earning less than £30,000.
We are the beginning of a 10-20 year green jobs market in building more energy efficient new homes, retrofitting the existing stock and installing energy efficient heating systems.
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Positive Impacts
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The foundations being put in place with the Government’s 10 point plan and LADS 2.
There are local examples of business best practice with companies working very hard to meet demand and private training providers such as SERT who are keen to attract a partner to invest in a “green demonstration home” which will inform consumers, support supplying businesses and trades and train the future workforce in green jobs for the property sector.
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Negative Impacts
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There is a gap between high level Government announcements eg 350,000 new green jobs net and the reality on the ground in terms for eg of the readiness of public training providers to begin training the next generation of apprentices who will deliver the retrofit and green energy agenda.
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Future Trends
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If we are to meet national targets the Rogers adoption-innovation curve applied to retrofitting the 19m homes (including installing/replacing with low carbon heating) would suggest a 15-20 delivery period peaking half way in the early 2032. However, depending on Government policy (financial incentives) this profile could be accelerated.
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Opportunities
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A Hampshire Green Jobs Hub
We are at the beginning of the domestic property green jobs “revolution” which is likely to happen over the next 10-15 years, if we are to meet national carbon reduction targets.
It is evident that there are many organisations involved but little if any co-ordination including with private v businesses, who will ultimately deliver this transformation.
In many ways we are where we were with the advent of the broadband revolution, when BT was enabling their exchanges one by one, before the lexicon of bandwidth, streaming, Gigabit Fibre Networks and Netflix was common parlance. In order to lead and co-ordinate all of those involved; to obtain collective buy-in and to stimulate demand, a series of public-private broadband networks or partnerships were established at county level. Today we need the same but for green jobs.
www.hampshiresuperfastbroadband.com/about-the-project
HGJH would provide a central resource for:
- common understanding
- sharing/championing best practice
- promotion/raising public and commercial awareness and demand.
HGJH would connect with and support:
- EM3 and Solent LEPs
- Greater South East Energy Hub Trades DPS (due-north.com)
- Businesses (and representative organisations) interested in reducing their carbon emissions via GreenTech South and LoCASE
- Skills training providers: HE, FE, private, CITB, social housing providers, etc
- Hampshire’s 13 district councils
- economic development staff working with businesses and training climate emergency staff about wider involvement environment and health staff working on grants for retrofitting
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Challenges
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We are at the very beginning retrofit and low carbon domestic energy market. By comparison, it is taking 20 years for the global EV market to grow from 9% to 94% - and this with strong Government policy.
Air and ground source heat pumps are expensive relative to combi boilers. Therefore this niche market needs Government financial stimulation in order to generate consumer demand which in turn will attract more suppliers and in turn more training providers to upskills workers and create the 250,000 b jobs forecast by 2025
For example, the Heat Pump Association projects a 15 year take up (2020-35) in which 80% of the gain will happen through retrofit on-grid and about 20% from new build. The main incentive up to 2030 will happen from Government boiler scrappage scheme.
Charlie Baker’s presentation of the West Yorks. example (LGA Webinar 9.4.21) showed the need for 30,000 construction workers 2022-2030 and a spend profile rising from £400m. p.a. to £2.4bn, reaching 80,000 homes p.a. And this despite a 12% reduction in EU born construction workers over the last year (from 176,000 to 127,000)
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Stakeholder Management
Action Planning Team
- Key decision makers (see above Hampshire Green Jobs Hub)
Who to keep informed
Who to keep informed
Desired Outcome
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OPL Principle (s)
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Within Hampshire - Promote the idea of a Hampshire Green Jobs Hub
For LGA to promote county green jobs hubs to upper tier authorities
Government to extend LADS 2 to encompass greater proportion of housing stock and catalyse the market
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Equity and local economy - safe equitable places to live and work which support local prosperity and international fair trade
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Energy audits and access to EU capital grants to reduce carbon to be commonplace for businesses within a few years
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Zero Carbon Energy – Making buildings and manufacture energy efficient and supplying all energy with renewables
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Outcomes/actions
Outcomes and actions
Outcomes
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Actions (6-8 per outcome) – What?
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Who?
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By when?
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Indicators
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Principles
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Promote the idea of a Hampshire Green Jobs Hub
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- Promote HGJH to Hampshire County Council and district colleagues and to Hampshire Chamber of Commerce
- Promote Green Tech South audits and grants to local businesses
- Initiate LoCASE grant scheme
- Work with Climate Emergency TVBC colleagues, Portfolio Holder etc to explain role of businesses in delivering CE goals
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TVBC EDO
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Ongoing
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- Degree of acceptance
- Number of businesses / value of grants
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David Gleave, Economic Development Officer
Torridge District Council
The challenge and the context
At times in our work lives things just happen to pop up at the right time. Sadly, that doesn’t happen nearly often enough, but in the case of the LGA’s Green Jobs Action Learning Programme it was very true.
Torridge, here in northern Devon, faces many of the same issues of isolation, seasonal economies and low productivity of many isolated coastal areas. But that sense of reasonably unspoilt, even rugged, beauty which has often been seen as the greatest drawback to the area’s economic prosperity is now finally being seen as an enormous, and hugely important, opportunity.
One of the most significant blockages to growth in our local economy is very simply there not being sufficient high quality spaces available for expansion. So we end up with some businesses not growing for lifestyle reasons, others who become blockers taking up the spaces and some who cannot grow locally. That accommodation is also all fairly dated, with no consideration having been given during their development into how to best support green jobs - whether you interpret that support need as being for the work taking place inside the unit or the importance of green infrastructure for eco-minded businesses. Success lies in achieving both.
Climate Emergency priorities and the need for both economic and social change and adaptation have become real drivers for debate locally, in a similar way to the government has now begun to actively push its own levelling up agenda. The idea of “Natural Capital” is not one which is the kind of thing people might talk about in the pub (now that they’re allowed back in), but is definitely a focus of economic planning in northern Devon.
The challenge, though, is very much around what working infrastructure will be needed to support what is a hugely broad term, “green jobs”. For example, getting a stronger handle on what sorts of opportunities our local universities (Exeter and Plymouth) see as being needed for their students, so that we can look to open up employment land and provide the right spaces.
We currently own three patches of land which we are keen to develop but the business case needs to be right, as always.
- Two are set in fairly deep rural areas, with one of those being near an active agricultural market
- One, Middle Dock, is a small quay front along the water from Appledore shipyard, now owned by Harland and Wolff.
We also work very closely with the North Devon UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, who have just lead on both the national marine and landscape pioneer programmes for Defra, so the question is:
How to stimulate jobs collectively and make sure that everything is made as easy as possible for anyone looking to either start up, grow or relocate here?
Progress / opportunities seized
So having framed the question, a second interesting opportunity emerged - the Community Renewal Fund. For in the March budget Torridge was announced as a Priority location for the Community Renewal Fund. The challenges of co-ordinating local projects in what was an incredibly short (5 week) window were enormous. But it did enable a real focus on aligned projects, and how CRF could potentially support the work which had been started for the LGA Green Jobs programme, giving a clearer sense of focus and definition to my initial challenge.
Initial discussions with my Green Jobs Action Learning Set had focused on two key things for all of our projects;
- Having a really clear understanding of why we were looking at our projects, with a vision for the change we were looking to create; and
- Making sure that it was being done in true partnership, with both local and wider stakeholders, to avoid duplication or a piece of work not “fitting” with other efforts.
Middle Dock has a 99m quay frontage and is one of the few remaining undeveloped dock spaces across the South West. It’s currently used as a waste and recycling storage space, with the buildings on site preventing active use of the whole space- they are simply put not in a fit state for human use. The rats love them, though!
The Community Renewal Fund, a revenue-driven scheme with a short delivery window, allowed us to fully start exploring the potential for the site. It also provided impetus for sector partners to get involved- including Maritime UK (SW), Petroc (local FE College) and Plymouth University who knew that the best chance of shared success and therefore progress was dynamic collaboration. Devon County Council supported with some early stage feasibility work as well, providing a race-against-the clock opportunity to tighten that clear vision which the LGA-cohort had agreed would be so useful. The Community Renewal Fund bid then allowed us to lay out a clear pathway to establishing best-fit uses for the site and delving into how it could fit within a “green” (or, in this case “blue”) jobs agenda - driving higher-skilled, higher-wage employment within the offshore sector given the dock’s position within the Torridge estuary, leading out into the Bristol Channel and the proposed site for an offshore array.
So progress has started - but at a very early stage.
Outcomes
At the start of the LGA programme we were asked to reflect on what success would look like. At the time my responses were;
- At least one of the sites built out and offering ready-to-go employment spaces within three years
- A draw for graduates and inclusion in at least one HE careers advice pipeline
- A link established for skills input with FE / HE to establish higher skills at the heart of the project
So this Middle Dock work is currently on the right lines. We’re now waiting for the Community Renewal Fund announcements, but the scheme has now been passed up to MHCLG from Devon County, so we’re hopeful. But that will very much just be the starting point of the work, with the physical infrastructure just being a small part of the work required, with skills provision and supply chain support being central to the long-term needs and sector engagement and interest being the next step- crucially, to ensure true partnership, as per bullet point 2 of our cohort’s shared agreement.
Reflections on the action learning process
Coaching is a process that I’m familiar with from having been involved in teaching and educational consultancy for 13 years. However, although I do enjoy the nature of probing questions I do also find that my own learning and thought processes thrive from active discussion and debate, with a process which involves the sharing and challenging of ideas and personal experiences. That can be due to the pace that I tend to have to operate, but it is also the case that sometimes finding time to step back, pause and reflect can also be crucial in order to create best possible progress - although that opportunity can, alas, be rare. I am also aware that I can often overstep the process through offering that sense of personal experience, even if that can frequently then lead to a challenging question. I think that was definitely an issue with Rachael’s challenge (from Dorset) given the synchronicity of her challenge with some of the work we are currently undertaking here in Torridge around the greening of the local tourism sector.
The sense of personal reflection and peer questioning rather than advice giving was challenging at first. We all entered into the process with a large number of unknowns - I know that the easy route at the time would undoubtedly have been for someone simply to tell me what I needed to do next. Yet what that wouldn’t have done was truly make me think through the rationale and understand the why of what I was doing. It was challenging, without doubt, but hugely rewarding.
Moving the challenge forward (draft action plan)
To create a genuinely dependable action plan on the theme of employment spaces for green jobs at the moment is to ignore the unpredictable nature of the world of local government at the moment:
- Unpredictable government funding, both in terms of the allocations to local authorities and also the nature of grant funding for specific threads. Servicing employment land or building out spaces is very simply not sexy enough for a high profile funding stream yet would create significant local growth!
- Land owners wanting to hold on to their land where it has been designated for employment space in the hope of flipping to residential in the absence of an approved 5 year land supply.
However, the Community Renewal Fund process has created movement forward:
- Initial feasibility undertaken on a quayside site which has been acquired by the Council, exploring its potential role within a growing SW maritime sector.
- There are particularly strong opportunities connected to the neighbouring Appledore shipyard and also to the burgeoning offshore renewable sector, as well as to the importance of relevant skills provision.
- The intention is for this to be further developed to become shovel ready for funding as part of the Community Renewal Fund and in preparation for the Shared Prosperity Fund.
- Pilot programmes and skills accelerators have been proposed to support retrofit supply chains and also community energy programmes.
- Healthier supply chains will need spaces for growth, and so put extra pressure on purse holders to invest in appropriate industrial estates.
- The sense of chicken or egg is often used as a rationale for inactivity - if the supply chain or demand is not there why invest in the facilities?
- The evaluation of efforts for the Community Renewal Fund should provide significant rationale for the development of a suitable business plan to justify the work.
That said, we are also in the process of reviewing the North Devon and Torridge Local Plan. This will give an opportunity for the employment spaces which have been designated across the district to be reviewed and for the economic development team to have input which will then become part of the guiding strategy for the region.
There is currently universal alignment among key economic drivers in the region for the need for environmental principles to be of the highest possible quality if we are to capitalise on the green economy opportunities post-pandemic.
Chris Fuller, Economic Development Officer