Agenda item

So as to provide the best opportunity for the Committee to provide the public with the fullest answer, questions from the public should be submitted by 12.00pm Tuesday 13 July 2021

Where relevant notice of a question has not been given, the person presiding may either choose to give a response at the meeting or respond by undertaking to provide a written response within three working days.

Questions should be submitted to Democratic Services democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

(Note: Public Question Time will operate for a maximum of 30 minutes.)

A question had been received in advance by a member of the public that was read out by the Chairman of the Committee

With respect to the installation of renewable energy measures to council buildings: given the councils' extensive property portfolio and the award of funding from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, what are the specific plans for installation of solar PV panels, battery energy storage, heat pumps and other energy saving measures in ALL council-owned buildings to reduce direct energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions, and how will this be tracked and reported on to ensure PSDS funding is used for the purposes for which it was awarded?"

The Chairman read out a response to the question as follows:

The Councils adopted the Carbon Neutral Plan: Working towards the 2030 target in December 2019.

Alongside 'business as usual' reductions in carbon emissions being achieved through improvements in renewable and energy efficiency technologies both locally and nationally, this identified priority areas for investment and intervention in the councils' estate. It also noted that in order to achieve their ambitious plan, the councils will have to rely upon various factors outside of the councils' control - including identifying appropriate funding streams to deliver decarbonisation projects. The councils were quick to react to the announcement of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme and were two of only 5 successful bidders from within Sussex.

The specific projects being delivered utilising the £1.7m of Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant funding were discussed at Joint Strategic Committee on 9 February 2021 and, once completed, will reduce the councils' total emissions from buildings by over 10%. As can be seen in that report, the confirmed sites that will benefit from this PSDS funding are as follows: Shadwells Court, Marsh House, Shoreham Centre, Eastbrook Manor CC, Goring Recreation Ground, Worthing Town Hall/Assembly Hall, Commerce Way depot.

The Carbon Neutral Plan also identified a number of other projects that the councils could deliver in order to further reduce carbon emissions and the councils recognise the urgency that action must be taken in order to achieve our net zero ambitions. The council will continue to identify local opportunities to seek external funding and supplement its ongoing capital programme to deliver new decarbonisation projects. The councils are committed on reporting on carbon emissions to BEIS and Joint Strategic Committee each autumn - the most recent report identified a 13% year-on-year reduction.  Furthermore the councils are working with local businesses to collaborate and support them in their own Net Zero ambitions.

A question had been received in advance by a member of the public that was read out by the Chairman of the Committee

Whilst council officers are to be congratulated on their plan to reduce council emissions by 2030 - would it not help us to prioritise and get perspective as a whole community if the necessary actions to reduce the other 99% of emissions were quantified and targets set with the community and ongoing measures put in place which can then be reported on by the council?

The Chairman read out a response as follows:

It is a fair point, that whilst the councils can show leadership by addressing our own carbon footprint, this is just 1% of the emissions of Adur & Worthing. This statistic was identified in a study produced in June 2020 which also set a pathway for reducing emissions across the area. The Study is called:

‘A Carbon Neutral Study for Adur and Worthing: Exploring pathways to achieve the target.’

In order to work with partners to try to address more at the area wide scale, the councils have produced SustainableAW a unique shared plan for action across the communities of Adur & Worthing, in which over 200 stakeholders were involved in developing collaborative actions to address the climate emergency. This will, if adopted by JSC on 13th July, be reported on annually.

SustainableAW is a plan to work across all agendas on the range of sectors that impact climate change, and will soon be posted on the councils website showing actions from many organisations, meanwhile the actions can be seen in the JSC report