Agenda item

This annual report provides an account of the role of the Portfolio Holder for Climate Change and Strategic Regeneration. It details their ambitions for their areas of responsibility, specifically relating to Climate Change, how they have and will undertake political challenge and leadership and what their priorities and ambitions are for the year ahead.

Discussion:

The following issues were discussed:

Transition to Electric Vehicles – a Member commented that planning regulations in conservation areas were slowing the installation of electric charging points. He asked the Portfolio Holder what action the Council was taking to improve this. The Portfolio Holder explained that the Council had a strategy for installation of electric vehicle charging points, however it was reliant upon grants, so funding was limited. Historic England were considering how charging points could be incorporated into conservation areas and this had caused delay. The Council was in favour of innovative design options to solve these challenges such as charging points contained in bollards or Council car parks and officers were working to find solutions.

A Member commented that it was important that conservation areas and building issues should not prevent the Council’s Climate Change objectives such as the installation of more efficient windows for buildings and solar panels. The Portfolio Holder agreed and noted it was important to work with partners not to destroy historic sites and to take a bespoke approach for buildings and streets as required.

Trees – in response to a question asking for his thoughts on tree planting schemes, the Portfolio Holder explained that there was a tree planting scheme in place, but it was on a smaller scale than previous schemes and the Council was reliant on grant funding. 3,500 trees were scheduled to be planted in February and the tree policy was being reviewed. The Council continued to look for opportunities for further funding and did not underestimate the importance the role of planting trees in tackling climate change, flood prevention and town centre cooling.

A Member commented that many of the trees planted previously by the Council had died and had asked if they could be replaced. The Portfolio Holder explained that 80% of trees which were not adequately cared for would die, so it was vital that the aftercare was effective, there was, however, no funding available to replace trees that had died.

Active Travel - The Portfolio Holder was asked for his views on active travel, in particular on bus travel as a sustainable option. The Portfolio Holder agreed that promoting additional bus use would reduce congestion in Medway. The Council had created an active travel working group, and he was pleased that Arriva had recently announced the addition of new more environmentally friendly buses for the area.

He added that the Council was interested in bus franchising opportunities which would give the Council additional powers regarding routes, timetabling and ticketing, however, it was unclear how this would work in practice at the current time so the Council would wait for further information from government.

The Portfolio Holder added that the Council would consider a bus station in the Strood railway station area to improve connections to the peninsula, a Member commented that it may be helpful to discuss proposals with colleagues in other areas which have had similar experience. The Portfolio Holder agreed and added that he also wanted to improve links with Maidstone as many staff at Maidstone Hospital lived in Medway.

In relation to rail, the Council had also held meetings with Network Rail and Southeastern rail to consider how customers could use multiple forms of transport with one ticket to encourage greater use of public transport.

A Member asked the Portfolio Holder to outline their thoughts on active travel as a way to ease congestion and reduce emissions. The Portfolio Holder agreed that sustainable travel was a significant factor in lowering emissions and improving air quality in the area. The numbers of children using inhalers had risen significantly and this was an issue of concern. The Portfolio Holder agreed that Members may benefit from more information regarding climate change, including information regarding key performance indicators.

A Member commented that the Council could be a leader in reducing car usage and asked how many staff used the car share service. The Portfolio Holder did not have the current figures for staff who utilised care share schemes but agreed those schemes were helpful for the Council to meet its emission goals.

Flooding – in response to a question regarding funds to solve flooding in Cherry Tree Road, Rainham, the Portfolio Holder stated that Environment Agency figures highlighted a significant increase in properties at risk from flooding in medway and a grant application was being made. He undertook to update ward Councillors on the progress of this application.

A Member commented that the River Strategy would be an important part of flood defences and asked the Portfolio Holder what progress had been made in its development. The Portfolio Holder stated the river strategy was scheduled for completion in the spring on 2025 and the Council continued to work with partners on flood defences through a number of schemes such as tree planting.

Air Quality – in response to a question what the benchmark for success of the red routes scheme was in relation to air quality, the Portfolio Holder stated the red routes scheme had been designed to tackle congestion issues rather than air quality. He added that bus services in Rainham had shown an improvement following the implementation of the scheme.

Cycle Route – in response to a question when the results of the cycle route consultation would be reported, the Portfolio Holder stated that the consultation had been completed and the local cycling infrastructure plan would be considered by Cabinet in the near future.

Recycling – a Member welcomed the positive work undertaken on small appliance repairs and asked the Portfolio Holder if the impact of this on waste recycling was known, the Portfolio Holder stated that the impact could not be quantified, although unfortunately the grant funding had run out it was a really positive scheme and the scheme would be continued with support of our Norse partners.

Safer Streets – a Member commented that improvements in air quality was a goal for the programme, he asked the Portfolio Holder if air quality levels had been benchmarked and how he had been improved and what would represent success for the scheme. The Portfolio Holder stated that the scheme would reduce the number of cars on the road so would improve air quality, he undertook to provide more information about current levels of air quality and measurements for success following of the meeting.

During the item Members discussed a number of other issues including potholes in the area, the regularity of waste collection and rail works taking place during festival events which affected traffic and local businesses. It was agreed these issues did not fall within the remit of the Committee and could be more appropriately considered by another Committee.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report.