Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Councillor Tony Newman

Officer: Executive Director Place, Shifa Mustafa

Key decision: no

The Chair advised Cabinet that the order of the agenda would be revised to enable an external guest to speak on this item, as such this item was taken as the fourth substantive item at the meeting. The order items were taken in the meeting was:

·       77/20  Croydon Together: Update on our ongoing response to COVID-19

• 79/20 Developing Croydon's new Community Safety Strategy
• 80/20 District Centre Prosperity - Purley BID

·       78/20 Sustainable Croydon – a year on update

·       Followed by the order as published in the agenda

The Chair noted that a Citizen Assembly had been established in which residents across the borough participated and recommendations from the Assembly had been received by the council. The report outlined the ongoing work to create a sustainable borough.

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (voting – Job Share) noted that 15 months had passed since the council had declared a climate crisis and whilst steps had been taken to advance this agenda there had also been dramatic changes with the pandemic and financial circumstances facing the authority. Despite these challenges, the Cabinet Member stated that it was important that this agenda was kept on track to ensure an improved future for the borough.

The Cabinet Member noted the activity that had taken place in the previous 15 months and that this reflected cross Cabinet working with the Cabinet Member for Clean Green Croydon working to increase recycling rates in the borough, the Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure & Sport’s work on supporting woodlands and the success of being awarded Tree Oscars, and the Cabinet Member for Homes & Gateway Services and her work to improve the energy efficiency of homes across the borough. For his part, the Cabinet Member stated the council had worked to reduce car journeys in the borough and supported the shift to active travel with 26 school streets now introduced.

MiattaFahnbulleh, Chief Executive of the New Economics Foundation and Chair of the Croydon Climate Crisis Commission, was welcomed to the meeting.

The Chair of the Commission informed Members that the original purpose for the Commission was to look at options to rapidly reduce emissions in the borough to achieve the aim of being carbon neutral by 2030 through the use of fair and just changes. It was highlighted that it was important the changes also supported the creation of jobs and protected communities.

The impact of the pandemic had highlighted the scale of the crisis facing the country and shone a light on a number of issues including living standards, cuts in the local government funding, and the impact of a natural crisis when there was not action or preparation in place. The challenge now, it was suggested, was how we respond to those structural problems and supported a green recovery but a recovery which escalated the economy and improved living standards.

Cabinet was informed that the Commission hoped to have a first draft of the ambitions and recommendations by the end of the month, after which there would be a thorough consultation period ahead of finalising the recommendations. It was noted that core ambitions should focus on improving living standards, opportunities to create good jobs, investing in green technology and infrastructure, and working in partnership with businesses to support these ambitions.

Cabinet Members thanked the Chair of the Commission for her inspiring contribution to the meeting and her work with the Commission.

The Cabinet Member for Clean Green Croydon noted that there were opportunities to create jobs within the circular economy and highlighted jobs within reuse being one such area of opportunity. Residents were thanked by the Cabinet Member for their work to increase recycling rates in the borough, with it noted that communication with residents and businesses was key. The meadowing of parks was noted as being an example of when communication was needed to highlight that this initiative supported insects by creating butterfly corridors and bee highways.

Members of Cabinet noted that there was a long list of achievements included within the report and that at every meeting of the Commission there had been productive contributions and discussions. It was recognised that there was now a duel challenge which needed to be tackled, namely of COVID-19 and climate change. It was noted that this work needed to take place at a time of significant financial pressure for the council, however it was felt by some Members that the impact of inaction was significantly more harmful for the borough.

Cabinet Members stated that climate change was the issue of this time and noted the work of Sir David Attenborough in raising awareness. Whilst it was recognised that the council could support work to improve sustainability, it was also important that regional and government supported this move. All those involved, including officers and community groups, were thanked for their work on woodlands which had led to the awarding of Tree Oscars in recognition of this work.

It was recognised by Cabinet Members that there was a need to balance the need for new homes in the borough with the development of a truly sustainable borough. The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (non-voting – Job Share) stated he believed the review of the Croydon London Plan sought to develop a response to the climate emergency and put sustainability at the heart of everything the council did by supporting meadowing, reforestation and protected green spaces.

The need for a balanced approach was highlighted by the Cabinet Member for Economy & Jobs as 57,000 residents had been furloughed or lost their jobs during the pandemic and 22,000 were in receipt of universal credit. To support these residents and the sustainability agenda, it was stated that the council was looking at employment and skills support whilst working with the Southbank University and local businesses. The payment of the London Living Wage and the Good Employer Charter were highlighted as supporting the agenda of a green economic renewal.

To support the work of the Commission, the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Learning suggested that it was important that there was a focus on embedding behavioural changes and allowing young people’s voices to be heard when developing the recommendations.

In response to the points raised by Cabinet Members, the Chair of the Commission confirmed that the Commission’s approach was to look at low carbon jobs. Given the economic climate it was recognised that jobs needed to be quickly created and to support this there needed to be training available which required working with local colleges. Whilst the Chair of the Commission recognised that the council was facing a financial challenge it was felt by her that the council could not afford to not act.

The financial position of the council was raised by the Leader of the Opposition and it was queried as to how much capacity there was to deliver the outcomes required. The Leader of the Opposition further stated the council was building upon green spaces across the borough through Brick by Brick and suggested that there was a disconnect between the ambitions of the report and the actions of the council.

In response the Chair stated that whilst the council was facing financial difficulties, it was her belief that not everything was about money and that the council needed to utilise its influence to draw more money into the borough to support the green agenda. It was noted that there was also a question of social justice and whether the council should say it was a sustainable borough when children were living in bed and breakfast accommodation rather than homes.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Economy & Jobs queried why there were no Conservative representatives on the Sustainable Economic Renewal Board and further questioned its effectiveness as it did not appear to be meeting as frequently as it should be. The Chair responded by suggesting that the Board had a number of sub-groups which were meeting and actively working on the agenda.

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Transport, Environment & Regeneration stated that the discussions at the recent Streets, Environment & Homes Scrutiny Sub-Committee had raised concerns that there was no means to measure the environmental impact, in terms of air quality, due to the emissions based parking. The Shadow Cabinet Member raised concerns that the policy would detrimentally impact those who were financially less well-off and suggested that the policy was related more to the state of the borough’s finances than the environment.

In response to comments from the Leader of the Opposition, the Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (non-voting – Job Share) stated that the important message was that everyone worked together and took personal responsibility. It was suggested that should people have land they should plant trees to help the environment. The Cabinet Member referenced a planning application which, it was suggested, included plans to remove trees, however stated that he felt that Members should move away from attacking one another and should work together positively to build a sustainable borough.

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport & Regeneration (voting – Job Share) stated that there was no link between the council’s current financial position as the policy had been presented in March 2019 before the financial position was known. Whilst it was recognised the changes did impact upon poorer residents and the elderly it was also suggested that these groups were disproportionally impacted by poor air quality and that studies had shown that 205 Croydon residents lost their lives annually partly due to air quality. Individual policies, it was stated, would not solve the issue but collectively they will support tackling the crisis.

The Chair of Streets, Environment & Homes Scrutiny Sub-Committee confirmed the emissions policy had been considered by the Scrutiny Sub-Committee and that there had been a recognition by all that data would be important in understanding the impact of the policy. Furthermore, it was stated that there had been discussions at scrutiny meetings on how the council could harness the skills of residents and engage with them at every stage of the process when developing policies.

In conclusion, the Chair of the Commission stated that financial challenges were being faced by the public sector across the county, however it was suggested that the council should consider investment opportunities to get the best outcomes for all. Whilst a huge amount could be achieved, Members were advised that it was important that the council was clear of the outcomes it wanted to achieve to ensure the greatest positive impact.

The Statutory Deputy Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To note the work being done to make Croydon more sustainable to date involving:

·       Croydon Climate Crisis Commission

·       Sustainable Economic Renewal Board

·       Air Quality Action Plan

·       Waste & Recycling

·       Trees & Woodland

·       Energy Efficiency

·       Transport

·       Construction logistics & freight management