Agenda item

To provide an overview of the revised Enfield Climate Action Plan 2024-2030.

Officers introduced and highlighted the key aspects of the report, including but not limited to: the key priorities of the plan, revisions to the 2020 policy, successes of the policy since 2020, engagement on and the timeline for finalising the plan.

In response to Members’ queries regarding emissions data, officers advised that they collected data from teams within the council, but there were some areas which they could not measure and for which data was not available to them. The carbon emissions review was said to be based on regional data provided by London Energy and Greenhouse Gas Inventory (LEGGI). They added that the legislation surrounding emissions from new homes was quite tight and so their contribution was likely to be less impactful. Officers would check and come back to Members with how emissions in Enfield compared to other nearby boroughs.

In response to Members’ questions and comments relating to funding commitments, officers responded that there were various government grants available for areas such as decarbonising/ retrofitting buildings and food recycling, which they would be pursuing, and felt that nationally more needed to be made available.

In response to Members’ enquiries regarding successes and future progress, officers replied that they expected improvements to become tougher, but they were constantly looking at ways of making the boroughs’ assets more efficient and were investing in green technology with the funding available to them. They highlighted the financial challenges associated with more efficient green technology like air source heat pumps, but felt that there was more that individuals could still do practically and fairly easily, such as turning off lights when leaving a room. It was explained that the council was on track to be carbon neutral within its targeted timeframe, which would see emissions reduced by 72%, and the remainder offset. Officers discussed the ambiguity and alternatives as to what net zero might mean practically. 

In response to Members’ questions relating to electric vehicle charging points, officers advised that they would be procuring additional EV charging points to meet rising demand in the borough. There was a tender out to market to procure rapid charging points for the Town Centre, and another tender would go out shortly for lamppost charging points. The provision of EV charging points in car parks across the borough was also being looked into. There was said to be a ‘Turbo’ pilot scheme whereby EV charging cables were run under pavements/curbs where households didn’t have driveways, but there were planning permission challenges associated with this.  

In response to Members’ queries relating to the heat network and heat pumps, officers responded that the Local Area Energy Plan considered all aspects of the mechanisms available and that both had their advantages/ were efficient in their own ways. The future decarbonisation of the heat network and plans to expand it where viable, had been considered by the policy. It was explained that the government approach/ understanding was that in the future 18% of homes in the country would be heated by a heat network, predominately in urban areas with heat sources, such as Lee Valley; and 82% by heat pumps, particularly in rural areas, due to relative carbon efficiencies. The Energy For Waste facility which would be online around 2026/27 would be ‘game changing’ in decarbonising the heat networks transition away from gas. Officers would confirm and come back to members as to whether potential future reductions in the price of heat pumps had been considered as part of the plan. 

In response to Members’ questions and comments regarding potholes, officers replied that the highways team were best placed to discuss their investment plans. There was £4m budgeted for potholes, but as was the case nationally, multiple times this was likely needed. The council monitored potholes in the borough and programmed when to repair them and reconstruct roads; but technology had not advanced largely on this issue with regards to materials etc. Cllr Savva and officers highlighted that the increased weight of electric vehicles was not the only factor behind the increase in potholes, with heavier vehicles like lorries, and extreme variances in weather conditions also mentioned.

The Panel AGREED to note the report which provided an overview of the revised Enfield Climate Action Plan 2024- 2030.