Agenda item

At the March 2012 Environment Select Committee, the Wiltshire Council Adaptation Plan was presented for comment to the Committee.  The Committee requested that the Adaptation Plan be amended to include some case studies illustrating the types of climate changes impacts on the council’s services. 

The Committee will be presented with case studies and recommends their inclusion in the soon to be published Wiltshire Council Adaptation Plan. 

At the 01 March 2012 Environment Select Committee, the Wiltshire Council Adaptation Plan was presented for comment to the Committee. The Committee requested that the Adaptation Plan be amended to include some case studies illustrating the types of climate changes impacts on the council’s services. 

The Head of Climate Change and the Senior Climate Change Officer were in attendance as requested by the Committee, along with the Cabinet Member for Waste, Property, Environment and Development Control Services, and the officers led a presentation on the details behind the Climate Change Risk Assessments discussed at the meeting on 01 March 2012, including the following:

·         By 2050, Wiltshire will be experiencing warmer, wetter winters, and hotter dryer summers as the norm; in 2003, 20,000 additional deaths in France were attributed to a heat wave that would be regular for 2050.

·         Rainfall patterns would change, with more extreme weather.

·         Other variables contributing to risk factors included flooding, droughts, snow and ice, heat waves and excessive wind speeds

·         All Council services assessed their capacity to accommodate and manage the risks associated with these factors.

·         63 risks were identified, 29 determined to be high risk.

·         The themes of those risks ranged from the Social (incl. Impacts on working conditions, overheating buildings and health), Environmental (incl. Changes to biodiversity, opportunity for green spaces), Emergency Planning and Business Continuity and more cross cutting risks.

As requested by the Committee, 4 case studies were then presented to illustrate the types of climate changes impacts on the council’s services that formed the basis of the adaptation action plans.

The case studies examined looked at Biodiversity, Drainage and Flooding, Schools Buildings and Water Shortages, as detailed within the agenda reports pack.

A debate followed, during which the source of the climate change projections was queried. It was clarified that the estimates used were nationally recognized predictions (document reference UKCP09) from the Met Office, and were the medium projection of likely climate change.

The possibility of projecting costs to meeting specific risks was raised, but it was explained that the multitude of potential factors made this an unlikely goal. In response to queries regarding many risks involving factors and organisations not under the control of the Council, it was stated that there was an intention and on-going work to reach out to Industrial and other partner organisations, for example within the Wiltshire Environmental Alliance.

The Committee also discussed the adaptation action plans being based on risks up to 2050, but the Wiltshire Core Strategy on planning designed for only up to 2026, and the need to carry through appropriate climate change actions to and beyond that date.

The Committee further questioned who within various council services would have responsibility for focusing on the risks identified, particularly in light of future strain on council resources. It was stated that each service had a ‘risk owner’ identified, who went on workshops and were interviewed to ensure the goals were seen as important alongside normal work, and progress would be monitored.

The Committee then raised the concern of needing high quality housing to meet climate change requirements against the commitment to provide suitable amounts of affordable housing. The Cabinet Member stated there was a balance that needed to be struck to meet both targets, and that at present it was too expensive for developers to maintain the correct percentage of affordable housing and provide the higher quality with regard to climate change risks.

The Head of Climate Change added that to, assist Planning Officers in focusing on climate change considerations, an ECO team member would be seconded to the Development Service to train up officers

After discussion, it was,

Resolved:

1)    That the four case studies be noted by the Committee and be included for illustrative purposes in the Wiltshire Council Adaptation Plan;

2)    To request a paper be presented to the Committee or its successor regarding on the inclusion of and impact of an ECO team member to the Development Service.