Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Temperton welcome members to the meeting.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 13 October were agreed as a correct record. 

Damien James provided a progress report on the current administrative arrangements of the JCAB. Plans were underway to setup a Microsoft Teams group, which would allow each working group to update their information. It was hoped this could act as a central repository of information for the JCAB as well as ensuring work would not be duplicated by the working groups. Board members were asked to provide email addresses with a non-generic domain as the system would not allow generic email addresses to ensure the systems security. Those without access to a non-generic email address were asked to identify themselves so that other options to allow them into the group could be investigated.

The JCAB was presented with its current draft terms of reference for discussion. The JCAB requested the following changes to the terms of reference (ACTION)

• A correction to add the Education Working Group to the list of working groups.
• A rewording of the groups purpose to emphasise the creation and monitoring of a coordinated climate strategy in the borough.

Damian James provided an update on the refresh of the council strategy and how it could fit in with the Community Climate Emergency Strategy (CCES). The council’s previous climate strategy which had run since 2020 would be coming to an end in 2024 and would therefore be reviewed to create a refreshed strategy for the next 4 years to 2028. The JCAB received the timetable of this review, which would be ongoing until the autumn.

The business change team within Bracknell Forest Council had begun a piece of work focused on training on the issue of climate change. An E-Learning course on climate change was already available to both members and officers. Furthermore, there were plans to implement carbon literacy training for council staff from April 2024.

The Board received a proposed model for developing the CCES. It would initially start with each working group agreeing it’s individual aims which would then be fed into the JCAB for approval and to help the JCAB agree the overall borough aims. These aims would then help formulate the CCES which would then allow working groups to form an action plan to implement the strategy.

In discussion on the plans for the CCES the following ideas were raised:

• It was agreed that there was a need for a programme management group to ensure that the interrelated activities were carried out effectively and efficiently. It was agreed that Russell Julier, Councillor Haffegee, Councillor McKenzie-Boyle and Samantha Gibbons would join Councillor Temperton in this group.
• It could be beneficial if the JCAB was to look at work being done at neighbouring authorities such as Reading Borough Council’s Climate Action Network. Councillor Haffegee offered to undertake this research. (Action)
• It was agreed that the development of a risk register would be beneficial. Councillor McKenzie-Boyle offered to lead on the risk register. (Action)

Updates were provided on the ongoing work of each working group.

Lauren Lee gave an update on the Voluntary, Faith and Community Sector Working Group. Work was underway to expand the working group to ensure it represented as wide a range of faith groups and charities as possible. The working group had looked at potential training platforms, which it would share with the rest of the JCAB. The working group agreed its role would be to engage with the community to help ensure work done by the JCAB could be implemented effectively in the borough.

Councillors McKenzie-Boyle and C Eberle, Ian Evans and Sarah Thornley provided an update on the Parish and Town Council Working Group. The working group had identified the cleaning of rivers within the borough as a key priority as stats had shown that 0% of rivers were in good chemical health and just 14% in good ecological health. Therefore, the working group was proposing an initiative called the “Bracknell Big River Clean Up”. The proposed initiative would involve representatives of each ward and parish helping to mobilize volunteers in their community. Feedback from the initiative from the JCAB was very positive and it was requested that anybody who wished to help support the initiative contact Councillor McKenzie-Boyle and Ian Evans.

Damian James updated the JCAB on the work being undertaken in the Officers Working Group. The Solar Together scheme, in operation for a year, aimed to encourage households in the borough to install solar panels on their roofs. Of the 208 households enrolled, 90 installations have been completed, and the rest are scheduled to be finished by March 2024. Work was also ongoing to find new locations for electric vehicle charging points as well as eco reward checkpoints. Work on the council’s website had been done to ensure it was up to date with information on climate change. A new refuse truck had been secured ahead of schedule, which would be the subject of a trial on alternative fuels. The JCAB was also notified of new government legislation mandating kerbside collection of soft plastics by March 2027 and glass by March 2026. In preparation, a trial for collecting soft plastics in the borough would commence in the spring.

Russell Julier provided an update on the Transport Working Group. The Transport Working Group had agreed it’s terms of reference as well as a forward work programme, which had a focus on supporting the Local Transport Plan. A workshop was planned for the end of January which would look to explore in further detail what transport was needed in the borough, and what the current constraints were.

Bob Collis, Chair of the ESDP gave an update on the Business Working Group which had formed out of an ESDP sub-group. The working group had identified decarbonisation and the use of renewable energy in business as its most pressing aim. The working group had identified several issues for business such as restrictions on spaces to charge electric vehicles within the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

The JCAB discussed what they key goals off the Community Climate Emergency Strategy should be. Suggested goals that emerged from the discussion were:

• To be able to effectively measure and monitor the borough’s carbon footprint.
• To be able to set the goals, which the individual working groups can then implement activities to achieve.
• To be able to co-ordinate the working groups so that they work effectively in collaboration, and all work is targeted.