Agenda item

The committee will consider the draft action plan, presented by Senior Climate Action Officer, Chloe Bunting.

Officer Chloe Bunting updated committee on progress of the NCAP.

Members provided their views on the final draft.

The draft had been through consultation and there would be further refinement of the plan and reordering of actions before finalising. Reporting on this plan would align with the Council Plan reporting.

Members provided comments on this current form of the plan.

·       Members were glad to see targets split out with relevant headings, and the development of SMART targets which committee had previously suggested

·       Number 34 of the actions: minimum energy efficiency standards. How was this tracked - are tenants aware they can report energy efficiency breach and potential reprisals? It was responded that the private sector housing team helped with targets and the officer would send this comment back to them. It was enforceable and reports would be investigated.

·       Can we add indicative impact ratings? Can we prioritise based on this? Officers would conduct a prioritisation exercise.

·       Concern over longer targets in relation to the council’s operational target date. The team leader considered that the actions were indicative and often reliant on government funding (e.g. building decarbonisation projects), another example was currently unknown developments in electrifying the waste collection fleet. The longer targets were justified due to some unknown factors.

·       Item 40 on carbon sequestration: Innovate UK Net Zero Living Project delivery. The team leader explained that Innovate UK was a government funding body, and last year the team attracted funding. A partnership was formed with South Oxfordshire and two other local districts. The Local Nature Partnership was working on this, with reporting in late June 2025. Having an updateable plan helps the team to identify next steps on what we can implement.

·       Point 36: active travel initiatives. How much more can we do to measure when it was County / Highways responsibility. Partnership work. The reporting officer replied that it had to be in partnership. For example, can we host car clubs in our car parks. Other teams were working on strategic cycle routes.

·       A request to add column headings to each page.

·       Discussion about sustainable financing options and spend to save projects, rather than relying on successful funding bids. The team leader directed members to action item 16 which supports investigation into such project activity.

·       Departmental training was viewed positively by a member

·       Action item 17: decarbonisation plans – as this plan was for both South and Vale, how does the new office building (Didcot Gateway) factor in for SODC. The team leader confirmed that the building would be carbon zero from the beginning in its build, therefore a decarbonisation plan was not required.

·       Who was leading on retrofit strategy? Can local councils help with economies of scale, housing type etc. It was responded that the strategy was still being scoped. Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) would lead with their retrofitting team but with district council involvement – officers can report back feedback to the OCC team.

Thanks were given to the team for the work involved in producing this plan.