Agenda item

A Report of the HotSW Local Enterprise Partnership’s Head of Delivery on the Clean Growth Plan, attached.

The Committee received a Report of the HotSW Local Enterprise Partnership’s Head of Delivery on the Clean Growth Plan, the aim being to grow the economy in a clean and sustainable way by delivering inclusive economic prosperity whilst protecting the environment, lowering emissions and enhancing natural capital.

Key points highlighted in the presentation included:

• 10 year plan for clean growth
• To capitalise on the ‘Dynamic Heart’ to be a UK leader in driving clean growth
• To embed zero carbon commitment in everything we do
• To embrace recent lifestyle changes and drive a low carbon recovery from Covid-19
• Clean Growth Priorities include:
  • Leadership - Become leaders in delivering clean and inclusive growth
  • Low Carbon Energy - Be integral part of a green energy powerhouse and first net exporter of low carbon energy
  • Green Businesses - Develop a green finance deal to support enterprise and business start ups developing innovative products and services to serve clean growth markets
  • Sustainable Communities - Establish the region as a test bed for development of low carbon communities
  • Decarbonised Transport - Enable delivery of a clean strategic transport network with reliable electric vehicle charging, an electrified rail network and good intermodal connections
  • Natural Capital - Enable HotSW to become the national lead in delivering nature-based solutions to provide resilience, improve biodiversity and support a positive transition to net zero.

Members discussion points included:

• The Agriculture Act 2020 – when this comes into effect, payments to farmers would not be on the basis of what was grown but based on the principle of public money for public good, providing powers to give financial assistance where farming encompasses environmental protection.  The LEP’s 10-year plan was silent on the impact of this Act and moving forward the impact of the Agricultural Transition plan.  
• Retrofit Schemes – in order to facilitate Retrofit schemes, there was a need to encourage modular building construction in the South West and to increase the skills required over the next 10 years in Retrofit to meet Net Zero Carbon, by training construction in non-traditional retrofit housing schemes.  The Getting Building Fund had looked to fund early Retrofit Schemes across the LEP area.
• The need to assist the farming and fishing industries to compete in marketing with the EU and rest of the world, post Brexit.
• Concerns around phosphate runoff into rivers and streams. Natural England had advised no building could take place in areas like South Somerset until issues of phosphate runoff into Somerset Levels had been resolved.  Significant impact on delivering homes within parts of the County, where rivers flow into Somerset Levels.
• Solar panels and wind power – the Committee noted that regarding renewal energy installation, there was 1.2 gigawatts of installed renewable energy in the HotSW region: solar accounted for the largest proportion at 967 Mega Watts and onshore wind accounted for 157 Mega Watts, and other renewable energies accounted for 67 Mega Watts. 

It was MOVED by Councillor Brook, SECONDED by Councillor Williams, and

RESOLVED that the Committee:

a)    Welcomed the involvement of Scrutiny in the early development of the 10-year plan for clean growth and asked that the LEP take on board the comments made by the Scrutiny Committee; and,

b)    Ask that the 10-year plan for clean growth returns to the committee as there is further development on priorities.