Greens Volunteer Bus Service celebrates 30 year Anniversary

Cllrs Andrew Cooper, Sue Lee-Richards &  Karen Allison 

A bus service started by the Green Party in Huddersfield over the festive period in 1992 is marking its 30th Anniversary in service.

 The Green Party in the Newsome Ward commenced the service as a response to bus service cuts in the 1990s and used to cover Boxing Day and New Years Day before Boxing Day Services were restored a few years ago. The New Year’s Day service has run on every New Year’s Day for 30 years with the exception of 2020 due to Covid restrictions.

 Councillor Andrew Cooper who is one of the drivers on the service said,

 “I remember the first one we ran in 1992 which started  as a protest against the removal of services over the holiday period. Since then some services have been resumed in some areas in recent years on Boxing Day. In recent years the minibus has been donated by Kirklees Council for which we are very grateful”

 The Bus service links Berry Brow, Newsome, the Town Centre and goes up to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and is used by people visiting relatives in hospital.

Newsome Green Party Councillor Sue Lee-Richards who is also a volunteer on the bus service said

 “I really enjoy doing the bus service each year and it is now very much part of our Christmas holiday routine. At this time of year when there are limited public transport services taxi journeys can be expensive so people who use the minibus really do value it. We put timetables on bus stops, in local shops and on newsletters that go to thousands of homes, so people are aware of our schedule. The service is free to use but donations towards fuel costs are always welcome. A copy of our timetable is below.”

Cllr Andrew Cooper's Speech on Kirklees Climate Change Action Plan - Kirklees Full Council 7/12/22

 Just to be clear and to avoid accusations by Cllr Simpson, that I am making up my own facts, I'll only quote from the report that is in front of us today.

When is a Climate Change Action Plan NOT a Climate Change Action Plan? I guess the answer to this question is when it says it isn’t. The report on the Climate Change Action Plan says,

“The CCAP is not a list of firm commitments, investment proposals or instructions at this point in the process. But it does set out detailed actions that can be taken by the Council, key partners, and members of the wider community to help deliver the district's net zero and climate ready target.”

Now I don’t know about you but that doesn’t sound anything like an action plan to me.

And  what consequences flow from “the plan”. For instance costs, risks, legal implications. The report says 

2.15. As this version of the CCAP is not a list of commitments and instructions at this stage in the process, there are no costs associated with its approval. 

Furthermore it says,

2.23. There are minimal risks associated with the publication of this plan, due to the non-committal nature of the CCAP”.

And on legal implications

5.2. As the CCAP shown in Appendix 1 of this report is not a list of commitments and instructions, there are no broader legal implications in the approval of this plan. 

I am disappointed that there are no implications from this report. I want the report to be consequential, important and substantial.

I do the report a slight misservice as there is a risk identified. It says:

 2.24. The core risks with this CCAP comes primarily from potential communication and publication of the documentation. Specifically associated with the positive and negative response expected from the public, partner organisations such as the Kirklees Climate Commission. 

When you are expecting a possible poor response from your principal partner the Kirklees Climate Commission you’ve got to be asking yourself some serious questions as to why we are in this space.

It further goes on to say

5.14. A core focus of this criticism is expected around the non-committal nature of this CCAP at this stage in the process. To combat this, we are striving to clearly communicate how the next steps in our action plan process will result in firm commitments, once we have developed and identified – through extensive resident and stakeholder engagement, a refined number of high-priority actions by place, which will be accompanied by a business case providing indicative costs and carbon figures. 

So in a strange way I am reassured by this report. Reassured because I have heard certain Cabinet Members saying how we are one of the best Councils in the country on addressing climate change. I tell you now, we are not and recognising that is the first step towards improving so I commend officers for their candour in this report and all the good work they are doing but I’d like a clear understanding from Cabinet Members of when we will have a real Climate Change Action Plan given that we are nearly 4 years since the Council declared a Climate Emergency.

I was a bit bemused by this statement in the report

3.11., Kirklees Council have and will continue to deliver a Young Persons Climate Festival helping educate, inform, and give young people a chance to get involved with the various environmental initiatives taking place across Kirklees.

If there’s something I’m really clear about, it is that young people, ( with one or two exceptions), get climate change almost instinctively, as the future that we are just beginning to see is getting worse and the consequences of our actions are ones that they will experience acutely. Many are well informed, and educate themselves, you do that, when it is a threat to your future and your very survival.

I think we need another “Festival'' to inform and educate Councillors, Directors, Heads of Service. Why not ensure we all go through a Carbon Literacy course so they properly understand the implications of  decisions on future generations. 

 

In some ways the most shocking part of the report was this statement,

“6.3. Review by portfolio holders: Cllr Simpson (Green and Clean), Cllr Davies (Environment) and Cllr Mather (Corporate) were consulted and had no comments on the options or recommendations put forward in this report.”

What nothing? Zilch? Nada? Arguably the most important document about what we are doing locally to address climate change and our Kirklees Cabinet members had nothing to say?

Utterly shocking!

We can rebuild him!

My new knee!

 During lockdown I decided to get fit. We were told we could only go out for exercise for an hour each day. So, for those of us who hardly exercised at all it seemed like a great challenge. For me and Liz it was a walk one day followed by a run the next. Despite the obvious background horror of it all it was lovely getting out in the sunshine in the clear air exploring the countryside around where we lived. Then one day my foot went down a hole I limped a fair bit after that. When my leg got better, I couldn't run without pain and a long period of limping after I tried. Steroid injections didn't seem to make much difference, nor did physiotherapy so following an X-Ray I was sent into an MRI Scanner that's like a very noisy iron lung that gives detailed picture of your insides. When I got my results. it turned out I had arthritis in my right knee. I was offered a new knee. Now my parents in their 80s have 3 new knees so the principle wasn't unfamiliar to me, but I was only 57 and was it that bad really? I could walk for miles. Sometimes my knee hurt but it got better after a few days. In the end I wondered what the state of the NHS might be in a few years and decided to take the opportunity to get it done now when I could. There is so much uncertainty at the moment and with the Perma crisis that we are living in showing no sign of abating then it seemed foolhardy not to take the op.

The operation itself seemed to go well, was very professionally done. I was asked the same questions several times by different people in the same hospital. I was fine with this; they didn't want to make a mistake. and I didn't want them to make a mistake either! I came round was given a very nice cottage pie and the following morning was released with my cocktail of painkillers. So now I have my daily knee exercises and get a bit wiped out by the strong painkillers. I've avoided the bottle of morphine they gave me though I confess I wondered what it would be like taking it. 

So, my hope is that I will end up with a less painful knee and that I will be able to start doing Park runs again. Here's the opening sequence of "The Six Million Dollar Man"

Newsome Councillors visit to Left Bank in Leeds

Newsome Cllrs at Left Bank in Leeds

Newsome Ward Councillors had a few hours away from Huddersfield this week and went to Left Bank in Leeds. Left Bank is successful conversion of a church into a community cafe, event space and music venue. We were really interested to see how it operated as we are hoping to do something similar in St John's Church in Newsome through the new Community Benefit Society, we have set up called 'The Newsome Centre'.

It has been in operation for 20 years so seeing what they do, learning from their successes and avoiding pitfalls was a good use of our time. 

A big chunk of their income comes from weddings, not the ceremonies (as former churches can't be used for that purpose), but the receptions where families come together to celebrate marriages. These are some of the most important days of many people's lives so really important that these are done right and professionally. 

Left Bank and its cafe are open 7 days a week and when we went it was full of young people, mainly students, using the Wi-Fi, having a coffee and doing coursework. Through the week a variety of different groups use the space such as Knit and Natter groups, life drawing classes, older persons art groups, pottery classes, break dancers. It is a vibrant hub for the community, and they have a rich programme of events including Beer Festivals, Arts Festivals, 70s nights, Christmas Parties and indoor 'car boot' sales.

There is a mix of seating from comfy settees, desk space and a few pews. There's a recognition of their heritage as a church with a pulpit, the old organ and a number of other features remaining in place. You can buy a house plant or two there, a birthday card and paintings from local artists. 

The look of the place is quite funky with attractive lighting installations and bright colourful murals. You would be quite happy to spend a few relaxing hours hanging out there with a coffee and a nice piece of cake.

One key bit of advice we had was "be generous" to organisations with time and space. There should be space for income generating activity but also free space to organisations which have a lot to give to the community and add to the activity and vibrancy of the place.

A big thanks to Sue Jennings from Left Bank who gave us a real insight into the sort of things we need to be looking at in The Newsome Centre's Business Plan.

A629 Edgerton Road widening axed not the trees!

 I got the news last week that the  Kirklees proposal to fell 88 trees near the Blacker Road junction to widen the road had been "paused". 

" Paused" is defined as "interrupting an action briefly" but this pause is not brief. There is no funding from West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority nor Kirklees for this part of the scheme and there is no plan to take it forward. So "shelved" or even "cancelled" seems much more accurate a description.

It has been a long campaign to save these trees along what is regarded as an iconic and beautiful tree lined route through Edgerton into Huddersfield. I am full of admiration for the determination of the campaigners. They lobbied Councillors in the rain outside Huddersfield Town Hall, put questions to the Labour Cabinet members in Full Council meetings and staged "Banners at the Junction" protests on numerous Saturday mornings. At times it seemed that success was unlikely but now it is clear that they have succeeded.

The success is not an admission of error by either WYCMA or Kirklees. The reason given is funding constraints and overprogramming. Basically, due to inflation and other factors they haven't got the budget they need to do everything they want to do. The campaigners' victory is down to them making so clear that this is such an unpopular scheme that it was top of the list to be cut. So unfortunately, no revelatory moment from the Labour Cabinet or the West Yorkshire Mayor.

The arguments against the widening and tree felling were very clear. The carbon emissions calculations were dubious, the impact on heritage ignored as was the effect on local biodiversity. These arguments were amplified by the Council's own Tree Officer, the Kirklees Climate Commission and the Woodland Trust. Their arguments against were never properly addressed by the Labour Cabinet member. Instead of addressing their arguments he decided to accuse me of making up my own facts when all I was doing was repeating their facts. Got to say I wasn't impressed.

So, what next? People's lives have been affected. Some homes and parts of gardens would have been lost along the route. Saying the scheme is "paused" does not give them the closure they need. Kirklees owes it to the householders who have been disrupted for the last few years to have the certainty they need to get on with their lives. 

As a reminder of the reasons that we needed to save these trees here's the campaign video 

Parish Action on Cost of living crisis

Kirkburton Parish Council has taken action to help address the cost-of-living crisis

 The debate on the cost-of-living crisis was initiated by Green Party Parish Councillor Robert Barraclough. 

 Robert said,

 “People think of the Kirkburton Parish as a ‘well off’ area but poverty can be hidden with some people getting by on low fixed incomes particularly pensioners.We also have community organisations that have been hit hard by the pandemic which limited their opportunity to raise funds and now they face the possibility of higher fees for room hire because of the massive hike in energy bills. To tackle these problems, we have made a donation of £1500 to The Welcome Centre who are the largest food bank in our area and asked them to engage with the many villages that make up the Kirkburton Parish. We have also encouraged community organisations that have been hit with big room hire costs to apply to the Parish Council for a grant to help deal with these extra costs.”

 Councillor Andrew Cooper who is also a Kirkburton Parish Councillor said,

 “We are also asking people managing Community Buildings to apply for funding to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings. Whether it is insulation or solar panels or improvements to lighting all these things can help reduce energy use in buildings. It is good for finances and the environment. Parish Councils don’t have huge budgets like Kirklees Council, but we do make good use of the funds we have even if it is in a small way.”

 Details of Kirkburton Parish Council grant schemes can be found on the Kirkburton Parish Council website  www.kbpc.co.uk

 

How do Councils respond to the Energy Bill Tsunami that is coming?

When the Government funded them, I used to manage the South and West Yorkshire Energy Savings Trust Advice Centre. We used to do a lot of easy energy saving advice measures which would have a fairly small impact on bills over an entire year. Now these advice measures, like turning your thermostat down 1 degree and only boiling as much hot water as you need etc, will save more money than they used to. The problem with this advice is that it all looks a bit piecemeal when compared with the cost of living tsunami which is hurtling towards us all. There are going to be people who can make adjustments to their heating systems timers and thermostats that will save them hundreds of pounds but these will be the people who can afford to keep their heating systems running. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people are not going to be in that fortunate position.

 Of course what is needed is a mass deep retrofit programme but that is not going to happen with an absence of political will and even we had that political will it would take years to start making an impact. The Green Party are right to push for nationalisation of the energy companies but that is not in our gift and the path to take where the Government will agree with us is not at all obvious. Locally we need advice that is practical and impactful.

 The sort of advice that makes a big difference is advice which does not require you to heat your home as much as you did before. During the pandemic we urged people to stay apart but in the cost of living crisis we need to urge people to come together.

 Warm Clubs - Shared heated space – promote the idea of neighbourly sharing of heat where people invite neighbours round 1 day a week and reciprocate in a group of 4 or 5. Works best with people who get on obviously. Advice on how to run a Warm Club – communal eating, agree to watch a movie together, board games would be needed.

 Warm Banks – these are growing as a proposition but they need a specification, almost a licence. Is there comfortable seating? Is there entertainment?  Is there food? How do you address the fact that people are different and like different things? Is there advice? Is there a Manager of a Warm Bank to deal with issues (there are always issues when people come together!) We need a network of Warm Banks close to where people live so they don’t have to pay for travel

 Warm the person more and the house less – providing Oodies – All over blanket clothing. Providing heated gilets where electric heated elements help keep people cosy. Some people will be able to afford these and change there lifestyles accordingly. Where people can’t afford these then it makes sense for the Council and other public bodies to provide them. They can be relatively cheap per unit.

 Advice and advocacy – People need somewhere to go/to ring to get trusted advice and advocacy where they have issues with their energy bills and people to speak on their behalf. This sounds like something that ought to be established at the regional level with funding from West Yorkshire Combined Authority and advisors trained to the NEA Energy Awareness City and Guilds level.

 The other important thing to remember is that this is not just fuel poverty, it is food poverty, school uniform poverty, period poverty. Actually it is just Poverty and a lot of people who never expected to be in it are going to dumbfounded, lost and acutely embarrassed to find themselves in need of help.  With the mental and physical impacts expected, the next Tsumami could well be a public health one.

Opportunity knocks!

 Many Councillors will be familiar with their local Councils Corporate Risk Register where threats to the Council's core functions and financial health are identified and actions taken to mitigate these risks are detailed. This is  a totally necessary and responsible activity for any large public organisation responsible for delivering vital local services. There is a danger however that this reinforces the risk averse culture that can exist in many councils with an emphasis on playing it safe and giving an undue weight to risk avoidance rather than taking opportunities.

In June Sheffield City Council passed a resolution to establish a Corporate Opportunities Register to balance the attention given to risk and opportunity by senior officers and Councillors. The motion proposed by the Green Party group said,

"that to act as a balance to the Corporate Risk Register, there should be a Corporate Opportunities Register, detailing new funding opportunities, partnership opportunities and initiatives that will help deliver the Council's objectives, such as supporting those affected by the cost of living crisis."

So what might a Corporate Opportunities Register look like? First  you need to identify what the opportunity is. Is it funding you can bid for from Government or other sources? Is it a partnership with another organisation that might help you drive efficiencies and deliver better services? Is it a new activity that can help the  Council achieve it's aims or generate an income stream? All these opportunities would need to be broken down by directorates to ensure high level attention is given across the council .

Not all opportunities we could take should be taken. Perhaps the likelihood of success is low or the effort expended simply not worth it, but demonstrating that as an organisation the Council is aware and tracking opportunities is important. It builds confidence and shows that officers and members are outward looking and keen to look beyond the councils own resources to achieve it's goals.

The real gain from establishing a Corporate Opportunities Register is to show that the culture of the Council is one that is outward facing, ambitious for it's people, entrepreneurial and dynamic. Surely that is something we would like all our Councils to be?

Kirklees Green Party Councillors 2022 Manifesto

 Starting the retrofit revolution in Kirklees 

Cllr Cooper visiting Energiesprong homes in Nottingham

The Council has made a start on retrofitting its own housing stock. This is positive but what is lacking is a financially sustainable model, which can deliver improvement to homes at scale to a zero-energy standard. Our proposal based on the Energiesprong (energy leap) model addresses this and provides a way of building the capacity and capability to deliver for owner occupiers and the wider housing sector.

 Energiesprong work with local Councils on developing a programme to deliver warmer homes through a retrofit programme delivering a home which is net zero energy, meaning it generates the total amount of energy required for its heating, hot water and electrical appliances.  It also provides superior indoor comfort. This is achieved using prefabricated facades, insulated rooftops with solar panels, smart heating, and ventilation and cooling installations. A refurbishment comes with a long-year performance warranty on both the indoor climate and the energy performance for up to 40 years. A complete home makeover can be completed in as little as a day!

 Energiesprong are not a contractor themselves but work with councils to help procure contractors to deliver to the Energiesprong specification.

 Councils such as Nottingham, Exeter and a number of London Boroughs are already working together on Energiesprong projects as part of the Retrofit Accelerator Homes Investment Partnership. They share best practice and expertise and have been successful in a number of funding bids to government drawing in millions to support the development of the Energiesprong model.

 How much does it cost?

 The cost for an initial 50 properties would be around £85,000/property. The expectation is that for future rounds of properties that this would reduce to around £55,000/property as economies of scale are realised.

 How is it paid for?

 There is some initial outlay for setting up the Energiesprong approach through the Housing Revenue Account but as the capital costs come down the expectation is that it would become self-financing through lower maintenance and servicing costs e.g., no gas safety checks, lower maintenance etc and through charging a comfort charge to the tenant. Energiesprong guarantee that the fuel bill that the tenants pay plus the comfort charge will be less than they were paying in energy costs for their home before refurbishment.

 https://www.energiesprong.uk/

 https://www.energiesprong.uk/newspage/innovation-partnership-why-a-new-approach-to-retrofit-procurement-is-key-to-net-zero

 https://www.ukgbc.org/news/nottingham-first-to-adopt-revolutionary-energiesprong-housing-approach/

 Passivhaus or equivalent as standard on all Council new build projects

5 years after the all party Passivhaus group recommended that the Council build its new developments to the passivhaus standard Kirklees is now doing a pilot project on 12 houses. The lack of a policy on the standard for new build housing in Kirklees at a time when we ought to be leading by example is shameful. The purpose of the pilot has not been explained. What can be learnt by building in Kirklees that can’t be learnt from more progressive Councils in other parts of the country such as Exeter City Council?

 The lack of a policy is expensive as one-off projects like Kirklees passivhaus pilot come at a cost premium. Having a high energy efficiency standard means developers can invest in skills locally, build capacity and the capability to deliver to the passivhaus standard or equivalent. We should also be seeking funding from the West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to help pay for the 4% uplift in costs through gainshare or other regional funding sources.

 https://www.apse.org.uk/apse/index.cfm/news/articles/20181/passivhaus-exeter-city-council-leading-by-example/#

 Solar PV Panels on all Council new build projects as standard

 With rising energy prices we need to find ways of reducing energy demand in the home. So, as well as ‘fabric first’ insulation measures we also should use renewables as much as possible on site.   

 Funding could be sought from Combined Authority Gainshare funding but failing that HRA funds could be utilised to achieve this. 

Cllr Karen Allison

Engaging the community in climate action

 Tackling climate change has got to be made real to local people. Involving people in positive projects helps give people a sense of well being and not just thinking they are at the mercy of decisions by national governments and decisions at global climate summits.

 We can help them feel empowered and involved in addressing the threat to all our futures. For the next 2 years through the Place partnerships, we wish to support a range of community lead projects to address climate change.

 This could be improving the energy efficiency of public buildings, tree planting, projects to support biodiversity and nature-based flood prevention measures.

 

Learning from others

Kirklees needs to approach its role in addressing climate change with humility. We frequently hear from Labour Cabinet members about how we are ‘the best’ in this policy area. We aren’t. There are positive things happening on the climate agenda in Kirklees but we are not forerunners or innovators in addressing climate change. The lack of a climate action plan lead to the Council getting a 0% rating from Climate Emergency UK earlier this year. Joining the Global Covenant of Mayors would provide us with valuable insight and support form the international community of local and regional authorities addressing climate change. It works to provide value to participating councils by mobilizing the critical financing and technical assistance that members require to access investment. The Global Covenant of Mayors ensures that signatories are continuously supported in their efforts. Cities receive step-by-step guidance and have access to tools, materials, and a dedicated regional/national helpdesk.

 https://www.globalcovenantofmayors.org/

 Renewable energy installations in schools

The pupils of today are the citizens of the tomorrow. Showing them that renewable energy helps power their school be it from wind, solar or other renewables is a positive for learning and gives a demonstration of hope for a better future.

 For this scheme we will seek funding through a Community Municipal Investment/ Climate Bond issue. These have been successful in West Berkshire Council and the London Borough of Islington and provide a return to community investors.

 https://info.westberks.gov.uk/wbcmi

 https://www.abundanceinvestment.com/invest-now/municipal-investments

  Mobilising the community to help tackle the cost of living crisis

 The massive hike in energy bills caused in large part by our dependence on fossil fuels is something that Kirklees Council needs to mobilise itself to address, and a single budget amendment is not the way to do that. There are things we can do though and establishing a fuel poverty fund to help improve the energy efficiency of people living in cold homes in the owner occupied and private sector. We will seek initially to fund this through a charitable trust that the council will establish and seek contributions too through a variety of methods including an appeal through the Council Tax mailing.

 Similar charitable trusts have been established in other parts of the country and have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds. It has initially been tried in rich Council areas in the south of England but it is worth trying here to bolster and support work being done on broader poverty issues by a range of third sector organisations.

Cllr Sue Lee-Richards

 Supporting active travel

 We lack a programme to support the development of a protected cycleway network in Kirklees. This proposal will kick start that programme and we would push for a reprioritisation of the West Yorkshire Transport Fund away from road building and road widening projects.

 Safer streets for all

 Those of us who have tried to get traffic calming to make people feel safer in their communities from speeding traffic have frequently been frustrated.

 Green Councillors have prioritised ward budgets, public realm funding and any other funds we could use to get roads traffic calmed to make roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists. This has been in the face of limited budgets and against Kirklees Highways policy. We need sustained funding to support area wide traffic calming on residential roads so we are able to respond positively to community concerns, take a preventative approach to traffic speeds rather than one rationed on the basis of injury accidents.

 Better adult social care

 Positive work was carried out a few years ago by the Administration helping establish Valley Care a community based care cooperative. Our proposal is to provide staff to support the development of Community Based Care Cooperatives in Kirklees. Members of the Care Cooperatives will have a stake in the organisation they work for and the emphasis is on care not the profit motive.

  We will support the development of Care Cooperatives that will operate on the basis of reinvesting surpluses in improving and extending the services they offer to provide a wide range of care services.

 These cooperatives will provide all staff with at least the living wage, a training programme which supports development and progression. This model of care provision will also play a role in raising standards in the wider care sector.

 https://www.valleycare.coop/

 Under development – An Employers Workplace Parking Levy

We believe establishing a workplace parking levy to support public transport and active travel in Kirklees is worth investigating further. Employers with fewer than 10 parking spaces pay nothing at all.  Employers offering more than 10 parking spaces pay a fee of £1.17 per day per parking space.  There are exemptions for local emergency services, NHS frontline staff and blue badge holders.

 In Nottingham, the Workplace Parking Levy on employers has raised more than £9 million each year, with the revenue used to fund tram infrastructure, a smart card scheme, electric buses and cycling facilities. Leicester are also looking at introducing a Workplace Parking Levy.

Kirklees Climate Commission

We are disappointed that there appears to be no dedicated budget line in the Administration’s budget for Kirklees Climate Commision (KCC). Given the importance the Administration have placed on setting up KCC and their position as vice chair we would have expected to see a dedicated budget that KCC would manage independently of the council to facilitate administration, sourcing third party research and working in the communities' interest.

 We would hope that the council can rectify this outside the 2022-23 budget process so the KCC can establish independence in order to demonstrate a degree of self-determination that they can exercise in collaboration with other partners such as the Chamber of Commerce, University of Huddersfield and others.

Kirklees Elections 2022 - Why Kirklees Labour need to lose.

 

Save Kirklees Trees Campaigners

We are heading into another round of Kirklees Elections. In theory it's a Council with a minority Labour Administration but effectively has a majority due to the support of a former Labour Councillor who is now an Independent, frequent absences by some non Labour Councillors and an opposition with differing priorities.

Labour have been a shambles on Kirklees Council. The evidence is plentiful. The debacle over the Council breaking it's promise to host the National Rugby League Museum in The George Hotel, the A629 road widening project which will see the felling of 126 trees on an iconic entrance way to Huddersfield, Labour Councillors backing the building of a modern hotel on Castle Hill, the site of an Iron Age hill fort and the Leader of the Council proclaiming he had encouraged the environmentally disastrous Amazon Warehouse development near Cleckheaton then denying later he had any view on the planning application. Leadership on Kirklees Council has been sadly lacking and the Labour Group seem unable or unwilling to address the problem.

On Climate Change, Labour in Kirklees are a pretty average Council but talk as if they are national leaders. They just aren't. Climate Emergency UK who independently assess councils responses to Climate Change gave Kirklees a humiliating 0% due to their lack of a Climate Action Plan to address the problem. This was confirmed this week when a report by the University of Leeds identified the lack of a Climate Action Plan. As the report is published on the Council's website  and has the support of the Kirklees Climate Commission it is pretty clear it's accepted by Kirklees. The fact is that many other Councils have got Climate Action Plans and have done much more than Kirklees on Climate Change.

The Labour Administration of course wouldn't accept they are poor and would point to some of their activity which you will find on the Kirklees Website. One such example is the pilot project retrofitting 8 council properties on Abbey Road in Fartown. Labour Cabinet members trooped up there for a photocall with Labour Leader Keir Starmer. It looks like some good work has been carried out there but it is a one off pilot project with no plan to be replicated and no funds to do it again. In the Green Group Budget Amendment we proposed using the Energiesprong approach used by among others Nottingham City Council. With no funding coming from central Govt this offered a self funding and economically sustainable model. Labour rejected it.  There are other examples 6 years on from the All Party Passivhaus report that recommended making the Passivhaus Standard the norm for Kirklees new build housing projects, Labour are finally doing a 6 house pilot project. We have no idea really what will be learned from the pilot that can't be gleaned from just asking more forward thinking Councils like Exeter City Council that started on the Passivhaus approach 15 years ago. It is another example of timidity and tokenism when we need real leadership.

So the possibility of a Labour Council with a majority doesn't exactly fill me with hope and joy just potential disappointment. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of good people in the Labour Party and I would much rather have a Labour Party that I could work with than what we have in Kirklees at present. So on May 5th vote Green, elect more Green Councillors and let's play our proper part in tackling climate change and the cost of living crisis.

Green Party Amendment to the Kirklees Council Budget 2022/23

 Starting the retrofit revolution in Kirklees 

Cllr Cooper visiting Energiesprong homes in Nottingham

The Council has made a start on retrofitting its own housing stock. This is positive but what is lacking is a financially sustainable model, which can deliver improvement to homes at scale to a zero-energy standard. Our proposal based on the Energiesprong (energy leap) model addresses this and provides a way of building the capacity and capability to deliver for owner occupiers and the wider housing sector.

 Energiesprong work with local Councils on developing a programme to deliver warmer homes through a retrofit programme delivering a home which is net zero energy, meaning it generates the total amount of energy required for its heating, hot water and electrical appliances.  It also provides superior indoor comfort. This is achieved using prefabricated facades, insulated rooftops with solar panels, smart heating, and ventilation and cooling installations. A refurbishment comes with a long-year performance warranty on both the indoor climate and the energy performance for up to 40 years. A complete home makeover can be completed in as little as a day!

 Energiesprong are not a contractor themselves but work with councils to help procure contractors to deliver to the Energiesprong specification.

 Councils such as Nottingham, Exeter and a number of London Boroughs are already working together on Energiesprong projects as part of the Retrofit Accelerator Homes Investment Partnership. They share best practice and expertise and have been successful in a number of funding bids to government drawing in millions to support the development of the Energiesprong model.

 How much does it cost?

 The cost for an initial 50 properties would be around £85,000/property. The expectation is that for future rounds of properties that this would reduce to around £55,000/property as economies of scale are realised.

 How is it paid for?

 There is some initial outlay for setting up the Energiesprong approach through the Housing Revenue Account but as the capital costs come down the expectation is that it would become self-financing through lower maintenance and servicing costs e.g., no gas safety checks, lower maintenance etc and through charging a comfort charge to the tenant. Energiesprong guarantee that the fuel bill that the tenants pay plus the comfort charge will be less than they were paying in energy costs for their home before refurbishment.

 https://www.energiesprong.uk/

 https://www.energiesprong.uk/newspage/innovation-partnership-why-a-new-approach-to-retrofit-procurement-is-key-to-net-zero

 https://www.ukgbc.org/news/nottingham-first-to-adopt-revolutionary-energiesprong-housing-approach/

 Passivhaus or equivalent as standard on all Council new build projects

5 years after the all party Passivhaus group recommended that the Council build its new developments to the passivhaus standard Kirklees is now doing a pilot project on 12 houses. The lack of a policy on the standard for new build housing in Kirklees at a time when we ought to be leading by example is shameful. The purpose of the pilot has not been explained. What can be learnt by building in Kirklees that can’t be learnt from more progressive Councils in other parts of the country such as Exeter City Council?

 The lack of a policy is expensive as one-off projects like Kirklees passivhaus pilot come at a cost premium. Having a high energy efficiency standard means developers can invest in skills locally, build capacity and the capability to deliver to the passivhaus standard or equivalent. We should also be seeking funding from the West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to help pay for the 4% uplift in costs through gainshare or other regional funding sources.

 https://www.apse.org.uk/apse/index.cfm/news/articles/20181/passivhaus-exeter-city-council-leading-by-example/#

 Solar PV Panels on all Council new build projects as standard

 With rising energy prices we need to find ways of reducing energy demand in the home. So, as well as ‘fabric first’ insulation measures we also should use renewables as much as possible on site.   

 Funding could be sought from Combined Authority Gainshare funding but failing that HRA funds could be utilised to achieve this. 

Cllr Karen Allison

Engaging the community in climate action

 Tackling climate change has got to be made real to local people. Involving people in positive projects helps give people a sense of well being and not just thinking they are at the mercy of decisions by national governments and decisions at global climate summits.

 We can help them feel empowered and involved in addressing the threat to all our futures. For the next 2 years through the Place partnerships, we wish to support a range of community lead projects to address climate change.

 This could be improving the energy efficiency of public buildings, tree planting, projects to support biodiversity and nature-based flood prevention measures.

 

Learning from others

Kirklees needs to approach its role in addressing climate change with humility. We frequently hear from Labour Cabinet members about how we are ‘the best’ in this policy area. We aren’t. There are positive things happening on the climate agenda in Kirklees but we are not forerunners or innovators in addressing climate change. The lack of a climate action plan lead to the Council getting a 0% rating from Climate Emergency UK earlier this year. Joining the Global Covenant of Mayors would provide us with valuable insight and support form the international community of local and regional authorities addressing climate change. It works to provide value to participating councils by mobilizing the critical financing and technical assistance that members require to access investment. The Global Covenant of Mayors ensures that signatories are continuously supported in their efforts. Cities receive step-by-step guidance and have access to tools, materials, and a dedicated regional/national helpdesk.

 https://www.globalcovenantofmayors.org/

 Renewable energy installations in schools

The pupils of today are the citizens of the tomorrow. Showing them that renewable energy helps power their school be it from wind, solar or other renewables is a positive for learning and gives a demonstration of hope for a better future.

 For this scheme we will seek funding through a Community Municipal Investment/ Climate Bond issue. These have been successful in West Berkshire Council and the London Borough of Islington and provide a return to community investors.

 https://info.westberks.gov.uk/wbcmi

 https://www.abundanceinvestment.com/invest-now/municipal-investments

  Mobilising the community to help tackle the cost of living crisis

 The massive hike in energy bills caused in large part by our dependence on fossil fuels is something that Kirklees Council needs to mobilise itself to address, and a single budget amendment is not the way to do that. There are things we can do though and establishing a fuel poverty fund to help improve the energy efficiency of people living in cold homes in the owner occupied and private sector. We will seek initially to fund this through a charitable trust that the council will establish and seek contributions too through a variety of methods including an appeal through the Council Tax mailing.

 Similar charitable trusts have been established in other parts of the country and have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds. It has initially been tried in rich Council areas in the south of England but it is worth trying here to bolster and support work being done on broader poverty issues by a range of third sector organisations.

Cllr Sue Lee-Richards

 Supporting active travel

 We lack a programme to support the development of a protected cycleway network in Kirklees. This proposal will kick start that programme and we would push for a reprioritisation of the West Yorkshire Transport Fund away from road building and road widening projects.

 Safer streets for all

 Those of us who have tried to get traffic calming to make people feel safer in their communities from speeding traffic have frequently been frustrated.

 Green Councillors have prioritised ward budgets, public realm funding and any other funds we could use to get roads traffic calmed to make roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists. This has been in the face of limited budgets and against Kirklees Highways policy. We need sustained funding to support area wide traffic calming on residential roads so we are able to respond positively to community concerns, take a preventative approach to traffic speeds rather than one rationed on the basis of injury accidents.

 Better adult social care

 Positive work was carried out a few years ago by the Administration helping establish Valley Care a community based care cooperative. Our proposal is to provide staff to support the development of Community Based Care Cooperatives in Kirklees. Members of the Care Cooperatives will have a stake in the organisation they work for and the emphasis is on care not the profit motive.

  We will support the development of Care Cooperatives that will operate on the basis of reinvesting surpluses in improving and extending the services they offer to provide a wide range of care services.

 These cooperatives will provide all staff with at least the living wage, a training programme which supports development and progression. This model of care provision will also play a role in raising standards in the wider care sector.

 https://www.valleycare.coop/

 Under development – A Kirklees Workplace Parking Levy

 Not included in this Green Party Budget amendment but we believe establishing a workplace parking levy to support public transport and active travel in Kirklees is worth investigating further. Employers with fewer than 10 parking spaces pay nothing at all.  Employers offering more than 10 parking spaces pay a fee of £1.17 per day per parking space.  There are exemptions for local emergency services, NHS frontline staff and blue badge holders.

 In Nottingham, the Workplace Parking Levy on employers has raised more than £9 million each year, with the revenue used to fund tram infrastructure, a smart card scheme, electric buses and cycling facilities. Leicester are also looking at introducing a Workplace Parking Levy.

Kirklees Climate Commission

We are disappointed that there appears to be no dedicated budget line in the Administration’s budget for Kirklees Climate Commision (KCC). Given the importance the Administration have placed on setting up KCC and their position as vice chair we would have expected to see a dedicated budget that KCC would manage independently of the council to facilitate administration, sourcing third party research and working in the communities' interest.

 We would hope that the council can rectify this outside the 2022-23 budget process so the KCC can establish independence in order to demonstrate a degree of self-determination that they can exercise in collaboration with other partners such as the Chamber of Commerce, University of Huddersfield and others.