Haringey Climate Forum Meeting 15^th June 2022

Present: Quentin Given (convenor), Cllr Mike Hakata (cabinet member for climate ) Joe Baker (head of carbon management), Cara Jenkinson, Anita Chadwick, Alex Dickinson, Sally, Sonja of 4U2, Lucy, Patrick Maher, Helen Mayer, Pamela Harding, Michael Poteliakoff (HCC), Norman Beddington, Stephanie Grant, Joyce Rosser, Chris Barker, Sydney Charles, Simon Henry, Brian Simpson, Kim (HCC).

Apols – David Cohen, Alan Morton

1. Mike Hakata set out some key points from the council’s commitments:

• Driving down motor traffic is key to reducing emissions
• Three Streets for people areas (formerly known as LTNs) would be implemented this summer, and would be the biggest in London and maybe UK.
• Cutting emissions etc would be embedded across all services, and driven through procurement etc
• Council is committed to urban greening, with corridors of wildflower meadows, parklets, and extended canopy cover – the largest investment in trees of any borough. This will need a business case to secure funding in next budget cycle (2023/24)
• There is big issue about insurance claims on trees. Tree team has been expended but still small.
• Need to co-produce the plan for urban forest
• Need a circular economy action plan to reduce waste etc.

2. Joe Baker expanded on progress on some policy areas

• Climate spend of £200m being agreed, of which £101m is investment in retrofitting social housing. Target is EPC B by 2035. Council talking to CONEL abut local skills training – eg from being gas fitter to ASHP installer – and using Retrofit Works co-op to stimulate local businesses.
• Decentralised Energy Network (DEN) funding announcement due to be made in next fortnight
• DEN network will use waste heat from Edmonton to displace gas (or electricity used for heat pumps etc) and should achieve 5% emissions reduction across the borough.
• Need action but also good planning to avoid unintended consequences (as has happened over shift to diesel, promotion of biofuels, making homes too hot etc)
• Initially the pipes will run to Spurs and on to Tottenham Hale developments, spur to Broadwater Farm, Wood Green, Ally Pally and spur to St Ann’s development (and maybe Hackney and Woodberry Down).
• The network is technology neutral, and should last 70-80 years, so in future heat from river and reservoirs, tube tunnels etc can be added. Pipe network is biggest cost.
• This will also have air quality and local economic benefits.
• Council also working on Energiesprong project with 50 homes, it’s taken a year to get this far.
• Private sector retrofit – Council is bidding for funds to make energy efficiency enforcement stronger in the context of landlord licensing.
• School streets – 24 implemented (fastest rate in London) and another 12-15 this year, with associated work to encourage modal shift by parents, and encouraging cycling etc. Traffic has dropped 21%, schools report that children who walk are readier to learn,. 100% of schools are supportive, and 75% parents.
• 70% of the Fixed Penalty Notices associated with school streets are non-Haringey residents, one as far away as Glasgow.
• Carbon literacy training is being rolled out across departments, and software developed to facilitate carbon integration into reports etc.
• New planning policy will take as strong a line on carbon as possible, including embodied carbon.

3. Discussion:

Co-production

How will it work? Mike responded that some issues were already decided eg NLWA on the incinerator so were not amenable to co-production, and some are largely technical eg the DEN network. But other issues like waste reduction, private sector retrofit, PV roll-out, urban forest should be co-produced.

Streets for People (SfP) –and transport

• Haringey was behind but is catching up, and ahead re Blue Badge exemptions etc.
• Next SfP should be Alexandra North, a mini-one for Northwood Road in Highgate, and Tottenham from the Hale up to Northumberland Park, for implementation in 2023, with 50% of borough covered by end of 2023/24.
• Can we merge transport, highways and regen into one department to ensure better join-up? Mike said they were looking at having one Asst Director for highways and transport policy to address this.
• Do “Streets” have a negative connotation for some people? If so, need to bring people in to discuss how this can be addressed.
• Will council support Smart Road User Charging? Yes, council is being more active campaigner, eg recent letter being signed by London boroughs protecting against Chancellor’s 91% tax breaks for new N Sea gas etc. Will definitely support SRUC.

Schools

• What about schools on main roads? Looking at making the roads red routes to reduce parking and hence school run, and green screens – at Holy Trinity school this has reduced pollution levels by 30%. Tree planting also reduces pollution levels. Mike had visited Walworth LTN where build-outs into main roads have pushed traffic a bit further away from schools.
• Can we reduce parking spaces near schools and clamp down on idling? Yes re parking; idling is v hard to enforce but can do more signage. Haringey is part of London Against Idling and pressing for change in law to make enforcement easier. Could also use CCTV to enforce re zigzag lines?
• Will there be cycle lanes for schools? Some will be on cycle routes but not others – need to look at this.
• Schools – excellent work being done by Dave Cohen with students and staff at Highgate Wood – this should be brought to Mike and Zena Brabazon (cabinet member for schools) with a view to wider roll0out. There has been training for climate ambassadors for schools. Sally offered workshops for schools.
• School buildings need retrofit. One has defective boilers that can’t be turned off, and big glazed area, so very hot and wasteful. DoE has published plan for schools to cut carbon but there is no funding behind it.
• Haringey has secured £2.5m for school retrofit, and developed a checklist for building managers to ensure energy efficiency is built into any major works.
• Rising energy bills have pushed some schools into large and rising debt. So yes, need a plan for all schools. This should be developed in autumn.

Solar PV on Council owned roofs. Some schools have existing PV installations which are helping reduce electricity bills. But some don’t work, and they don’t have smart meters to show the benefits to school users. Could Haringey give En10ergy a grant to carry out repairs and smart installations?

Trees and biodiversity

• Tree planting – biggest issue is watering. Can ask people to adopt local trees to water. But should we be employing more staff as well?
• How can we reverse the tide of paving over front gardens and plastic lawns? The Haringey Plan will discourage but hard to deal with existing properties.
• Biodiversity Action Plan draft should be out in autumn. Needs to be embedded in new Haringey Plan.

 Resource use

• Note good examples of repair cafes – Haringey Fixers are doing repair sessions at Broadwater Farm on Tuesdays, Lordship Rec hub on Sundays. Sonja’s project also looking at hubs for toys, children’s clothes etc. Can we have an inventory of these projects? Mike said he’s keen on repair cafes, Library of Things, and carbon cafes. Need to visit Islington’s to learn from them.
• A pilot project on waste clothes and white goods netted 9 tonnes from 12,000 residents – cpd to just 2 tonnes from whole borough at existing recycling centre. More produced in the west of the borough.

 Retrofit and skills

• Skills gaps in retrofit – can procurement be used to get local people trained? Yes, keen to discuss with CONEL. Recent GLA grant to CONEL for green jobs was mainly spent on green landscape training at Caoel Manor, we need to focus it on retrofit. The big work programmes enable council to offer contractors two years+ of work, so providing more secure environment for investment in training.
• Able to pay sector of homeowners? Council ran the Green Homes Project but doesn’t currently have plan for this sector. Needs much more central govt funding. Could develop a plan through co-production involving En10ergy/MHSG?
• Promoting rooftop PV? Reducing energy consumption is first priority but could co-develop a plan .
• Leaseholders make up 5,000 of the 22,000 council homes. Yes they would legally have to be charged for their share of retrofit works. Can be large bills but good repayment terms offered eg interest-free over 10 years.
• Need more exemplar homes. One of the Energiesprong homes could be for a while but then needs to be occupied.

4. Follow-up

• From the discussion, looks like there should be task-and-finish groups on trees, solar, waste reduction, schools, private sector retrofit at least.
• We need to follow up with Mike and Joe on how this will happen and how co-production will work.
• We need to maintain regular meetings with Mike and Joe to keep information flowing. Suggested that we alternate in-person and online meetings.