Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ross Melton and Laura Janes

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting and note any outstanding actions.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 23^rd April 2024 were agreed as an accurate record.

This is a covering report for a presentation on H&F’s progress highlighting key achievements and opportunities to deliver circular economy principles and sustainable procurement.

Laura Humphreys (Climate Alliance and Sustainability Lead) provided a presentation on Circular Economy and Sustainable Procurement. She showed slides that covered the following key aspects:

• Context within the Climate Emergency – enabling and motivating sustainable choices through policy and procurement.
• Approach and focus areas, including built environment and consumer goods.
• The Council’s commitment and role
• Opportunities to lead in resource efficiency including:

o   Carbon management approach for highways

o   Material reuse hubs

o   Launch a repair voucher schemes

o   Refresh the Council’s procurement plastic free policies and implement an ethical advertising and sponsorship policy.

Sarah Jane Widdowson, Western Riverside Waste Authority (WRWA), gave an overview of the communications and education programme carried out for waste prevention. It was noted that 95 class visits at Smugglers Way and 2 in school workshops had taken place. She provided a summary of the ReWork facility reuse project. Staff were employed as apprentices in electrical engineering and maintenance, helping them to gain the experience and skills necessary to embark on a new career. WRWA processes co-mingled and separated recyclables at its two waste transfer stations. WRWA’s circular economy specific actions included increasing reuse and supporting skills and social value for reuse and repair, education around waste presentation and recycling. And exploring options for a reuse hub. It was noted that WRWA officers supported wider government interest in the circular economy.

Amy Casey (ReLondon) gave a presentation on the circular neighbourhood’s scheme and provided an overview of the following key aspects that could be delivered in Hammersmith & Fulham:

• This initiative would help the community to waste less and reuse, repair, share and recycle more.
• This created greater community cohesion and boosting the local economy.
• The project took place in an area called Heston (London Borough of Hounslow) with a population of approx. 25,000.
• Over a 1-year delivery period, ReLondon worked with 20 different delivery partners.
• 45 volunteers and 3 part-time advisors were hired for the project.
• Key stakeholder feedback and activity performance.

The Chair thanked everyone for their presentations and requested further clarification on how the circular neighbourhood project would continue to support behaviour change in the future. In response, Amy Casey (ReLondon) explained that 65% of the interventions implemented during the project had been sustained post completion. This included the monthly repair café, which had successfully transitioned into a community interest group. Additionally, primary schools were still running their initiatives, and the local council continued to support community based electric repair workshops.

Councillor Stala Antoniades noted that it was encouraging to see collaborative working across various sectors within the circular economy. She explained her background in the buildings and construction Industry, and she commended the building materials reuse initiative. She asked if the reuse of materials had increased over the last few years and how officers saw this developing in the future, especially as space was at a premium to store materials. In response, Laura Humphreys (Climate Alliance and Sustainability Lead), explained the reuse of materials was still at the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

This report provided a update of the launch of the new H&F Green Investment: an innovative community investment scheme primarily aimed at engaging local residents and businesses in H&F’s climate change objectives.

Councillor Rowan Ree (Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform)?provided an overview of the new Hammersmith and Fulham Green investment scheme. On 6^th  November 2023 Cabinet approved the launch of this scheme: an innovative community investment scheme primarily aimed at engaging local residents and businesses in H&F’s climate change objectives. The Council was ambitious in its climate and ecological aims and was therefore targeting £5m of funding in total – the largest ever green investment scheme of its kind. It was noted that the H&F Green Investment provided residents with a low-risk investment opportunity with attractive, fixed interest rates compared to high street alternatives and a chance to see the impact of their investment in their local community.

The first tranche of the H&F investment launched on 15^th November 2023 at a rate of 4.85% and reached £1m of investment 6 days ahead of the scheduled closing date. The second tranche launched promptly after that on 26 February 2024, raising a further £755,000 in three months. Plans were now progressing to launch a third tranche of investment. Additionally, a summary from the first two tranches (including the green initiatives progressed to date), and the plans for future tranches was provided.

The Chair enquired whether the Council would be required to repay the borrowed funds used to support the scheme. Councillor Rowan Ree explained that the currently the Council financed capital projects by borrowing through the Public Works Loan Board. The Council sets the rate of interest payable to investors, which was benchmarked to be below that of the Public Works Loan Board, therefore representing a cheaper form of external borrowing for the Council.  

In response to a resident’s questions, Councillor Rowan Ree clarified that participation in the scheme was not limited to H&F residents; it was also open to individuals from outside the borough. Additionally, the scheme welcomed involvement from businesses and community groups.

A resident asked how the local projects were planned. Councillor Rowan Ree explained that for the next tranche, the Council intended to finalise which projects to invest in before opening it. He encouraged residents to share any ideas or suggestions with the Council, emphasising that now would be an ideal time to get involved.

RESOLVED -

That the Committee note and comment on the presentation.

For the Committee to suggest items for the work programme.

Councillor Wesley Harcourt (Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Ecology) provided an update on the Climate Connect Newsletter and provided details of how to sign up for the mailing list.

The Chair noted that the 2024 Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) would be presented at the January 2025 PAC meeting. Other items suggested were:

• City Cycling
• Ocean Conservation Trust

To note the following dates of future meetings:

·       28^th January 2025

·       7^th May 2025

The next meeting is due to take place 28^th January 2025.