Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies of absence were received from Councillor Callum Nimmo and Omid Miri

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 24^th September 2025 were agreed as an accurate record.

This report provides an update on the Council’s development pipeline and how it aligns with the Climate and Ecology Strategy.

Will Noton (Head of Development) gave a presentation on how the Council’s development programme responded to the Climate, Ecology and energy challenge. He showed slides that highlighted the following key aspects:

• The vison and context of the design strategy which focused on energy efficiency, passive design and biodiversity.
• All projects were being delivered to enhance sustainability standards.
• The importance of Energy, Climate and Ecology considerations in housing.
• The Council’s Commitment to carbon neutrality – including air source heat pumps and solar PV integration
• Measurable sustainability outcomes with three 3 Passivhaus schemes under construction
• A case study of Hartopp and Lannoy – delivering 100% affordable Passivhaus homes.
• Resident benefits and aftercare to ensure homes performed effictvely post-handover
• Legacy and Future Outlook – expanding Passivhaus adoption and circular economy practices.

The Chair thanked Will Noton for his clear and engaging presentation and asked for further clarification on financial costs. Will Noton explained that there were 10 live projects delivering around 750 new homes, and all schemes were being self?financed through a combination of S106 contributions, GLA funding, grants. There would also be an element of borrowing which would be paid off through rental income. He stressed that all projects must remain viable and not place pressure on other Council services.

The Chair asked whether delivering homes to such high “green” standards created significantly higher costs or whether these were offset by grants. Will Noton confirmed that the costs were higher, but the team was ensuring schemes remained financially viable and did not impact other services. Despite the increased sustainability requirements, the programme was still managing to self?finance.

The Chair asked whether rainwater was being considered as part of the development design. Will Noton explained that rainwater harvesting was included in schemes where it was feasible to do so. He added that he would seek further information from the consultants on its application across current projects and report back to the Committee.

Action: Will Noton

Councillor Nikos Souslous asked for further clarification on how the developments would interact with district heating networks. Will Noton explained that officers planned to work with the design team to ensure each development was fully self?sufficient and able to operate without reliance on a district heating network. However, he confirmed that schemes would be future?proofed so they could connect to a district heating network if required in the future.

Councillor Nikos Souslous asked how transport and cycling infrastructure, as well as the impact on highways, would be addressed within the developments. Will Noton explained that all Council developments were car?free, with parking provided only for Blue Badge holders. He noted that the Council aimed to provide additional cycle parking for each scheme to encourage sustainable travel. He added that highways impact assessments would be undertaken as part of the Planning process. In addition, most of the developments would not be eligible for parking permits to support a low carbon approach.

Councillor Wesley Harcourt (Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Ecology) added that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

This report provides an update on the overall preparation and proposals for the 2026/27 revenue budget, risks, financial resilience, and the impact of those proposals.

Corporate Budget

Councillor Rowan Ree (Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform) introduced the item and gave a presentation that detailed the proposals for the 2026/27 budget. He showed slides which highlighted the following:

• Strategic context – including the Chancellor’s Budget Statement and changing demographics within the borough
• The fair funding review was now a three?year settlement and there were expected to be budgetary pressures due to this in 2027/28
• The revenue budget strategy was to ensure a sustainable, legal and balanced budget
• The budget was set to set aside money for pay inflation (2.5%), price inflation (3.2%) and essential pressures
•  

Departmental Budget

Kellie Gooch, (Head of Finance, Place) gave a presentation on the department’s revenue budget 2026/27. This covered the department’s recent achievements, relevant to this Committee as follows:

• A-rating from the Carbon Disclosure Project for transparent and bold climate action and commitment.
• Highest concentration of electric vehicle charging points in UK and largest concentration of air quality monitors in Europe
• Recognised by UK Divest as amongst the most successful local authority Pension Funds in divesting from fossil fuels
• Promoting active travel - creating a legacy of cycle trained young people, delivering Bikeability for families and green local deliveries through ‘Parcels Not Pollution’ cargo bike scheme
• Launched the H&F Green investment scheme – targeting £5m of funding.

Additionally, the team was focussed on securing external funding, both within the Place Department and across the Council, to maximise Climate Action at the least cost to the Council. Since 2021 the team had successfully brought in approximately £19m of external funding, enabling the delivery of climate projects with a total value of approximately £34m (£15m match funding). The team was also investing £30m+ in green capital projects, transport schemes and emission reduction schemes

The Chair requested further information on how commercial income was recorded within the Council’s budget. Councillor Rowan Ree explained that commercial income was treated as a saving because it represented money the Council did not need to spend. This income was therefore accounted for as a reduction in the amount the Council must find in savings elsewhere in the budget.

The Chair said that she was pleased to hear that funding was being used for tree planting and paving, as well as for refurbishing and modernising Council?owned homes.

Councillor Nikos Souslous asked for an update on the work being undertaken to roll out electric vehicle charging across the borough. He also queried whether there were opportunities to introduce turbo charging facilities more widely. Hinesh Mehta (Assistant Director Climate Change) explained that, following a recent national government announcement, residents without access to off?street parking would now be permitted to plug their electric vehicles into chargers at home using cross pavement solutions. He noted that the associated grant funding was a limited national pot available to all local authorities. The Council had applied for this funding and was expected to be successful. Officers were currently reviewing how the scheme could be implemented within the borough, including the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Committee is asked to consider items for inclusion in its work programme.

The Chair requested that any suggestions for future agenda items to submitted to her directly.

To note the dates of future meetings:

·       21st April 2026

The Chair noted that the April meeting was likely to be cancelled, and that the next scheduled meeting would take place on 30 June.