futurethe inhands

Local Government ElectionsMay 2012Manifesto

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The challenge for councils is not to managethe budgetary squeeze by reducing capacitythrough knee­jerk reactions, but to use thistime of financial constraint as an opportunity todeliver excellent services in more imaginativeand efficient ways.Local government is a big player in Wales’environmental performance. Aside from directemissions, local authority policies on waste,transport and education have a substantialimpact on greenhouse gas emissions. TheSustainable Development Bill is likely torequire local authorities to make sustainabledevelopment their central organising principle.

This will herald big changes to service deliveryfor most local authorities, and those forgingahead early will reap the benefits of greenjobs, cost savings and reduced emissions.This manifesto sets out areas where Friends ofthe Earth Cymru believes local authoritiesshould prioritise action that will reduce theenvironmental impact of their operations aswell as, frequently, making financial savings.Taking these steps will also improve thewellbeing of residents – and will make themost ambitious councils places where peoplewant to work and live.

IntroductionLocal Authorities across Wales are feeling the impact of public sectorspending cuts, with grant funding from the Welsh Governmentflatlining at £5.2bn from 2012­13 to 2014­151.

1. Welsh Government, November 2011, Final budget

Image courtesy of Jelle Drok

Local authorities leading the wayStrong Cabinet and staff commitment:A staff complement with a good awareness ofwhy high environmental performance isimportant is a prerequisite to most of therecommendations that follow. This meansleadership from every elected member ofevery local authority in Wales. But mostimportantly, it requires Council Leaders andCabinets to be resolute in promotingexemplary environmental performance in theirrole as stewards of our planet for futuregenerations.An Environment Strategy:Each local authority should prepare andpublish an environment strategy thatincorporates targets that can be measuredand against which they can be held toaccount. Leicestershire County Councilprovides a good example2.Reducing emissions:Local authorities should set targets to reducetheir greenhouse gas emissions by at least40% by 2020, and should form a plan todeliver these cuts. Cardiff Council has alreadyset a target of reducing emissions by 60% by20183, while both Wrexham4 and Flintshire5have targets to reduce emissions from publicbuildings by 5% per year. Local authoritiesshould also set targets for overall emissionsreduction across their own geographical areaand consider setting ‘carbon budgets’ in linewith recommendations of the UK ClimateChange Committee.

Good Environment Management Systems:These are an excellent way of ensuringcontinuous environmental improvement, andevery local authority in Wales should be signedup to one. The Green Dragon scheme6 is agood example. Powys County Council, alongwith Directorates of Bridgend, Swansea andthe Vale of Glamorgan, have all reached thehighest level of this scheme. Emissions fromcommuting should be formally included inevery local authority’s environmentmanagement systems.Greening procurement:Local authorities have considerable purchasingpower. They should use this to beneficial effectby working with suppliers to bring down theenvironmental impact of goods and services.Examples might be implementing acommitment to use only Forestry StewardshipCouncil certified wood products, using locallysourced food for schools and canteens, andchanging electricity supplier to a fullyrenewable tariff. London’s Green ProcurementCode7 has useful information and links to otherwebsites about green procurement.Shifting from petrol and diesel:We are in the decade of peak oil8. The use ofpetroleum for transport will therefore becomeincreasingly expensive over time. Localauthorities in Wales should rationalise theiroperations to reduce both the size and mileageof their fleets. Local authorities should alsoinvest in alternatively fuelled vehicles(including electric, hydrogen and LPG) as andwhen they become commercially available inorder to reduce their vulnerability to oil priceshocks.

Local authorities leading the way

2. Leicestershire County Council, Environment Strategy 2011­20213. Cardiff Council, June 2007, Cardiff commits to 60% cut in carbon emissions4. Welsh Government, Wrexham outcome agreement summary5. Welsh Government, Flintshire outcome agreement summary6. Groundwork Wales, Green Dragon environmental standard7. Mayor of London, Green procurement code8. National Assembly for Wales, July 2008, Peak oil

Major investment in energy efficiency:Local authority buildings, including schools,should be paragons of energy efficiency. Thatmeans a focus on very high standards for:•insulation (loft and cavity wall, and solid wallfor older properties)

•double glazing•solar shielding for south­facing windows.Most council headquarters will be largeenough to require Display Energy Certificates,so good performance is important forreputation as well as the environment.Support for energy efficiency in homes:Local authorities should use their bulkprocurement powers to good effect througharranging for the mass installation of energyefficiency measures (principally insulation).This will also have a substantial impact onreducing fuel poverty.Gwynedd Council’s “Here to Help” scheme9has provided insulation for lofts, cavity wallsand hot water tanks in more than 10,000private properties since 2004. Its partnershipwith British Gas has reduced the cost,providing good value for taxpayers. Localauthorities should integrate homerefurbishment initiatives with other fundingstreams, engaging with energy companies andacting as delivery agents or partners on theGreen Deal10.Local authorities should also investigate thepotential of working with Welsh Governmentschemes such as Arbed and using localgovernment borrowing power to make energyefficiency projects happen.

Investing in renewable energy:Local authorities should commit to installingrenewable energy in every school and eachcouncil building or landholding where practical.Most schools will have south­facing roofs thatwould be suitable for solar PV cells, whilesome will be in areas of good wind resourcethat could benefit from a wind turbine.Ysgol y Traeth11 in Barmouth has both forms ofrenewables. This has the double benefit ofeducating schoolchildren about renewableenergy and providing carbon­free electricity.Local authorities can take advantage of thefeed in tariff scheme (FiTs) which providespayment for generating renewable electricity.Biomass heating systems can be a cost­effective and sustainable option – particularlyfor rural areas with a good local biomasssupply. Llanwddyn in Powys provides just suchan example12.Planning for renewable energy:In their Local Development Plans (LDPs), localauthorities should promote proactive policiesand targets on medium­ and large­scalerenewables with a general presumption infavour of renewables unless there areoverwhelming negative social or environmentalimpacts. The LDPs should promotedecentralised heating, cooling and powernetworks (linked to the creation of ESCOs –see below).Establishing Energy Service Companies:Local authorities are large purchasers ofenergy services. Those authorities that serviceurban areas should look to form EnergyService Companies (ESCOs) which couldsupply district heating, combined heat andpower, or energy from wind farms in order toprovide low­carbon energy for householdersand businesses. Good examples include:

EnergyEnergy

9. Gwynedd Council, April 2011, Gwynedd Council discusses fuel poverty10. DECC, Local authorities11. BBC News, May 2009, Wind and sun runs school canteen12. Energy Saving Trust, 2004, Rural biomass community heating case study

•Southampton Geothermal Heating Company13•Thameswey Energy14, started by WokingBorough Council

•The WorksDevelopment in Ebbw Vale, whichis intended to be serviced by a ‘centralisedenergy hub’15.

Reducing the cost of street lighting:A mid­sized local authority might spend about£1 million per year16 on street lighting. WhileLED bulbs will start to have an impact onenergy consumption as they replace lessefficient alternatives, there are other ways ofreducing the street lighting bill – and theassociated environmental impacts.

Nottinghamshire County Council has plans17 toreduce its £5 million lighting bill by a quarterby:•Switching off some lights when they areconsidered unnecessary

•Dimming of some lights on main roadsbetween 10pm and 7am when this will notimpact road safety

•In consultation with local communities,switching off lights between midnight and5.30am in some residential areas

13. Southampton City Council, Geothermal and CHP scheme14. Thameswey, Who we are15. The Works, The greener future16. Wales Online, December 2010, Bridgend Council considers switching off street lights to cut costs17. Nottinghamshire County Council, 2011, Street lighting energy saving

Image courtesy of Siân Bowiwww.ffotosianbowi.co.uk

Given the weight of evidence against co­mingled collection, those councils thatcurrently collect co­mingled recyclate shouldmove to kerbside collection of separatedwaste. In the long run this approach willimprove recycling rates above the currentstatutory 70% target, and towards the WelshGovernment’s ambition of a zero waste Wales.The move to MBT:Incinerating black­bag waste means thatresources that could be re­used or recycledare removed from the resource value chain,which goes against principles of sustainability.It also generates greenhouse gases and toxicash. In addition, incineration infrastructure isvery capital­intensive and is exposed to highfinancial risk, relying on a steady and regularsupply of waste to burn. Mechanical­biologicaltreatment (MBT) is a preferable alternative thatis already operational at a large scale andwhich typically operates at a much lower up­front cost and uses contracts far shorter thanthose for incinerators22.All local authorities in Wales should agree to amoratorium on incinerating residual waste inWales and halt current negotiations regardingincinerators.Monthly black bag collections:One factor that is known to reduce residualwaste arisings and increase recycling is toreduce the frequency of collection of residualwaste23. Many local authorities in Wales havesuccessfully introduced fortnightly residualwaste collections, with some authoritiesconsidering moving to collections on a three­weekly or monthly basis24. Local authoritiesshould start the move to once­monthly collec­tions25.

18. Including the Vale of Glamorgan (from September 2011), Caerphilly and Monmouthshire19. The value per tonne of the Vale of Glamorgan’s recyclate reduced from £40 to £14.50 following its system change20. Eunomia January 2011, Kerbside collections options: Wales21. Campaign for Real Recycling, December 2011, CRR response to adjournment of judicial review22. The New Earth Solutions MBT plant in Bristol was commissioned on a 9­year contract with ‘very significant’ cost savings compared to anincinerator. Typical incinerator contracts are for 25 years.23. The Guardian, 26 April 2007, Fortnightly rubbish collection means more recycling, says governmentAlso, 19 of the 20 English local authorities with the best recycling rates have fortnightly collections24. Walesonline, 12 December 2011, Once­a­month bin collections loom in Wales as councils aim to cut costs and up recycling25. Provided the usual safeguards are in place for more regular collection of sanitary waste

Sorted collections of recycling:Local Authorities have made great strides overthe past 10 years in collecting dry recyclablesand food waste, with the average rate acrossWales rising from 9% to nearly 50%. Friends ofthe Earth Cymru is concerned that a number oflocal authorities18 in Wales have recentlyswitched from household sorted collections ofrecycling to ‘all in one bag’ co­mingledcollections.Recyclable waste is a resource, the best useof which will preserve materials and create lotsof jobs in Welsh communities. Crushing it uptogether is not a good way to preserve that re­source19. The value of co­mingled recycling isconsiderably lower than that of sortedrecyclate because there is a high degree ofcontamination. And the costs of co­minglingare higher20. Co­mingling is currently underlegal challenge21 as it is seen to not complywith European Directives, and the WelshGovernment will be bringing forward newRegulations in the summer to require separatecollection at kerbside.

Waste

Sustainable transport:Local authorities should give high priority to in­creasing people's use of more sustainable formsof transport ­ walking, cycling, and travelling bybus and train. There are many examples of goodpractice throughout Wales that local authoritiescan learn from, including car share schemes26and Carmarthenshire's Bwcabus scheme27.Sustainable transport planning:A land use planning system that reduces theneed to travel to and from new and existingdevelopments would have major benefits for thepeople living and working within the localauthority area. In particular, local authoritiesshould invoke a presumption against new builddevelopments that are not well serviced bypublic transport or by community facilities, andwhich therefore become 'trip generators'.A new presumption in favour of 20mph:One of the most frequent reasons given forpeople not wanting to walk and cycle is the fearof collision with a motor vehicle. Since June1999, local authorities in Wales have had thespecific power to permanently designate 20mphzones without reference to the Welsh Govern­ment28. Indeed, Welsh Government guidance in­dicates29:“Local speed limits of 20mph are encouraged whereappropriate, particularly in situations where there is a riskto vulnerable road users… and this is encouraged andsupported by the Welsh Assembly Government… 20mphzones have a proven casualty reduction benefit”.

Friends of the Earth Cymru would like localauthorities to adopt an approach that 20mph isthe appropriate speed limit in all urban andvillage settings unless there is a clear case tothe contrary.

A fresh look at road schemes:Friends of the Earth Cymru believes localauthorities should consider the fullenvironmental and economic impacts ofschemes to build new roads. There is very little,if any, evidence to indicate that building newroads is a good way of reducing congestion,and plenty of evidence that new roadsencourage increased use of motor vehicles andfill up very rapidly30. With increasinglyexpensive transport fuel, new road­building isin most cases an imprudent use of scarcecapital resources.Electric vehicle charging points:Local authority buildings attract large numbersof cars. They are therefore ideal locations forcharging points for electric vehicles, and theseshould be put in place in order to make it easierfor people to use electric vehicles.Charging for business parking:The workplace parking levy was introducedthrough the Transport Act 2000. It allows localauthorities to develop a licensing scheme thatcharges for the number of workplace parkingplaces at business premises. The purpose ofthe scheme must be to facilitate theachievement of local transport policies.Nottingham has started charging for its schemesince 1 April 201231, and Bristol has recentlystarted consulting32 on its planned introductionof the scheme.All local authorities in Wales should considerwhether or not workplace parking levies couldapply in their areas. In particular, thoseauthorities that cover large urban areas shouldintroduce them in order to facilitate thetransition to a more sustainable transportsystem.

Transport

26. Cardiff Council, Cardiff Car Share Scheme27. Traveline Cymru, What is Bwcabus?28. Legislation.gov.uk, June 1999, The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (Amendment) Order 199929. Welsh Assembly Government, October 2009, Setting local speed limits in Wales30. Cabinet Office, The fundamental law of traffic31. My Nottingham, 2011, What is a Workplace Parking Levy?32. This is Bristol, 10 March 2012, Bristol businesses facing workplace parking levy

Friends of the Earth Cymru33 Castle Arcade BalconyCardiff CF10 1BYTel: 02920 229577