(1) Feedback on ACTION POINTS
(2) Refreshing The Council's Sustainability Strategy
(3) (a) Councillor Denise Cobb's request for profile of TB&H
(b) Relaying info on grants and awards RE sustainability.
(4) Forthcoming events where Council's Sustainability Team
(and TB&H?) are likely to have stalls.
(5) AOB: production of meeting agendas
(1) Feedback on ACTION POINTS
(a) The request that the function of sustainability carries importance and is not sidelined within the Council's new Governance Arrangements.
(b) The request that TB&H is represented on the Council's new Sustainability Partnership, which is to replace the Sustainability Commission.
Members of the Liaison Group realise that the Hub has been preoccupied recently with its own direction and purpose, but were disappointed to learn that no letter (RE the two requests, submitted as a draft on 19th March 2008) has been formulated or sent.
We entrusted the Hub with the wording of the letter, having ascertained that there was no opposition to the outcomes that the requests seek to achieve. We should like to know that the Hub will be dealing with this soon, or to secure authority to deal with it directly, since TB&H risks ‘missing the boat’ (i.e. 2 good opportunities to influence.)
( c ) The request for the selection criteria which will be used in choosing experts (drawn from Brighton and Hove's residents) to serve on the proposed panel of experts to support the new cabinets within the Council.
The TB&H Liaison Group has received some preliminary feedback from Thurstan Crockett (Head of the Council’s Sustainability Team). Likely requirements for experts are that they (a) live in Brighton and Hove (b) work nationally and/or internationally in the field of sustainable development (c) have expertise / practical track record in at least one field not extensively covered by others on the panel (d) demonstrable capacity for strategic thinking (e) are willing to advise council Leadership for no financial gain (f) are prepared to attend up to 4 two-hour meetings per year and receive occasional email requests for advice. The Sustainability Team will let us know if & when these become fixed requirements. The ultimate set of criteria will be decided by the Sustainabilty Champion in the new cabinet (and/or the Leader of the Council).
The Liaison Group needs clarity from the Hub as to how they see representation on The Sustainability Partnership. Although there may be a suitable candidate for the proposed panel of experts (to support the new Council cabinets) participating within Transition Brighton and Hove, we have been advised that the chosen “experts” will represent themselves and not speak for any Group.
(d) Solar panels – difficulties in getting planning permission.
Note that the relaxation of planning regulations excludes Conservation Areas and listed buildings. There is obvious tension between sustainability and conservation & design in streets which are highly regarded for their historic value in a city visited partly for its history. It should be noted too that planning permission will still be required when proposals impact on neighbours, as will be the case unless residents live in the middle of nowhere.
The Liaison Group felt that planning restrictions on generating one’s own energy (retrospective note: also cited as an obstacle to micro-generation in Dr Jim Watson’s talk on “generating Energy within the Home”) should be the concern of Transition Brighton and Hove’s Energy Group, and we suggest that this issue should be an Agenda item for discussion at one of their meetings. We agreed to contact the Energy Group by email on this issue.
(2) Refreshing The Council's Sustainability Strategy –
It was confirmed that One Planet Living is still expected to perform this task. Reference was made to the homes that One Planet Living are constructing in the New England Quarter. While the new buildings undoubtedly incorporate several of the features promoted in The Green Developer’s Bible (e.g. locally sourced wood of durable quality), concern was expressed as to the density of the development and provision for greenspace i.e. what makes a sustainable community & environment extends beyond building materials.
The Group learned that Thurstan Crockett is writing a paper about One Planet Living for The Local Strategic Partnership (the LSP includes several interest groups within Brighton and Hove’s voluntary and business sectors as well as the Council). It was reiterated that meetings of the LSP were open to the public, and that participation by members of Transition Brighton and Hove could allow us to hear what other voices in our city are saying in relation to sustainability and climate change.
(3)(a) Profile of Transition Brighton and Hove and (b) Role of Liaison with LG Group RE Funding
It was confirmed that Chris Callard would be composing the text (for Thurstan Crockett) requested by Councillor Denise Cobb (likely to be involved in the new Sustainability Partnership) profiling Transition Brighton and Hove and its achievements to date. Thank you, Chris.
It was felt that info on grants and awards (sources of funding) relevant to sustainability should be fielded to the relevant Transition Brighton and Hove Interest Groups. It is not within the remit of the Liaison Group to make the actual funding applications. However, several grants are administered via the Council or with Council vetting (as will be the case with funds from Central Government made available under the 2007 Sustainable Communities Act). The Liaison Group is likely to get to hear of funding opportunities (e.g. funds for insulation and solar under The Council’s Warm Homes Scheme) in the course of its dialogue with members of the Council’s Sustainability Team, so it is within our remit to publicize some of these funding opportunities.
GRANTnet
sources of funding
regular updates
(4) Forthcoming events
Members of The Council’s Sustainability Team set up stall at several events where Transition Brighton and Hove is also likely to have its own stalls (e.g. The Eco Fair organised a few months ago by The Triangle Community Group).
Although the organisation of these events is not the Liaison Group’s direct concern, we should publicize opportunities for participants in all TB&H Groups to meet members of The Council’s Sustainability Team.
(a) Brighton and Hove City Council's Sustainability Commission (final meeting) Wednesday, 30 April 2008 at 5.00 PM
(b) ECO OPEN HOUSES: 28-29 June and 5-6 July 2008: people will be able to visit eco-houses in Brighton & Hove who will be opening their doors to the public. Eco Open Houses is a joint project between the Brighton Permaculture Trust, the Low Carbon Trust and Brighton & Hove City Council. http://www.ecoopenhouses.org/ Mita Patel’s colleague Francesca Iliffe is coordinating this.
(c) Green Wave Festival - Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th July 2008, Brighton's first sustainable eco festival, held in Preston Park. (Contact Kat).
(d) Environmental Summer Fayre and farmers' market - Saturday 12th July 2008. 11am – 3pm, organised by The Dorothy Stringer Environmental Partnership, Stringer Way Lawns. The fayre promotes local and national organisations whose work has contributed towards a greater environmental awareness and would therefore like to offer you the opportunity to attend.
(5) AOB – Agendas and meetings
The question was posed as to how Agendas should be drawn up. The preferred option was for a draft to be circulated a few days before meetings, to be finalized and published once members of the Group had agreed on priority issues and added any missing items. It was requested that once Agendas were finalized, new items should not be discussed at meetings until ANY OTHER BUSINESS.
Notes on Liaison with LG Meeting held on 14th April 2008
