REPORT FROM THE CABINET MEMBER FOR

THE ENVIRONMENT AND TRANSPORT

TO THE MEETING OF FULL COUNCIL

ON 16 MAY 2007

Update on Sustainable Development

Over the last 12 months the Council has continued to promote sustainability and I have been having discussions with Officers regarding work on-going in this very important area and will outline some of the highlights.

Our Green Island Awards scheme goes from strength to strength. It now has over 100 businesses participating and has received coverage from many national papers. It can justifiably claim to be one of the premier eco-tourism schemes in the country. We are also very pleased to have supported the development of the Island Food & Craft Association (IFCA) which has raised the profile of high quality local produce and made it much more accessible to local people and visitors alike.

We are looking at how we can increase the amount of renewable energy we produce on the Island and have launched a short-term project, funded by Leader +, to promote the use of biomass heating. We have installed a 50 kilowatt heat pump at Medina High School and will continue to look for opportunities to install renewable energy systems in our new builds. I’m also delighted that work has started on the new waste to energy plant at Forest Park. This uses a very clean “gasification” process to turn our household waste into power.

The Waste to Energy plant will also take in a large amount of commercial waste, but there is still a huge amount being landfilled. We are tackling this issue in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and have commissioned a Business Waste Strategy which will shortly be completed. This will show us how we can reprocess and recycle a much higher proportion of business waste which will, in turn, extend the life of the landfill site.

Members will be aware that in the last 12 months we have introduced a successful office paper recycling scheme to County Hall and we will be extending this to other sites. We are also delighted with the results of the subsidised bus fares which have increased the use public transport and reduced pollution from private cars.

The issue of climate change is rarely out of the news and we are all increasingly aware of the need to plan for future sea level rises and unpredictable weather patterns. We must also start to reduce our carbon emissions, which are the principal cause of climate change. We intend to sign the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change which is a commitment to promote action within the authority and the wider community. We will also be bringing forward a plan to reduce carbon emissions from the Council’s activities by 4% per year. This is an ambitious target, but the issue demands urgent action.

The Council is committed to sustainable development and reducing our demand for natural resources. It is my intention to update you more regularly, through my monthly reports, on these issues.

Next month I will also update you on the development of a Newport Transport Infrastructure Strategy, the Ryde Interchange Project and issues relating to the public realm.

Tim Hunter-Henderson

Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport