To be moved by
Councillor Pancho Lewis and seconded by Councillor Geoff
Barraclough:
This Council notes that in 2019 a Climate
Emergency was declared committing the Council to achieving net zero
emissions by 2030 with a City-wide goal of 2040.
This Council notes that following the Climate
Emergency declaration a draft Climate Action Plan was published
outlining how the Council intends to achieve its net zero
goals.
This Council believes climate action will not
happen unless local communities are at the heart of the
decision-making process. Genuine public engagement needs to go
deeper than what Westminster has delivered so far, giving more
opportunity and time for communities to learn, discuss and make
recommendations.
This Council believes the built environment in
Westminster has a crucial part to play in addressing the climate
crisis. City Plan Policy 36 aims for net zero Carbon on major
developments, but most developments in Westminster are classed as
minor schemes.
The Council resolves that major policy and
spending decisions made by the Council should undergo a ‘Net
Zero Test’ to inform the decision-making process and
understand their carbon and environmental impact.
The Council resolves to establish
a Westminster Climate Assembly that is
fully resourced and run by a professional organisation specialising
in deliberative engagement and using random stratified sampling to
ensure representation according to local demographics. WCC should
commit to implementing the solutions proposed wherever
possible.
The Council resolves to examine the
development of a local climate bond, a
crowdfunded financing instrument that would allow Westminster
residents to invest in local green projects and enable the Council
to diversify its funding sources.
The Council resolves to strengthen its draft
Environmental Supplementary Planning Document to include requiring
energy assessments for net zero on major schemes (both residential
and non-residential); measures to encourage developers to achieve
reductions on Part L in minor developments; scrapping policies in
favour of onsite parking and setting a presumption in favour of new
developments being genuinely car-free; and making it easier for
developers to connect new homes to community heating projects.
The Council resolves to set out plans to speed
up retrofitting of social housing stock in Westminster, with a
particular focus on addressing the 39% of Council homes which
currently have single-glazed windows and on transitioning heating
and hot water systems to clean sources.
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