FOI request (FOIR-356605191)

Climate Emergency Actions

Requested Mon 16 August 2021
Responded Tue 31 August 2021

Further to your local authority declaring a climate emergency and setting a target for your area to be carbon neutral by 2030 please advise:

1. If you have published a plan setting out how you will achieve this target. If so please provide a link to the document.

2. What reduction (if any) in your local authority's own carbon emissions so far.

3. What reduction (if any) in your local authority's own energy consumption.

4. What incentives you have provided (if any) for electric cars. For example, reduction in parking permits and fees.

5. How much of your local authority's own vehicle fleet has been switched to electric vehicles?

6. How many new street trees (if any) you have planted in the financial year 2020/21.

7. What changes (if any) you have undertaken to ease planning restrictions to convert commercial to residential properties. Also to extend existing residential properties - for example in easing the restrictions on mansard roofs.

Response

1. If you have published a plan setting out how you will achieve this target. If so please provide a link to the document.

Answer: https://www.hastings.gov.uk/my-council/climate-change/

2. What reduction (if any) in your local authority's own carbon emissions so far.

Answer: Baseline

2018/19 - 277 tCO2e heating and 368 tCO2e electricity

2019/20 - 274 tCO2e heating and 291 tCO2e electricity

2020/21 - 239 tCO2e heating and 199 tCO2e electricity

3. What reduction (if any) in your local authority's own energy consumption?

Answer: Baseline

2018/19 - 1,509,398 kWh heating and 1,284,485 kWh electricity

2019/20 - 1,541,032 kwh heating and 1,139,353 kwh electricity

2020/21 - 1,300,008 kwh heating and 855,702 kwh electricity

4. What incentives you have provided (if any) for electric cars. For example, reduction in parking permits and fees.

Answer: We have used Hastings Borough Council's (HBC) capital funding and secured accelerated Towns Fund funding to increase the number of EV charge points in the town centre increasing EV charging capacity across 4 HBC owned car parks in the last 2 years. HBC have installed 21 new EV points, currently we do not charge for the electricity used to charge a car as an incentive to their use.

5. How much of your local authority's own vehicle fleet has been switched to electric vehicles?

Answer: None of our fleet have been switched yet.

6. How many new street trees (if any) you have planted in the financial year 2020/21?

Answer: 140 trees have been planted in 2020/21

7. What changes (if any) you have undertaken to ease planning restrictions to convert commercial to residential properties. Also to extend existing residential properties - for example in easing the restrictions on mansard roofs?

Answer: This is not a request for recorded information, however, to be helpful please see links to changes to the planning uses classes order and in permitted development rights (PD) in relation to the newly defined class E and also new PD rights in relation to the upward extension of residential properties.

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/9/change_of_use

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/9/change_of_use/2

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/158/additional_storeysextending_upwards