The motion was moved by Councillor David Dean and seconded by Councillor Hamish Badenoch.

The Labour amendment, as set out in item 19a was moved by Councillor Andrew Judge and seconded by Councillor Russell Makin.

The amendment was then put to the vote and was carried – votes in favour 37, and votes against 20 with 3 abstentions

The substantive resolution was agreed.

RESOLVED:

The Council's Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan states in the introduction that

“it is vital that we take action to...preserve a quality of life for subsequent

generations.”

Labour's political leadership has genuine plans to improve the environment in

this borough.

This Council notes that the most recent Annual Residents Survey revealed that:

•       For the first time since 1995 when these records began, due to our 4 year council tax freeze, concern about council tax is at its lowest level ever and instead litter/dirt on Merton’s streets has replaced this as a concern with a 6% increase in residents saying it is a concern compared to 2012, which is significantly higher than the London average. Nonetheless, resident satisfaction with street cleaning has risen under the current administration.  In 2009/2010, under the previous Conservative administration, research by the GMB based on official government data named Merton as the dirtiest borough in the country.  Council notes that since this low point under the Conservative administration, the Labour administration elected in May 2010 have prioritised street cleaning, introducing a new free bulky waste collection service, rolling out the free borough-wide food waste service, investing in 200 new butt and gum bins, and increasing enforcement against those who drop litter in our streets.  Detritus on the streets went from 31% under the Conservatives in 2009/10 to 6% currently. The recent Public Value Review survey carried out by BMG Research, a leading national Market Research organisation showed that 72% of residents would describe Merton streets as clean.

•      43% of residents in Wimbledon town centre and 44% of residents in Colliers Wood town centre are satisfied with the way the council deals with fly tipping although the administration acknowledges that the problem of people fly tipping has not yet been solved. There were 6 successful prosecutions for fly tipping in 2013-14 compared to 31 in 2009-10, however rates of fly tipping remain below the level of fly-tipping in 2009/10 under the previous Conservative administration, which is testament to the success of our free bulky waste collection.

•      50% of residents are satisfied with the way the council deals with dog fouling and the council has recently piloted a new “any bin will do” initiative in Colliers Wood which is due to be rolled out borough wide. There have been no statistically significant changes in levels of satisfaction with the council’s street cleaning service and recycling facilities, both of which are now above the outer London average.  This fits with the research by BMG which found that 72% of residents thought Merton was a clean borough.

This Council further notes that the recycling rate in 2009/10 under the previous Conservative administration was 33% but under the current Labour administration this has risen to almost 40% which is in the top third of London boroughs and compares favourably with Wandsworth (28.4%) or Westminster (25.1%).

In the last four years this administration has:

•      extended the kitchen waste recycling service to cover all 80,000 households;

•      introduced doorstep recycling collection of mixed plastics and aluminium foil;

•      implemented litter bins that enable 'on street' recycling;

•      launched Merton's Mega Recycle in March to encourage recycling through the use of cash prizes. 

•      won funds to roll out a food waste collection to every school in the borough

•      played a leading role in the proposals for an energy from waste plant operated on behalf of the South London Waste Partnership , which will replace energy produced by fossil fuels and generate heat that can be used by local businesses and homes. It will also bring an end to the polluting use of landfill at Beddington and enable the site to be remediated.

This Council recognises that Merton has undertaken the following projects to take advantage of renewable energy through solar panels and reap the rewards of feed in tariffs on its buildings and those of its partners like Circle Housing Merton Priory:

(i)     Coldbusters: 180 household grants totalling £760k approved for energy efficiency improvements in priority and vulnerable households across the borough. 

(ii)    London Warm Zone: £211k invested in providing free loft and cavity wall insulation for 874 households with tenants or homeowners aged 65 or over and in receipt of qualifying benefits. 

(iii)    Osborne Energy scheme: £46k invested in efficiency measures in 150  households in Colliers Wood aged 70 or over and in receipt of qualifying  benefits. 

(iv)   Re-New London: £183k invested in energy saving measures across 1602 households across the borough.

(v)    The Phipps Bridge Low Carbon Zone engaged 800 households and helped to deliver 12-16% carbon savings. 

The total households improved through these schemes numbers 3,606 compared to just 2,439 homes nationally that have been improved through the Government's flagship Green Deal.

Council further notes:

·     the new solar panel systems that have been installed across the borough since 2011, including on Canons Leisure Centre, Pollards Hill Library and nine primary schools, and will generate around 720 megawatt hours of electricity a year, helping to save money by reducing the council’s electricity bills as well as reducing carbon. The comparator figure for the last Conservative administration was nil.

·     the Combined Heat and Power plant installed in the Civic Centre in 2011 to generate heat and electricity and our explorations as to how the advantage of locally produced energy can assist a much wider group of residents, schools, community groups and businesses.

·     the Labour administration kickstarted the micro-renewables industry in Britain in 2003 through the Merton Rule. Now we are continuing our cutting edge approach to tackling climate change through our planning policies. e.g we are ensuring that new developments are designed and built to high sustainability standards in order to limit future CO2 emissions.  Policy CS15 outlines the minimum requirements in relation to environmental sustainability, including resource use, materials, water and CO2 emissions. All new developments are required to explore and utilise opportunities for district heat and power networks and achieve Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 or BREEAM 'Very Good'. A good example of what can be achieved through our an excellent planning approach is that we crafted when we sold land at Rowan Park in Longthornton which has resulted in an exemplary sustainable development of 217 homes and community facilities including solar PV, CHP, a sustainable drainage system of swales, reed beds and balancing ponds and a new park. (national Project Winner at the 2012 Housing Design Awards)

·     the administration has signed up to a partnership with Transport for London to deliver electric vehicle charging points and we intend to explore a number of potential on street charging points in Wimbledon Town centre over the coming year.  Furthermore, Merton’s new Sites and Policies Plan which is to be adopted by full Council on 9 July introduces a new policy (CS20) to promote the installation of electric vehicle charging points in new developments in Merton.

This Council notes that the Climate Change Action Plan 2014-17 has been approved by a cross party scrutiny panel. This Council calls on the administration to:

a)     adopt Merton’s Climate Change Strategy and thereby deliver a comprehensive environmental plan with quantifiable objectives and actions to help deliver improvements to the quality of life of Merton’s residents.

b)     continue to monitor PM10s and keep abreast of any changes from the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which is responsible for measuring and reducing polluting PM2.5 (all particulates that are up to 2.5 micrometres in diameter) to the legal limits.

c)     continue with its ambitious plans to increase recycling including green waste.

d)     continue working with TfL to introduce electrical charging points for cars to help de-carbonise transport.

e)     continue to focus on improved and more robust enforcement of fly tipping across the borough.