Agenda and minutes

Mr D Harvey reminded the partnership that he was appointed by West Oxfordshire District Council as a director of the United Sustainable Energy Agency and was a trustee of the National Energy Foundation.

Members of the public wishing to speak to the partnership for up to five minutes must register with the committee clerk named above by noon on Thursday (the day before the meeting).

There were no addresses or questions.

Purpose: To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Oxfordshire Environment Partnership meeting held on 28 June 2013 (attached) and to receive information arising from them.

The minutes of the Oxfordshire Environment Partnership meeting held on 28 June 2013 were agreed as a correct record and signed as such by the Chairman.

Report attached                                                                              20 minutes

There will be a presentation on this item.

Purpose: To share findings on research into wood fuel supply and demand in Oxfordshire.

Recommendation:The Partnership is asked to

1.      To note and comment on the report and presentation

2.      Consider the opportunities available to the Partnership and to member authorities to promote the use of wood fuel in the county.

Dr Keith Richards from Thames Valley Energy gave a presentation on the use of woodfuel and biofuel, the supply and demand in Oxfordshire, and the development of a strategy to make better use of the supply, and answered questions.

In summary, the supply of woodfuel, especially chippings, is plentiful and the supply chain good but the demand within the county is less than the supply. While there are large-scale projects to use wood to generate electricity which could utilise some of the supply, local small scale heat or heat and power schemes would make best use of the supply, economically and environmentally. Pelleted wood was easier to store and manage for heating systems than chippings, but chippings were easier and cheaper to manufacture and could be used in many locations.

The partnership agreed that:

·          each council should consider the opportunities for using chipped woodfuel in their own estate.

·          each council should work on encouraging residents and businesses to use local supplies; encourage suppliers to meet the ‘Oxlogs’ standard, and encourage more planting of trees for woodfuel.

Report attached                                                                  10 minutes

Purpose: To update the Partnership on progress against the Oxfordshire Climate Local commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 3% year on year against a 2010/11 baseline

The partnership considered the report setting out progress against the Oxfordshire Climate Local commitment to reduce carbon emissions by three per cent year on year against a 2010/11 baseline.

Members noted that measurements of CO₂ and greenhouses gases were not directly comparable and that the figures reported across years and between councils were not like-for-like. Clear standards for measurement and reporting should be agreed and used by all partner councils to allow comparisons.

Members were pleased to see an overall reduction in CO₂ emissions close to or at the target across the partner councils over the two years.

The partnership agreed:

1.      to request details of how South Oxfordshire District Council and Vale of White Horse district council had reduced their CO₂ emissions;

2.      to agree a standard method of calculation and measuring CO₂ and other greenhouse gas emissions across the county to allow direct comparisons;

3.      to note the report and progress made.

Report attached                                                      15 minutes

Purpose: To share progress on the Oxfordshire Green Deal projects that received funding from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The partnership considered a report setting out progress on the Oxfordshire Green Deal projects that received funding from the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

There was interest in the green deal scheme but low take up as there were cheaper and easier means of financing improvements. Oxford City Council was working with North-East Energy in Barton and was looking at how to encourage landlords to make improvements to their properties. The Green Deal companies would be left with the hard to improve properties as the energy companies were picking up much of the easier work.

The partnership noted the report.

There were no announcements.

Report attached to the agenda pack for the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership meeting                                                                       10 minutes

Purpose: To update members on the Green Schools programme, current issues with the use of the Green Schools bus and to consider options for the future operation of the programme.

Recommendations:

That:

1. The summary Annual Report from Groundwork South is noted.
2. That the current difficulties surrounding the usage of the Green Schools bus are noted and that OCC is asked to seek a resolution to the issue as soon as possible.
3. Members agree to retender the Environmental Education Service alongside the OCC CAG service.
4. In the light of a decision to retender alongside the CAG service (iii), Members agree consideration of a short term extension in contract with Groundwork South to enable continuity in service for schools.

The partnership considered a report setting out the work of the Green Schools programme, the use of the mobile classroom, and options for the future operation of the programme.

Members noted that Groundwork South were fulfilling their contract and receiving good feedback from schools. The bus used as a mobile classroom was back in use as the licensing issues had been resolved. Members discussed the options for extending and re-tendering the contract.

The partnership noted that the difficulties surrounding the usage of the Green Schools bus have been resolved;

and resolved:

1.      to note the summary Annual Report from Groundwork South;

2.      to retender the Environmental Education Service alongside the OCC CAG service; and

3.      in the light of a decision to retender alongside the CAG service (2), to agree a short term extension in contract with Groundwork South until the end of July 2014 to enable continuity in service for schools.