Agenda and minutes

            Apologies were reported on behalf of the High Sheriff, Councillor S. Douglas and Councillors Carson and McAteer.

The minutes of the meeting of 14th March were taken as read and signed as correct.

            No Declarations of Interest were reported.

            The Committee was advised that Ms. J. O’Hagan from Eastside Greenways was in attendance to provide a presentation and she was welcomed to the meeting by the Chairperson.

            Ms. O’Hagan outlined the role of Eastway Greenways as a subsidiary of Eastside Partnership.  She provided an overview of the areas covered and the status of the Greenway and rivers pre-development and the achievements and outcomes following regeneration.

            She advised that the Greenway had been completed in 2017 and a strategic partnership entered into with the Council to co-manage the Greenway.  She stated that the aim now was to maximise the potential of the Connswater Community Greenway as a catalyst for the ongoing physical, social and economic regeneration of East Belfast.

            Following a consultation and engagement exercise, a repot was produced with seven recommendations such as: to eliminate emissions through a modal shift, network expansion, energy saving and energy generation; to capture carbon through wetland expansion, tree planting and soil improvement; strengthen resilience with a planting strategy, flood management and greenway neighbourhoods; and to build biodiversity by undertaking habitat surveys.  It also included raising awareness by holding events, producing signage and artworks; to nurture research through testing and developing; and sustain activity by maintaining/growing capacity of local skills.

            She concluded by stating that the idea of the vision was for partnership working and to bring people together who were working in these areas.

            Ms. O’Hagan then answered a number of questions from the Members, following which the Chairperson thanked her for the presentation and she left the meeting.

Noted.

            The Members were reminded that Belfast had joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2018 in recognition of the City’s commitment to promoting and encouraging lifelong learning for people of all ages. Within The Belfast Agenda, the Council had a vision that the city should be a great place for everyone to live and providing lifelong learning opportunities is a core part of this. Learning has the potential to transform lives for the better- it can build better relationships and help enhance quality of life for everyone in the city.

            Belfast had been awarded a UNESCO Learning Cities Award for outstanding learning in 2021.  Whilst Belfast continued to play its role as a member of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities as well as a member of an All-Island Network of Learning Cities, it was felt there was a real opportunity to build on Belfast’s Learning City status and to bring city stakeholders together to reenergise our focus and maximise the opportunities presented. It was important to recognise that it was not about creating new initiatives but rather connecting and enhancing existing programmes and initiatives as well as aligning policy ambitions across multiple partners.  A Learning Cities Leadership Group currently existed and comprised representatives from QUB, UU, BMET, BHSCT, PHA, Education Authority, Libraries NI, community partners and the Council.

            Festival Learning Week (22nd-27th April 2024)

            A key focus of the annual programme of work had been a ‘Festival of Learning’ which was a week-long programme of free interactive and engaging events. The festival showcased the range of learning opportunities that already existed in Belfast.  Council officers had worked closely with community partners to develop an inclusive programme of citywide learning events to take place as part of a week-long festival of activity from 22nd April till 27th April 2024.

            Given the significance of the climate challenges facing the city the theme for this year’s Festival of Learning Week was ‘Our Planet: Climate Action’ The festival would deliver free events across the city which promoted citizen awareness of, and engagement in initiatives focusing on lifelong learning in the context of the local and global climate emergency. This would align with the focus of the UNESCOs 6th Annual Conference on Learning Cities (2024) which was ‘Learning Cities at the forefront of climate action’.

            Funding of £10K had been secured through the Public Health Agency in support of the delivery of the Belfast Festival of Learning.   An additional £10k match funding from Council had been agreed through the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee and funded through available in-year budgets within City and Organisational Strategy.

            A meeting had been scheduled with the Director of Communications and Public Relations UNESCO Institute of Lifelong Learning on 12 April to discuss further opportunities to build on the opportunities for lifelong learning with Council Officers.

            The Committee:

i)                 Noted the planned Belfast Festival of Learning launch event on Monday 22nd April 2024 (recognised worldwide as Earth Day), 11am-1pm in 2 Royal Avenue and consider  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

                                            I.           To present the draft Local Energy Action Plan (LAEP) and Queen’s Island Decarbonisation Plan to elected members.

                                           II.           Note the contents of the reports and the proposed outline priority decarbonisation projects (domestic retrofit, heat network, solar PV on public buildings, solar car port with EV charging and oil boiler to heat pump transition) and near-term actions to progress the LAEP and the two modelled scenarios for Queen’s Island (a Heat network and Solar Photovoltaic Carports.

                                         III.           Note that the ‘Belfast Net Zero pathfinder’ project provides the funding to enable BCC to immediately progress the LAEP and the Queen’s Island Decarbonisation Plan by developing two of the priority projects identified in these plans: 1) heat network, and 2) a solar PV project.

                                        IV.           Note that the Climate Team are currently working with Climate NI to develop a proposal to secure up to €120k from a new funding programme Pathways2Resilience which has become available through Horizon Europe to support the development of climate adaptation and resilience for the city.

                                          V.             An update will be brought back to elected members in due course.

2.0       Recommendation

2.1       Give approval to:

                                            I.           establish a LAEP delivery group to support the delivery of decarbonisation projects across the city;

                                           II.           establish a community of practice to ensure that the data generated by the modelling is fully utilised by key stakeholders across the City (eg QUB and UU).

3.0       Main Report

3.1       Background

A place-specific approach to delivery is critical to achieving a timely and cost-effective Net Zero as each place has its own unique geographical, socio-economic features and challenges. For example, Belfast’s dependence on imported fossil fuels - gas and oil to heat buildings and on petrol and diesel for virtually all its transport needs means that we spend over £300m on energy across the city every year – set to rise to c.£466 million per year or more in 2050. Belfast also has unique geographical features including access to the sea and 10km of waterfront as well as being located over a porous aquifer with Sherwood Sandstone which has above ambient temperatures which could be used to support low carbon infrastructure.

3.2       A Local Energy Action Plan (LAEP) assesses the unique characteristics of Belfast as part of the net zero transition and uses place-based data and network system modelling to identify the most cost effective and impactful pathway to achieving net zero for the city.

3.3       The Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) were appointed in February 2023 to develop a LAEP for the Belfast area while also providing an Energy Decarbonisation Plan specifically for the Innovation District of Queens Island. This is a foundational piece of work for Belfast to help attract external funding and investment into the city and will feed into the wider business case for potential LAEP roll out across Northern Ireland.

3.4       The LAEP approach was developed by ESC to provide decision-makers with the detailed information needed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       The purpose of this report is to update Committee on the progress of all Notices of Motion and Issues Raised in Advance for which the Climate and City Resilience Committee is responsible for.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       It is recommended that the Climate and City Resilience Committee:

·        Note the updates to all Notices of Motions and Issues Raised in Advance that this Committee is responsible for and

·        Agree to the closure of Issues’ Raised in Advance 277, 278, 316 and 324 as referenced in Appendix 1 and paragraph 3.4 below.

3.0       Main report

                        Background

3.1       At Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on 25th October 2019, the following Notice of Motion was agreed:

“That this Council notes that other Councils produce a monthly status report in relation to Notices of Motion; and agrees Belfast City Council adopts a similar practice and produces a monthly Notice of Motion Update which will be brought to each full Council Meeting, detailing the following:

1.   Date received

2.   Notice of motion title

3.   Submitted by which Councillor

4.   Council meeting date

5.   Committee motion is referred to

6.   Outcome of committee where Notice of Motion will be debated

7.   Month it will be reported back to committee

8.   Other action to be taken.”

3.2       Following a review exercise, a new database containing all Notices of Motion and Issues Raised in Advance at Committee was created and quarterly reporting to Committee commenced in March 2021. 

Appendix 1 is the latest quarterly update showing all active Notices of Motions and Issues Raised in Advance which the Climate and City Resilience Committee is responsible for.

3.3       Closure of Notices of Motion and Issues Raised in Advance

At Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on 20th November 2020, it was agreed that Notices of Motion could be closed for one of two reasons:

·        Notices of Motion which contained an action(s) that has been completed; and

·        Notices of Motion have become Council policy. 

3.4       The Climate and City Resilience Committee are asked to agree that the Issues’ Raised in Advance as outlined below are now closed:

Category 1 Recommended Closures:

·        New Ireland Forum and Citizens’ Assemblies ( Ref 278) -  This Issue Raised in Advance called on the Council  to write again to the Taoiseach’s office regarding the establishment of a New Ireland Forum for the 21st Century, alongside a series of comprehensive Citizens’ Assemblies, to examine the practical, social and economic aspects of a New Ireland. The Council wrote again to the Taioseach Office on 23 January 2023 and as of yet no reply has been received. Therefore it is recommended that this Issue Raised in Advance is now closed.

·        Felling of trees in Orangefield Park ( Ref 316) – This Issue Raised in Advance relates to the felling of approximately one hundred and seventy trees in Orangefield Park by contractors, acting on behalf of N.I.E. The Member requested to be furnished with information on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.