The meeting covered a wide range of topics from electric bikes, to climate friendly design, to urban biodiversity. There were also updates on ongoing council projects.

Cabinet response to the Sustainable Freight Scrutiny Review

A report was provided on how the council is planning to reduce the negative impacts of freight in the borough, such as pollution, and promote a shift to more sustainable solutions such as cycle freight, rail and river freight, and cargo bikes. The report also provides an update on the Old Kent Road area action plan and the development of a freight plan for the whole borough. The Freight Plan has been informed by the work of Cross River Partnership, a not-for-profit that works with its members to reduce the environmental impact of deliveries. This includes an ongoing trial of river-based freight in Bankside.

The report also acknowledged that suitable sites and land in the borough are at a premium and in competition with identifying sites for new housing.

Biodiversity Scrutiny Review

The report reviewed a range of strategies and plans to assess Southwark’s performance in protecting and enhancing biodiversity in the context of both global and UK trends, identifying areas for improvement and setting out recommendations for consideration by the council.

The review was framed by the Making Space for Nature report, commissioned in 2010 by the Labour government, which called for a step change in provision for nature, setting out a vision for landscape -scale Ecological Networks to deliver habitat restoration and re-creation through ‘More, Bigger, Better and Joined up’ spaces for nature.

The review found that, whilst Southwark has made significant progress in managing its existing wildlife sites, there is an absence of a coherent borough-wide plan, or Green Infrastructure Strategy, to map out a plan for future enhancement and expansion of habitats, a recommendation of both the London Plan and Natural England, and one that emerged from the council’s previous biodiversity scrutiny review in 2020.

The review also urged ambition in expanding Ecological Networks, and particularly considered the ecological and social potential of daylighting more of Southwark’s rivers, following successful examples in other cities such as Seoul.

The review acknowledged that Southwark has invested significantly in community food growing, and is a Right to Food borough. The Community Gardening team have been working with local residents to expand the amount of land dedicated to food growing and have created an online portal identifying community gardens across the borough with links to the Allotment Expansion Guarantee (AEG) to help residents find growing spaces and identify potential new sites. The review recommends that this work be taken forward with a motion to the Council Assembly to declare Southwark a Right to Grow borough, giving residents a right to grow food on council land.

The review highlighted the ecological and human health benefits of eliminating the use of pesticides such as glyphosate, and considered case studies from other London boroughs who have done so such as Lambeth.

The report recommended that Southwark take a lead in tackling the increasing loss of front gardens to paving as residents convert their front gardens to hard standings to park vehicles. This is becoming even more pressing as the transition to Electric Vehicles (EVs) gathers pace. It considered the use of Pavement Channels and provided updates on trials taking place in other London Boroughs such as Hammersmith and Fulham. The report also explored the potential for the council to use Article IV Directions to reduce paving and the environmental harms associated with it.

Supplementary Planning Documents

The draft Climate and Environment Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) sets out guidance on reducing carbon emissions from new developments, achieving high levels of energy efficiency, and promoting biodiversity, with a focus on meeting London Plan policies.

The Climate and Environment SPD recommends achieving a rating of 'Outstanding' in the Energy Section of the BREEAM assessment. BREEAM is an internationally recognised sustainability assessment method for masterplanning projects, infrastructure and buildings. It sets out best practice for using water efficiently in new developments, achieving an ‘Excellent’ standard on the BREEAM water consumption category or exceeding this.

The SPD requires that all new developments take account of predicted climate change over the building’s lifespan. This includes managing overheating risk in line with the following hierarchy:

• Reduce heat entering a building • Minimising internal heat generation • Managing the heat within the building through exposed thermal mass and high ceilings • Passive ventilation • Mechanical ventilation • Active cooling systems (ensuring they are the lowest carbon options)

The SPD also requires that new developments minimise their carbon emissions in accordance with the following hierarchy:

1. Be lean (energy efficient design and construction); then
2. Be clean (low carbon energy supply); then
3. Be green (on site renewable energy generation and storage).

The SPD promotes a ‘fabric first’ approach. This means that the building itself is as energy efficient as possible, for example through the use of high levels of insulation, triple glazing and a compact design, before considering any other elements such as low carbon energy supplies.

Major developments are required to follow the decentralised energy hierarchy when choosing a heat source:

1. Connect to a District Heat Network (DHN).
2. Explore connection to planned DHN.
3. Futureproof a connection to a DHN.
4. Use heat pumps (ground source, air source, water source); or
5. Use a hybrid system (gas connection with heat pump); or
6. Use electric boilers or instantaneous systems for low energy demands (e.g. domestic hot water); or
7. Create own localised DHN or implement a site-wide low carbon communal heating system; or
8. Explore and evaluate the potential to oversize the communal heating system for connection

The SPD also sets out best practice guidance for heat pumps, recommending acoustic screening to reduce the noise generated.

Major referable development is required to provide a Whole Life-Cycle Carbon assessment, following the methodology set out in the GLA's guidance. The SPD encourages the reuse of materials on site, adaptation of existing buildings, and lightweight construction methods to reduce carbon emissions.

The draft Householder Development Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) provides residents with guidance on how to improve or extend their home, including whether planning permission or Listed Building consent would be required. The SPD promotes a ‘whole building approach’ to improving the energy and thermal performance of homes, stating that:

‘A home performs best when many (or all) parts are functioning, rather than one element. Piecemeal improvements can result in suboptimal performance and unforeseen issues.’

The SPD explains that:

‘The phasing of works needs to be planned to avoid creating other issues such as damp or poor ventilation.’

It also says that the lifespan of materials should be considered and whether they can be repaired, replaced or recycled in future. The SPD provides detailed guidance on a range of common home improvements, from draught-proofing windows and doors, to replacing windows, to installing insulation and heat pumps.

The SPD also advises residents on how to extend their home, including guidance on the design and size of extensions and when planning permission would be required. The SPD encourages residents to use traditional materials such as brick or timber when building an extension.

The SPD says that UPVC is not permitted:

‘UPVC (Unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride) will not be permitted in any of our Listed Buildings or Conservation Areas, even to the rear of a property.’

The SPD also provides guidance on roof terraces, saying that:

‘Terraces can provide valuable amenity space, especially for flats that would otherwise have little or no private outside space.’

The SPD says that the terrace should be set back to reduce any negative impact on the amenity of neighbours. This includes noise disturbance and overlooking. The terrace should be at least 1.5m from the rear of the property and 1m from the side. It states that privacy screening of at least 1.8m in height should be used where there are direct views into neighbouring properties.

Sustrans

The commission heard a presentation from Sustrans, a UK walking and cycling charity. Links to the following reports on Sustrans’ website were provided: • Inclusive guide for cycling in cities • Disabled Citizen Enquiry • Access to cycle for people on low incomes • Cycle Parking for people on low incomes

Wheels for Well-being

The commission also heard a presentation from Wheels for Well-being, a cycling charity that provides advice and support for disabled cyclists.

JoyRiders

Finally, the commission heard a presentation from Mariam Draaijer, the Chief Executive of JoyRiders, a cycling charity that helps women from minority communities learn to ride a bike.

The meeting also considered its work programme. This included a scoping proposal for a review on the health and wellbeing benefits of increasing access to nature and active travel.