The Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Wandsworth Council will be holding a meeting to discuss a range of environmental issues in the borough.

The committee will be looking at updates to the Wandsworth Climate Action Plan, a new Retrofit Strategy, a Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy, a draft Open Spaces Events Policy, a Leisure Infrastructure Plan, a procurement of arboriculture services, and the revenue budget.

Wandsworth Climate Action Plan Update

The committee will be given an update on the delivery of the Wandsworth Environment and Sustainability Strategy (WESS) and the Wandsworth Climate Action Plan (WCAP). The report pack highlights progress made in reducing carbon emissions, with the council aiming to be carbon neutral as an organisation by 2030, and a net zero borough by 2043.

Key areas of focus include:

• The development of a Wandsworth Retrofit Strategy to help domestic buildings to decarbonise.
• The provision of Warm Home Packs to help residents struggling with fuel bills.
• The installation of more EV chargers and meeting the target of 50% of schools having school streets.
• A campaign that is focused on tackling vehicle idling.
• The creation of new green spaces such as Swaffield Pocket Park.
• The success of the Library of Things at Southfields Shopping Centre, which continues to be one of the best performing locations in the UK.
• The development of an Adaptation and Resilience Strategy, which sets out the council's priorities for dealing with a changing climate.

The report pack emphasises partnership working with other local authorities, the Greater London Authority (GLA), London Councils and community groups. It also says that engaging with local residents and communities has been a priority, with Sustainable September and Climate Action Microgrants supporting community-led sustainability projects.

The report pack notes that for 2025, further actions will be delivered to help meet the 2043 net zero target, including better information on how residents can retrofit their properties, more work on biodiversity (including the development of new green spaces and parklets), and embedding actions on climate adaptation.

The report pack states that the council has a target to become carbon neutral by 2030, and that a key step towards this is the decarbonisation of its buildings and fleet. It notes that Wandsworth's Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions have reduced by 50% since the baseline year of 2018/19.

The report pack also notes that the council commissioned an analysis of its scope 3 emissions from its procurement spend, and that these emissions equated to 66,366 tonnes CO2. It says that the carbon intensity of Wandsworth Council's procurement spend is lower than average compared with other organisations, and that the top 10 suppliers account for 36% of these emissions. It identifies Winstanley York Road Regeneration and Western Riverside Waste Authority as the two largest single sources of scope 3 emissions from suppliers.

The report pack includes the proposed Wandsworth Climate Action Plan 2025 as Appendix A, and an update against the Wandsworth Climate Action Plan 2024 as Appendix B. An Equality Impact Needs Analysis (EINA) is attached as Appendix C.

Wandsworth Retrofit Strategy 2025-2030

The committee will also be considering a report pack on a Retrofit Strategy for Wandsworth 2025-2030. The report pack notes that domestic housing contributes 45.5% of the carbon emissions from the borough, and that over 44% of domestic housing in Wandsworth currently has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) below EPC C.

The report pack states that the Wandsworth Retrofit Strategy 2025-2030 sets out the council's role in supporting retrofit across the borough, and focuses on social housing, private sector housing, place-based approaches, funding, and green skills.

The report pack notes that these areas will be considered alongside three themes: biodiversity, embodied carbon, and adaptation.

The report pack states that to achieve net zero carbon in all council-owned homes would cost almost £474 million, and to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate C-rating would cost £25 million.

The report pack includes the Wandsworth Retrofit Strategy as Appendix A.

Wandsworth Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategy 2025-2030

The committee will also be considering a report pack on the Adaptation and Resilience Strategy for Wandsworth. The report pack notes that extreme weather is already affecting Wandsworth, and that this poses further threats to the borough, including more intense and frequent occurrences of existing risks and the emergence of new risks associated with climate change.

The report pack states that the Wandsworth Adaptation and Resilience Strategy has been developed to ensure that Wandsworth Council is helping the borough adapt and increase its resilience to the impacts of climate change, is able to continue delivering its services, and is using a robust and consistent approach to climate adaptation and resilience across all council teams.

The report pack notes that the Adaptation and Resilience Strategy presents the climate risk and vulnerability assessment conducted for Wandsworth, provides an Adaptation and Resilience Framework, sets long-term priorities, and informs local stakeholders of climate risk in Wandsworth.

The report pack includes the Wandsworth Adaptation and Resilience Strategy 2025-2035 as Appendix A.

Consultation on Draft Open Spaces Events Policy

The committee will also be considering a report pack on a draft Open Spaces Events Policy. The report pack notes that Wandsworth Council is committed to making the borough a fairer, more compassionate, and more sustainable place, and that events in parks, commons and open spaces play a significant role in achieving these goals.

The report pack states that the revised draft policy aims to ensure delivery of a sustainable and varied events programme while minimising any negative impacts events may cause for parks, commons and open space infrastructure and the wider community.

The report pack notes that the proposed changes fall into four broad categories: enabling more residents in more parts of the borough to access events, improving the management and mitigation of event impacts, being a listening council, and securing additional social benefits from events.

The report pack includes the revised draft policy as Appendix 1, and an initial Equality Impact Needs Analysis (EINA) as Appendix 2.

Leisure Infrastructure Plan

The committee will also be considering a report pack on a Leisure Infrastructure Plan. The report pack notes that the plan has been developed within the context of the council's Decade of Renewal commitments, and aims to enhance physical activity across the borough through initiatives under Active People, Active Communities, and Active Environments.

The report pack states that the Leisure Infrastructure Plan is crucial for achieving these goals, protecting and enhancing existing leisure infrastructure including indoor built facilities, leisure centres, playing pitches, parks and open spaces, playgrounds and opportunities for active travel.

The report pack includes proposals to protect leisure infrastructure, to maintain existing facilities, and ensure they are safe, compliant and can continue to attract visitors. It also includes ambitions to enhance leisure infrastructure to increase participation, ensure residents can enjoy active, healthy lives, and ensure that leisure assets remain financially sustainable.

The report pack notes that funding for Leisure Infrastructure had already been committed, and that this year has seen the opening of two new Padel Courts at King George's Park, improvements to tennis courts at Barn Elms Sports Centre and Battersea Park Millennium Arena, funding secured for the Nine Elms Community and Health Facility, emissions cut at Wandle Recreation Centre through investments in Air Source Heat Pumps, and work started on grass playing pitch improvements.

The report pack outlines a significant additional investment of £30m over five years for protecting and enhancing leisure infrastructure. It is expected that at least £10m of this investment will provide a positive return over and above the financing costs.

The report pack includes the Leisure Infrastructure Plan as Appendix A, and the Wandsworth Action Plan as Appendix B.

Procurement of Arboriculture Services

The committee will also be considering a report pack on the procurement of arboriculture services. The report pack notes that Wandsworth Council is responsible for the care and maintenance of approximately 60,000 trees across parks, open spaces, cemeteries, housing land, schools, and highways, and that the current contract for the provision of arboriculture services expires on 31 March 2026.

The report pack states that the arboriculture contracts support the ambition to make Wandsworth a more sustainable place where biodiversity is protected and where there are more trees, and that the council is committed to planting 1,000 trees per year.

The report pack notes that the current contract expiry dates align across the Richmond and Wandsworth Better Service Partnership, and that this provides an opportunity for a joint procurement exercise for both councils. The procurement will be carried out jointly, but there will be separate contracts for each council.

Revenue Budget Monitoring

The committee will also be considering a joint report pack by the Executive Director of Environment and the Assistant Chief Executive on the 2024/25 Quarter 3 Budget Monitoring and Revenue Budget 2024-2028.

The report pack provides an overview of the General Fund revenue budget management for the remit of the committee for 2024/25. It notes that the committee's remit is currently projecting to be on budget with a variance of £2,000 compared to a revised budget of £49.603 million, and that this overall position is a combination of a number of compensating over and underspends. The most significant overspends are from a shortfall in income from the Leisure and Culture concession contract and higher volumes of variable street cleansing costs. These overspends are being offset by reduced waste disposal costs and additional income from street works licenses.

The report pack includes the revenue position as Appendix A, and the proposed budgets for 2025/26 and future years as Appendix B.