The Canterbury City Council Overview Committee met to discuss and gather feedback on the draft Net Zero Action Plan, the draft Consultation and Engagement Strategy, and the draft Tenant Engagement Strategy, all of which are currently out for public consultation. The committee's feedback will be considered by officers and reported back to the Cabinet in November, alongside comments gathered during the consultation process, when the Cabinet is expected to adopt the final versions of each.

Net Zero Action Plan 2025-2030

The committee considered the draft [Net Zero Action Plan 2025-2030][Appendix B - Draft Net Zero Action Plan], which is out for public consultation. The plan sets out the council's vision to become a leading organisation in emissions reduction, build resilience into its services and assets, and enable the district in all aspects of effective net zero action.

The draft plan aims for the council to become a net zero organisation by 2030, with services and assets adapting to climate change risks. It prioritises tackling the council's own carbon footprint and includes measures to decarbonise key buildings, reduce emissions from transport, and explore opportunities for offsetting residual emissions.

The plan replaces the previous Climate Change Action Plan adopted in 2021.

The report [Overview Committee 11 September 2025 - Net Zero][Overview Committee 11 September 2025 - Net Zero] noted that the council is required to work towards national climate change objectives under the Climate Change Act 2008, as amended by the Environment Act 2021 and relevant regulations.

The draft plan recognises challenges around paying for climate action and sets out actions constituting a roadmap for reducing the council's emissions. These include decarbonising key buildings, reducing transport emissions, and examining opportunities for offsetting emissions, such as renewable energy on council land.

The [Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report][Appendix C Greenhouse Gase Emission report], published alongside the plan, categorises data by operational service areas to inform targeted actions. The report found that the total emissions calculated for 2023 was 3,242 tCO2e¹.

The largest emissions sources were:

• Waste, maintenance and street cleansing (37%)
• Housing Revenue Account (HRA) related estate emissions (31%)

The plan highlights several actions, including:

• District engagement: Communicating climate change action and opportunities for residents and businesses.
• Carbon sequestration: Undertaking a feasibility study for carbon sequestration² offsetting.
• Renewable energy: Assessing council assets and land for renewable energy generation opportunities.
• Cleaner energy: Working with energy providers to source cleaner energy.
• Local Area Energy Plan: Developing a plan for the district, considering infrastructure changes for the transition to net zero.
• Water efficiency: Reviewing water consumption in buildings.
• Fleet decarbonisation: Procuring a fleet decarbonisation feasibility study.
• EV uptake: Encouraging the use of electric vehicles for staff.
• Net Zero risk assessment: Applying a Net Zero risk assessment to key decisions.
• Sustainable procurement: Developing a sustainable procurement policy.
• Carbon Literacy training: Training councillors, directors, managers and relevant staff.

Consultation and Engagement Strategy

The committee reviewed the draft [Consultation and Engagement Strategy][Appendix B Draft Consultation and Engagement Strategy], which is also out for consultation. The strategy sets out a new corporate framework to support inclusive, transparent, and effective engagement with communities as the council develops plans, strategies, and projects.

The report [Overview Committee 11 September 2025 - Consultation and engagement][Overview Committee 11 September 2025 - Consultation and engagement] noted that the strategy is a priority under the Corporate Plan and follows early engagement with residents, community groups, partners, and councillors.

Key insights from early engagement included support for more accessible engagement, trust and transparency, and the need for clearer feedback loops. The five strategic objectives are:

1. Engage early to shape policies together
2. Include all voices, especially the underrepresented
3. Equip staff for strong engagement
4. Show how community input shapes our choices
5. Collate frequent feedback to understand priorities

The draft strategy aims to strengthen trust and transparency, improve the quality and impact of engagement, and ensure that hard-to-reach voices are better heard. The accompanying draft action plan builds on existing activities across service areas, from early engagement for projects to developing toolkits for officers and improved feedback mechanisms.

The strategy aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including Sustainable Cities and Communities, Reduced Inequalities, Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, and Partnerships for the Goals.

The guiding principles of the strategy are embedded in the PARTS framework:

• Proactive engagement
• Accessibility
• Responsiveness
• Transparency
• Supporting communities

Key actions within the strategy include:

• Community workshops: Hosting workshops with community groups during policy development.
• Co-production principles: Developing principles to guide collaborative efforts.
• Interim directory: Creating a directory of local services and community groups to improve outreach.
• Targeted messaging: Tailoring messaging to resonate with specific groups.
• Pop-up events: Piloting pop-up engagement events in community spaces.
• Partnerships: Expanding partnerships with schools and universities.
• Accessibility: Adapting resources to ensure accessibility for non-English speakers.
• Business engagement: Exploring opportunities for joint business engagement initiatives.
• Practical toolkit: Creating a toolkit outlining best practices for effective consultation and engagement.
• Training programs: Delivering training sessions for staff and councillors on engagement skills.
• Evaluation criteria: Setting criteria to regularly assess the success of engagement activities.
• Feedback dashboard: Creating a dashboard to provide clear updates on the outcomes of consultations.
• Community priorities: Piloting quarterly surveys to gauge community priorities.
• Pulse surveys: Exploring the feasibility of pulse surveys for real-time feedback.
• Data insights: Incorporating demographic insights into consultation reports.
• Social media: Leveraging social media to gather quick feedback.

Tenant Engagement Strategy

The committee also considered the draft [Tenant Engagement Strategy][Appendix B Draft Tenant Engagement Strategy], which aims to involve social housing tenants in shaping, influencing, and scrutinising housing services.

The report [Overview Committee 11 September 2025 - Tenant][Overview Committee 11 September 2025 - Tenant] noted that the strategy responds to the revised Consumer Standards issued by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), which require social landlords to demonstrate a clear and structured approach to tenant engagement with measurable outcomes, inclusive representation, and transparent feedback loops.

The draft strategy builds on the Tenant Engagement Framework (2025-2028) and refreshed [Housing Promise and Service Standards][Appendix E Housing Promise and Service Standards], which define how tenants can influence services and what they can expect from the council.

The strategy sets out a proactive and coordinated approach that:

• Centres tenant voice in decisions at all levels
• Clarifies how tenants can influence, challenge, and scrutinise
• Establishes clear and consistent feedback loops
• Improves representation, particularly of underheard voices
• Builds transparency, trust, and accountability
• Reinforces regulatory preparedness and long-term commitment to tenant involvement

The draft has been shaped by two key sources of tenant insight:

• The 2024 Tenant Survey, which captured satisfaction levels across the 12 national Tenant Satisfaction Measures.
• The Tenant Engagement Review (Oct 2024 Jan 2025), which combined qualitative and survey-based feedback.

Early engagement with tenant forums helped test and refine the draft objectives. Discussions with the Resident Engagement Panel (REP) and Disability Forum highlighted the importance of being involved earlier in decisions, transparent communication and seeing impact from feedback.

The five strategic objectives are:

1. Keeping tenants informed about their homes
2. Giving tenants real ways to have their say
3. Showing that the council listens and takes action
4. Making it easier for everyone to join in
5. Helping tenants feel confident to get involved

Key actions within the strategy include:

• Publishing annual updates on housing performance in the tenant newsletter.
• Reviewing and improving how information is shared.
• Developing a tenant-friendly guide to rights and services.
• Maintaining and promoting a menu of involvement options.
• Launching targeted engagement with underrepresented tenant groups.
• Considering setting up local pop-up engagement points.
• Sharing 'you said, we did' updates based on tenant input and complaints.
• Publishing anonymised complaints learning and actions annually.
• Involving tenant scrutiny panels in reviewing outcomes of engagement activities.
• Carrying out an inclusion audit of tenant participation.
• Providing accessible formats and interpretation on request.
• Setting up informal engagement spaces.
• Exploring hybrid meeting opportunities for panel/forum meetings.
• Offering annual tenant training and induction sessions.
• Introducing a buddy scheme or peer support model for new tenant representatives.
• Providing support with travel, childcare, or materials for those taking part.

The [2024 Tenant Survey summary report][Appendix D 2024 Tenant Survey summary report] found that while 70% of tenants were satisfied with the council as their landlord, satisfaction with complaint handling remained low at 24%. The [Tenant Engagement Review consultation report][Appendix C Tenant Engagement Review consultation report] found that half of respondents felt that current engagement opportunities did not enable them to influence or shape housing services effectively.