A presentation was given by G Scoular from Kilbarchan Community Council relating to their Stalled Spaces project.

The presentation gave a brief overview of what the project involved and the people who took part; outlined the objectives; and highlighted the benefits for Kilbarchan residents from the project.

A short video was shown relating to the project and after discussion the Chair thanked Kilbarchan Community Council for their presentation.

DECIDED:   That the presentation be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Head of Public Protection, Community Resources, Renfrewshire Council which provided a further update on the Stalled Spaces Scotland: Renfrewshire programme.

The report advised that a budget of £20,000 had been allocated to the programme which had funded nine projects which included growing and planting; live music; art; and filming.  Although the vast majority of the funding had been distributed, there was a slight underspend on the budget.

As it had been agreed at the Greener Renfrewshire Thematic Board of 9 November 2015 that final details of level of award and content be remitted to the Lead Officer and Convener, an additional sum of £335 was awarded to the Kilbarchan Community Council project, which had created a community garden on the site of a disused petrol station. The purpose of this additional funding was for the purchase of a strimmer in order to allow the ongoing maintenance of the site.

DECIDED:   That it be agreed that the Greener Renfrewshire Thematic Board homologate the action of Oliver Reid, Lead Officer of the Greener Renfrewshire Thematic, in liaison with the Convener of the Greener Renfrewshire Thematic Board to award the additional sum of £335 to Kilbarchan Community Council’s Stalled Spaces Scotland project.

There was submitted a report by the Head of Public Protection, Community Resources, Renfrewshire Council relative to the Greener Transport Sub-Group’s bid for funding for £10,000 to carry out a scoping or feasibility study outlining proposed plans for the creation of a Low Carbon Travel and Transport Hub within Renfrewshire.

The report indicated that Transport Scotland had been awarded up to £25m under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2014-2020 programme, namely the Low Carbon Travel and Transport (LCTT) Challenge Fund, to deliver projects relating to low carbon travel and transport hubs. It was noted that the hubs could take the form of active Travel Hubs; low Carbon Transport hubs; or a combined hub covering both.

To assist in the development of bids for the LCTT Challenge Fund, a pre-application support fund opened for applications which offered funding of up to £10,000 to assist organisations in carrying out scoping or feasibility studies and associated activities. The report advised that the Greener Transport Sub-Group had completed an application for the funding which outlined proposed plans for the creation of a Low Carbon Travel and Transport Hub within Renfrewshire.

DECIDED:   That it be noted that a further report would be submitted to the next meeting of the Board with more details on the programme, should the application for Pre-Application Support Funding be successful.

There was submitted a report by the Corporate Asset and Energy Manager, Finance & Resources, Renfrewshire Council which presented the most recent revisions to Renfrewshire Council’s Fuel Poverty Strategy for 2016.

 The report advised that the Strategy document, which was attached as an appendix to the report, detailed the actions that had been taken by Renfrewshire Council to mitigate the levels of fuel poverty within Renfrewshire.   It was noted that the strategy was subject to annual review and revision.

DECIDED:

(a)   That it be noted that Renfrewshire Council had one of the lowest levels of Fuel Poverty in Scotland;

(b)   That it be noted that although the levels of fuel poverty within Renfrewshire were low, relative to other authorities, that there were many households in the area that struggled with domestic energy issues;

(c)   That it be noted that the actions outlined in the fuel poverty strategy were practical and supported the on-going delivery; and

(d)   That it be noted that any comments or feedback with regard to the Strategy should be returned the Energy Management Unit.

There was submitted a report by the Lead Officer which provided detail on the three year progress for the Greener Renfrewshire element of the Local Outcome Improvement Plan.

The report indicated that Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership was committed to ensuring that resources were deployed wisely to achieve best value. An open and rigorous performance culture had been embedded within the partnership which promoted collective responsibility for achieving the outcomes.  It was noted that clear accountability and reporting was an important aspect of the approach being taken.

The report advised that the Greener Renfrewshire Thematic Board had three sub-groups, each led by relevant partners and supported by key officers: Greener Communities; Greener Transport; and Carbon Management. Action plans and performance measures were in place to ensure that the sub-groups delivered the key priorities of the Greener Renfrewshire element of Renfrewshire’s Community Plan and Local Outcome Improvement Plan.  The performance of impact measures presented within the report linked directly to actions undertaken by the partners under each sub group.

The report also highlighted the key achievements, areas for improvement and remedial action; revisions to Renfrewshire's Local Outcome Improvement Plan in respect of the Greener Renfrewshire Thematic Board element; and key areas of prevention.

DECIDED:

(a)   That the strong performance and strategic focus achieved by the Greener Renfrewshire Thematic Board be noted;

(b)   That the progress on the year 3 targets of the Greener Renfrewshire element of Renfrewshire’s Local Outcome Improvement Plan be noted;

(c)   That the issues and challenges the Greener Renfrewshire Thematic Board required to address to enable its priority outcomes to be achieved be noted;

(d)   That the contribution the Greener Renfrewshire Thematic Board in progressing the prevention agenda in Section 8 be noted;

(e)   That the changes to the Local Outcome Improvement Plan as detailed within the report be submitted to the Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership Board for approval; and

(f)   That it be agreed that the report would be included as part of the Annual Community Planning performance report to the Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership Board on 21 September 2016.

The report set out options and recommendations for the establishment of wider or multiple Air Quality Management Areas within Renfrewshire. Appendix 1 to the report provided details of the options considered and the assessment undertaken of each option.

The report advised that the Environment Policy Board on 24 August 2016 approved the recommendations outlined within the report, the Air Quality Management Areas would be designated by means of the Orders which were indicated within Appendix 2 and the Scottish Government and other statutory consultees would be notified thereafter.

DECIDED:

(a)   That the options for declaration of Air Quality Management Areas within
Renfrewshire being considered by the Environment Policy Board, as detailed within the report be noted;

(b)   That the Air Quality Management Area Orders for each area of exceedance being considered by the Environment Policy Board as detailed within the report be noted;

(c)   That the review of air quality performance indicators being considered by the
Environment Policy Board, as detailed within the report be noted;

(d)   That it be agreed that the Local Outcome Improvement Plan would be updated in line with the recommendation of the Environment Policy Board; and

(e)   That it be noted that the proposal to develop quality management areas for a range of environmental issues based on evidence of need was being considered by the Environment Policy Board.

There was submitted a report by the Head of Public Protection, Community Resources, Renfrewshire Council relative to an update on feedback to Renfrewshire Council on Public Bodies Climate Change Duties 2014/15.

The report advised that the overall aim of the feedback analysis was to assess the completeness of the reports and not the performance of the organisation.   A copy of the feedback to Renfrewshire Council was attached as an appendix to the report.

DECIDED:

(a)   That the content of Sustainable Scotland Network’s Feedback Report to Renfrewshire Council on the submission of the 2014/15 Climate Change Duties Report be noted; and

(b)   That it be noted that a summary of the 2015/16 Climate Change Duties Report submission would be presented to the next Greener Renfrewshire Thematic Board.

There was submitted a report by the Head of Public Protection which provided an overview of recent developments, initiatives and funding streams made available to Community Planning Partnerships in Scotland.

DECIDED:   That the report be noted.