To debate a Motion submitted by the Administration in accordance with Rules 11 and 13 of the Council’s Constitution. The debate will last for a maximum of 30 minutes.

 

Councillor Rachel Blake moved and Councillor Amina Ali seconded the motion as set out in the agenda and proposed a friendly amendment (Additions in Bold and Underlined).

 

This Council resolves:

 

1. 40% of residents in Tower Hamlets live in areas that breach EU and government guidance on safe levels of air pollution and it’s the fifth worst borough in London for air pollution;
2. A recent scientific study showed that children in Tower Hamlets have up to 10% less lung capacity than normal;
3. As highlighted in the 2010 Marmot Review, individuals in deprived areas experience more adverse health effects at the same level of exposure compared to those from less deprived areas. This is, in part, because of a higher prevalence of underlying cardio-respiratory and other diseases, as well as greater exposure to air pollution as a result of homes being situated nearer to busy congested roads and with fewer green spaces;
4. That Mayor John Biggs declared a climate emergency in March 2019 on behalf of the council, and announced the aim of becoming a zero-carbon council by 2025;
5. That the Mayor has written to the Prime Minister calling on the Government to bring forward the ban on diesel cars and invest in a national scrappage scheme;
6. That Mayor Biggs wrote to the Leader of Greenwich Council in June 2018 to express our opposition to cruise ship moorings without the use of on-shore power supply next to the Isle of Dogs;
7. That nationally the Labour Party has announced that climate change would be a core part of the school curriculum under a Labour government;
8. A recent poll showed that around 75% of UK adults believe climate change to be the biggest crisis facing humanity today.

 

This Council further notes the council’s ongoing work to tackle poor air quality, including:

 

1. The Breathe Clean campaign, launched in 2018, to tackle air pollution across Tower Hamlets and raise awareness about what can be done locally to improve air quality and reduce risk to residents’ health;
2. The anti-idling campaign, with a particular focus on drivers who idle outside schools;
3. 50 planned ‘school streets’ and ‘play streets’, with some roads closed off to improve air quality around schools;
4. 2,800 trees have been planted across Tower Hamlets over the course of the last year;
5. Significant investment in a Liveable Streets fund to make it easier to get about by foot, on a bike and on public transport;
6. Continuing to consult local people on the installation of secure residents’ Cycle Parking Hangars, as well as on street visitor cycle parking and developing a proposal for a new Secure Cycle Hub for around 100 cycles at Whitechapel Station;
7. The aim to install 300 electric vehicle charging points across the borough;
8. The LED street light replacement programme is continuing and at the moment 63% of lights in the borough have already been replaced with LEDs;
9. Continuing to review the council’s investment decisions, including exploring all opportunities to divest our pension fund investments, noting that the LBTH Pension Fund has transferred a significant proportion of its investment in equities into Low Carbon funds;
10. The Council has removed single use plastic cups from its main buildings and is exploring how to remove other single use plastics, such as plastic drinks bottles in vending machines;
11. An Air Quality Fund, providing a total of £200,000 funding to innovative groups in the community who want to do their bit to tackle air pollution;
12. Tower Hamlets have provisionally agreed to invest £3 million into upgrading the CCTV system and in light of this, we have recently conducted a review of the Council’s CCTV network, which included looking at the locations of CCTV in relation to fly-tipping and the evidence base for CCTV’s effectiveness in environmental crimes;
13. Investment in new waste fleet, reducing emissions.

 

This Council believes:

 

1. We face a climate emergency and need to take immediate action at a local, national and international level;
2. That air quality is not only a health issue but also a social justice issue. Deprived areas in the London region have a higher concentration of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) than in any other deprived region in England, levels are 40% higher in deprived wards than non-deprived wards;
3. That the ban on diesel cars planned for 2040 should be brought forward to 2030;
4. That the council should work with companies and individuals, including ice cream van owners, to encourage the switch to cleaner forms of transport;
5. That the council should review its own vehicle fleet;
6. That although the Council would always look to locate new schools away from major roads, where new sites are close to main roads serious consideration must be given to the design and layout of the school to reduce the effect, including the location of the building, mechanical ventilation and using vegetation to assist with improving air quality;
7. That the Government must support those who rely on cars for family or employment reasons by providing financial help to make the switch from more polluting cars to cleaner vehicles and other forms of transport, as well as investing in a national diesel scrap page scheme.

 

This Council resolves:

 

1. To support the declaration of a climate emergency through a formal resolution of the council and to campaign at the local, London-wide and national level to draw attention to issue and bring about changes at all levels of government;
2. To pledge to develop a Tower Hamlets Carbon Neutral Plan, detailing how the Council’s pledge to become carbon neutral by 2025 will be achieved – and requests that this Tower Hamlets Carbon Neutral Plan is brought to Full Council for approval;
3. To support calls for the ban on diesel cars to be brought forward to 2030 and the introduction of a national scrappage scheme;
4. To deliver our Air Quality Action Plan;
5. To pledge to produce each year between now and 2030 a Tower Hamlets Climate Emergency Annual Report, detailing the Council’s progress against the Tower Hamlets Carbon Neutral Plan – which will enable members, residents and other local stakeholders to hold the Council to account for delivery of this pledge;
6. To work with the community to reduce air pollution through small changes to travel plans and to ask our partner organisations to make clear commitments to dealing with this crisis;
7. To deliver a programme of community climate change engagement to build awareness, support and empower BAME Groups to engage with the projects around climate change. 
8. To campaign for targeted measures to reduce air pollution in our worst affected areas such as Blackwall Tunnel, Bow Roundabout, Aldgate and Whitechapel;
9. To work with neighbouring authorities through our successful  Zero Emissions Network to expand support to small businesses to reduce their emissions;
10. To investigate zero emissions ice cream vans in our parks and work with neighbouring authorities on regulations to restrict emissions from fossil fuel ice cream vans.

 

Then Councillor Andrew Wood moved and Councillor Peter Golds seconded an amendment to the motion. (Additions in Bold and Underlined).

 

This Council notes:

 

1.      40% of residents in Tower Hamlets live in areas that breach EU and government guidance on safe levels of air pollution and it’s the fifth worst borough in London  for air pollution;

2.      A recent scientific study showed that children in Tower Hamlets have up to 10% less lung capacity thannormal;

3.      As highlighted in the 2010 Marmot Review, individuals in deprived areas experience more adverse health effects at the same level of exposure compared to those from less deprived areas. This is, in part, because of a higher prevalence of underlying cardio-respiratory and other diseases, as well as greater exposure to air pollution as a result of homes being situated nearer to busy congested roads and with fewer greenspaces;

4.      That on the 27^th June 2019 the ‘Climate Change Act 2008 (2050 Target Amendment) Order 2019’ was enacted in law which means the government has committed the UK to become the first major economy to set net zero emissions as a target in law by the year 2050.

5.      That Mayor John Biggs declared a climate emergency in March 2019 on behalf of the council,On behalf of the Council, Cllr Rachel Blake declared a climate emergency in the Borough in March 2019 and announced the aim of becoming a zero-carbon council by2025;

6.      That the Mayor has written to the Prime Minister calling on the Government to bring forward the ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars (from 2040 to 2030) and invest in a national scrappagescheme;

7.      That nationally the Labour Party has announced that climate change would be a core part of the school curriculum under a Labourgovernment; Climate change is covered in both science and geography at Key Stage 3 (age 11-14) and Key Stage 4 (age 14-16). Both subjects are compulsory at Key Stage 3, while only science is compulsory at Key Stage 4.

8.      A recent poll showed that around 75% of UK adults believe climate change to be the biggest crisis facing humanitytoday.

9.      That the Department of Transport records 43,550 vehicles registered to addresses in Tower Hamlets as at 2014.

10.  That Tower Hamlets Council operates a vehicle fleet of over 200 vehicles, all fossil fuel powered with only a few hybrids.

11.  That we currently only have 42 publicly accessible electric vehicle charging points borough wide.

12.  That annual recycling rates in 2018/19 were 24.3% against a London borough average of 33% and need to be improved;

 

This Council further notes the council’s ongoing work to tackle poor air quality, including:

 

1.              The Breath Clean campaign, launched in 2018, to tackle air pollution across Tower Hamlets and raise awareness about what can be done locally to improve air quality and reduce risk to residents’health;

2.              The anti-idling campaign, with a particular focus on drivers who idle outside schools;

3.              50 planned ‘school streets’ and ‘play streets’, with some roads closed off to improve air quality aroundschools;

4.              Significant investment in a Liveable Streets fund to make it easier to get about by foot, on a bike and on publictransport;

5.              The aim to install 300 electric vehicle charging points across theborough;

6.              Continuing to review the council’s investmentdecisions;

7.              An Air Quality Fund, providing a total of £200,000 funding to innovative groups in the community who want to do their bit to tackle airpollution;

8.              Investment in new waste fleet, reducingemissions.

9.              The installation by the Port of London Authority of air quality monitors reporting their results online either side of the river Thames where cruise ships moor close to Greenwich / Island Gardens.

10.       That the Pensions Committee has been working to reduce the carbon component of our pension investments and have looked at investing money in renewable energy infrastructure.

11.       Applications to the governments grant funding programme for new electric vehicle chargers.

 

This Council believes:

 

1.              We face a climate emergency and need to take immediate action at a local, national and internationallevel;

2.              That air quality is not only a health issue but also a social justice issue. Deprived areas in the London region have a higher concentration of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) than in any other deprived region in England, levels are 40% higher in deprived wards than non-deprivedwards;

3.              That the ban on new petrol and diesel cars planned for 2040 should be brought forward to2030;

4.              That the council should work with companies and individuals, including ice cream van owners, and construction companies to encourage the switch to cleaner forms oftransport and power generation on construction sites;

5.              That the Government must support those who rely on cars for family or employment reasons by providing financial help to make the switch from more polluting cars to cleaner vehicles and other forms of transport, as well as investing in a national diesel scrappagescheme for older vehicles.

6.              That the council should review its own vehicle fleet,  to speed up the use of electric , hydrogen or hybrid vehicles, to install  electric vehicle  chargers on Council properties.

 

This Council resolves:

 

1.      To support the declaration of a climate emergency through a formal resolution of thecouncil;

2.      To support calls for the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars to be brought forward to 2030 and the introduction of a national scrappagescheme for older vehicles;

3.      To deliver our Air Quality ActionPlan;

4.      To work with the community to reduce air pollution through small changes to travel plans;

5.      To campaign for targeted measures to reduce air pollution in our worst affected areas such as Blackwall Tunnel, A12 road corridor, Aspen Way/Limehouse Link, Highway road corridor, Bow Roundabout, Aldgate andWhitechapel;

6.      To work with neighbouring authorities through our successful Zero Emissions Network to expand support to small businesses to reduce theiremissions;

7.      Work with the Local Government Association and other bodies to identify where we can share knowledge and experience on how to implement these objectives;

8.      To investigate zero emissions ice cream vans in our parks and work with neighbouring authorities on regulations to restrict emissions from fossil fuel ice cream vans. To look at installing electric vehicle charging points at ice cream van locations popular with the consumers of ice cream;

9.      Commit to make Tower Hamlets Council carbon neutral by 2025 – and to make sure that in meeting this commitment the Council takes steps to avoid any adverse impacts on vulnerable residents;

10.  Develop a Tower Hamlets Carbon Neutral Plan, detailing how the Council’s will become carbon neutral by 2025 – and requests that the Tower Hamlets Carbon Neutral Plan is brought to Full Council for approval by January 2020 at the latest;

11.  Commit to produce, in January of each year between now and 2025, a Tower Hamlets Climate Emergency Annual Report, detailing the Council’s progress against the Tower Hamlets Carbon Neutral Plan – which will enable members, residents and other local stakeholders to hold the Council to account for delivery of this commitment;

12.  Commit to asking our partner organisations across Tower Hamlets to support this change;

13.  Commit to explore all opportunities to reduce over time the carbon content of our pension fund investments, while discharging the relevant fiduciary responsibilities to members of the pension fund, and work to ensure that wherever possible any future investments are assessed against these principles;

14.  Commit to improving recycle rates - our annual recycling rates in 2018/19 were just 24.3% against a London borough average of 33%;

15.  Look at introducing street bins with different receptacles for different types of waste as is done elsewhere in London and at Canary Wharf to encourage more recycling;

16.  Commit to make this council free of single-use plastics by 2020 and work towards reducing the use of 175,000 single-use plastics across all council buildings;

17.  Commit to install air quality sensors outside every school, at the entrance to each market, outside each TfL station and Ideas stores in our borough which can provide real time air quality information on a range of pollutants. Make that data widely & easily available so that local people have information about what the air quality is like where they live, work and travel;

18.  Acquire portable air quality monitoring equipment which can be used to better identify the sources of pollutants (& not just measure the cumulative impact) so that we can better understand the relative contribution from different types of pollution sources to air quality, in particular pollution produced by construction sites, river traffic, London City Airport, Blackwall Tunnel traffic jams etc.;

19.  Commit to not approving new planning applications for homes right next to major roads, that family sized units be built away from major roads or sources of pollution, that green barriers be grown between major roads and any new homes rather than placing homes right next to major roads;

20.  Commit to not expanding or building new schools next to major roads which are a known source of pollutants. That where site allocations in the Local Plan include schools, that the schools are built some distance from the major sources of pollutants;

21.  Commit to no net loss of trees on any site being redeveloped;

22.  Commit to write to the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the Mayor of London to express our opposition to cruise ship moorings without the use of on-shore power supply next to the Isle of Dogs;

23.  Replacing all existing light bulbs whether in Council offices, schools or street lights with LED bulbs in order to reduce electricity used;

24.  Find other ways of reducing electricity being used by the Council;

25.  Provide information to residents about how to better insulate their homes and the benefits of doing so (including financial);

26.  To do further work on the climate change impact of tall glass fronted buildings and to review the decision of New York to phase them out;

 

27.  Commit to publishing an action plan on how quickly the Councils vehicle fleet (leased and owned) can be replaced by electric or hybrid or hydrogen vehicles. To report on whether this will this be done before the ULEZ expansion.

28.  Commit to installing electric vehicle charging points at Council owned sites to allow new electric Council vehicles;

29.  Encourage individual housing developments and offices with their own private car parks to install electric vehicle chargers on site through providing advice, grants and recommending installers;

30.  Encourage the few remaining petrol stations in the Borough to also provide electric high capacity rechargers on-site;

31.  To not allow the loss of existing petrol stations before 2030 where it would result in existing fossil fuel vehicles having to travel substantially further distances to refuel;

32.  Encourage the provision of new high capacity electric vehicle recharging points (for example at supermarkets or taxi parking areas) to create a new generation of clean fuel stations;

33.  Commit to install 350 electric vehicle charging points by the end of 2020. Currently there are just 42 borough wide. To then have a phased programme so that every street with on street vehicle parking has on street electric chargers by 2025;

34.  Commit to returning to the practise of delivering pink recycling bags to all properties including apartment blocks;

35.  Commit to enforce the law on fly tipping and to prosecute and fine those who commit this offence;

36.  Commit to install more CCTV across our borough to help track those who illegally dump and to take legal action against perpetrators; 

37.  Commit to growing green walls/parks/tree barriers/installing planters next to all major roads in the Borough especially where residential properties are next to main roads which will help absorb pollutants and particulate matter;

38.  Commit to introducing more greenery whether at ground level, on vertical walls (as at the Barbican estate) or hanging from street lights (as in Belgravia) which will help absorb pollutants and particulate matter (as well as make the Borough a more attractive place);

39.  Commit to install new accessible bicycle parking spots across the borough including at our new Town Hall site in Whitechapel as well as at Mulberry Place;

40.  Work with local communities to identify what local changes are required to encourage more people to cycle in their local area, so that they can build up confidence before using long distance cycle super highways;

41.  Commit to installing solar panels or other methods of generating clean energy on all council buildings/assets. The only council building that does have a solar panel is Watney Market Ideas store;

42.  Write to the Mayor of London calling for the creation of Low Emission Bus Zones in Tower Hamlets so that our local bus network is as clean as possible but develop this further to include electric or hydrogen buses on local bus routes and deliver electric vehicle chargers at bus termini to allow this.

 

Following debate the amendment was put to a vote and was defeated.

 

Then the motion as amended by the friendly amendment was then put to a vote and was agreed.

 

DECISION:

 

This Council resolves:

 

1. 40% of residents in Tower Hamlets live in areas that breach EU and government guidance on safe levels of air pollution and it’s the fifth worst borough in London for air pollution;
2. A recent scientific study showed that children in Tower Hamlets have up to 10% less lung capacity than normal;
3. As highlighted in the 2010 Marmot Review, individuals in deprived areas experience more adverse health effects at the same level of exposure compared to those from less deprived areas. This is, in part, because of a higher prevalence of underlying cardio-respiratory and other diseases, as well as greater exposure to air pollution as a result of homes being situated nearer to busy congested roads and with fewer green spaces;
4. That Mayor John Biggs declared a climate emergency in March 2019 on behalf of the council, and announced the aim of becoming a zero-carbon council by 2025;
5. That the Mayor has written to the Prime Minister calling on the Government to bring forward the ban on diesel cars and invest in a national scrappage scheme;
6. That Mayor Biggs wrote to the Leader of Greenwich Council in June 2018 to express our opposition to cruise ship moorings without the use of on-shore power supply next to the Isle of Dogs;
7. That nationally the Labour Party has announced that climate change would be a core part of the school curriculum under a Labour government;
8. A recent poll showed that around 75% of UK adults believe climate change to be the biggest crisis facing humanity today.

 

This Council further notes the council’s ongoing work to tackle poor air quality, including:

 

1. The Breathe Clean campaign, launched in 2018, to tackle air pollution across Tower Hamlets and raise awareness about what can be done locally to improve air quality and reduce risk to residents’ health;
2. The anti-idling campaign, with a particular focus on drivers who idle outside schools;
3. 50 planned ‘school streets’ and ‘play streets’, with some roads closed off to improve air quality around schools;
4. 2,800 trees have been planted across Tower Hamlets over the course of the last year;
5. Significant investment in a Liveable Streets fund to make it easier to get about by foot, on a bike and on public transport;
6. Continuing to consult local people on the installation of secure residents’ Cycle Parking Hangars, as well as on street visitor cycle parking and developing a proposal for a new Secure Cycle Hub for around 100 cycles at Whitechapel Station;
7. The aim to install 300 electric vehicle charging points across the borough;
8. The LED street light replacement programme is continuing and at the moment 63% of lights in the borough have already been replaced with LEDs;
9. Continuing to review the council’s investment decisions, including exploring all opportunities to divest our pension fund investments, noting that the LBTH Pension Fund has transferred a significant proportion of its investment in equities into Low Carbon funds;
10. The Council has removed single use plastic cups from its main buildings and is exploring how to remove other single use plastics, such as plastic drinks bottles in vending machines;
11. An Air Quality Fund, providing a total of £200,000 funding to innovative groups in the community who want to do their bit to tackle air pollution;
12. Tower Hamlets have provisionally agreed to invest £3 million into upgrading the CCTV system and in light of this, we have recently conducted a review of the Council’s CCTV network, which included looking at the locations of CCTV in relation to fly-tipping and the evidence base for CCTV’s effectiveness in environmental crimes;
13. Investment in new waste fleet, reducing emissions.

 

This Council believes:

 

1. We face a climate emergency and need to take immediate action at a local, national and international level;
2. That air quality is not only a health issue but also a social justice issue. Deprived areas in the London region have a higher concentration of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) than in any other deprived region in England, levels are 40% higher in deprived wards than non-deprived wards;
3. That the ban on diesel cars planned for 2040 should be brought forward to 2030;
4. That the council should work with companies and individuals, including ice cream van owners, to encourage the switch to cleaner forms of transport;
5. That the council should review its own vehicle fleet;
6. That although the Council would always look to locate new schools away from major roads, where new sites are close to main roads serious consideration must be given to the design and layout of the school to reduce the effect, including the location of the building, mechanical ventilation and using vegetation to assist with improving air quality;
7. That the Government must support those who rely on cars for family or employment reasons by providing financial help to make the switch from more polluting cars to cleaner vehicles and other forms of transport, as well as investing in a national diesel scrappage scheme.

 

 

This Council resolves:

 

1. To support the declaration of a climate emergency through a formal resolution of the council and to campaign at the local, London-wide and national level to draw attention to issue and bring about changes at all levels of government;
2. To pledge to develop a Tower Hamlets Carbon Neutral Plan, detailing how the Council’s pledge to become carbon neutral by 2025 will be achieved – and requests that this Tower Hamlets Carbon Neutral Plan is brought to Full Council for approval;
3. To support calls for the ban on diesel cars to be brought forward to 2030 and the introduction of a national scrappage scheme;
4. To deliver our Air Quality Action Plan;
5. To pledge to produce each year between now and 2030 a Tower Hamlets Climate Emergency Annual Report, detailing the Council’s progress against the Tower Hamlets Carbon Neutral Plan – which will enable members, residents and other local stakeholders to hold the Council to account for delivery of this pledge;
6. To work with the community to reduce air pollution through small changes to travel plans and to ask our partner organisations to make clear commitments to dealing with this crisis;
7. To deliver a programme of community climate change engagement to build awareness, support and empower BAME Groups to engage with the projects around climate change. 
8. To campaign for targeted measures to reduce air pollution in our worst affected areas such as Blackwall Tunnel, Bow Roundabout, Aldgate and Whitechapel;
9. To work with neighbouring authorities through our successful  Zero Emissions Network to expand support to small businesses to reduce their emissions;
10. To investigate zero emissions ice cream vans in our parks and work with neighbouring authorities on regulations to restrict emissions from fossil fuel ice cream vans.