Initial Climate Change Impact Assessment (Form created August 2021)

The intention of this document is to help the council to gain an initial understanding of the impact of a project or decision on the environment. This document should be completed in consultation with the supporting guidance. Dependent on this initial assessment you may need to go on to complete a full Climate Change Impact Assessment. The final document will be published as part of the decision-making process.

If you have any additional queries, which are not covered by the guidance please email climatechange@northyorks.gov.uk

Title of proposal	Boundary Review – submission of proposed Council Size and Electorate Forecast
Brief description of proposal	The recommendation is to submit a proposal of 89 members as the council’s size from May 2027. This is a reduction of one member of the council. The Boundary Commission will consider this and consult on options for boundaries.
Directorate	Local Engagement
Service area	Strategy and Performance
Lead officer	Will Boardman
Names and roles of other people involved in carrying out the impact assessment

The chart below contains the main environmental factors to consider in your initial assessment – choose the appropriate option from the drop-down list for each one.

Remember to think about the following:

· Travel

· Construction

· Data storage

· Use of buildings

· Change of land use

· Opportunities for recycling and reuse

Environmental factor to consider	For the council	For the county	Overall
Greenhouse gas emissions	No effect on emissions	No Effect on emissions	No effect on emissions
Waste	No effect on waste	No effect on waste	No effect on waste
Water use	No effect on water usage	No effect on water usage	No effect on water usage
Pollution (air, land, water, noise, light)	No effect on pollution	No effect on pollution	No effect on pollution
Resilience to adverse weather/climate events (flooding, drought etc)	No effect on resilience	No effect on resilience	No effect on resilience
Ecological effects (biodiversity, loss of habitat etc)	No effect on ecology	No effect on ecology	No effect on ecology
Heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape	No effect on heritage and landscape

If any of these factors are likely to result in a negative or positive environmental impact then a full climate change impact assessment will be required. It is important that we capture information about both positive and negative impacts to aid the council in calculating its carbon footprint and environmental impact.

Decision (Please tick one option)	Full CCIA not relevant or proportionate:	X	Continue to full CCIA:
Reason for decision	The potential outcome of one fewer councillors will not make a significant difference to emissions or the ability of the council to influence climate action. The main impact considered was the potential for fewer members to have to travel further to cover local community meetings, increasing emissions. However, this would be offset by the reduction in the number of members travelling to council meetings, so it is likely to have a minimal (and currently unquantifiable) impact. For that reason, it is not relevant or proportionate to carry out a full CCIA.
Signed (Assistant Director or equivalent)
Date	25/06/2024