North Yorkshire Council
Skipton and Ripon Area Committee
6 March 2025
Climate Change Activity in the Skipton and Ripon Area
Report of the Corporate Director - Environment
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To provide an update on recent climate change activities that have taken place in the Skipton and Ripon Area.
2.0 BACKGROUND
2.1 North Yorkshire Council’s Climate Change Strategy was approved by Executive in July 2023 in response to the declared climate emergency. The council’s Climate Change Delivery Pathway (CCDP) was approved by Executive on 20 August 2024 and sets out how the Strategy will be delivered.
2.2 An informal report presented to the Skipton and Ripon Area Committee on 18 October 2023 outlined the public consultation responses to the Climate Change Strategy as part of its development phase and included an update on some of the local activity taking place.
2.3 The council’s overall progress on the climate change strategy is reported biannually to the Transport, Economy, Environment and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee, alongside an annual progress report direct to Executive. The most recent Overview and Scrutiny report was made on 17 October 2024.
3.0 UPDATE ON RECENT CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVITY
3.1 Skipton and Ripon Area Committee requested this update report to be included in the committee’s work programme to provide a local view of climate change activity, for members’ information.
3.2 Climate Change Strategy: Governance
3.2.1 Regional greenhouse gas emissions:
As reported at October’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting, regional greenhouse gas emissions across North Yorkshire were 5,714 ktCO2e in 2022 (this is the most recently available data). This is an overall 31% decrease since 2005, and 5% lower than 2021.
3.2.2 North Yorkshire Council carbon footprint:
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee also noted the 2023/24 operational carbon footprint (the first year of North Yorkshire Council’s operations) which was 31,663.98 tCO2e. This includes fleet fuel consumption, heating, electricity, and certain “Scope 3” emissions which fall outside the direct control of the organisation but are a direct consequence of our operations. In this case business mileage in employee vehicles, and various transmission losses and “well to tank” emissions from supplied energy.
3.2.3 Carbon Disclosure Project:
In September 2024 the council for the first time submitted a response to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). This internationally recognised scheme is a voluntary reporting and accountability platform for local governments, investors and companies to help them understand their impact and take action. The council’s submission is now being independently assessed, and the results will provide a benchmark score on our activity, including identifying areas for improvement.
3.2.4 Council Climate Scorecards:
The council has also provided information (principally via freedom of information requests) to the campaign group Climate Emergency UK for the completion of their Council Climate Scorecards process. A score and “league table” of all councils will be published in 2025.
3.2.5 Community engagement:
In the Skipton and Ripon area regular liaison has taken place between council officers and the wider community, for example:
· Climate Action Skipton (CASk) – officer time to support initial meetings and promote establishment of a new group
· Settle Local Energy Club – officer time to support the submission of a feasibility study for wind generation towards a significant development of the Settle Energy Local Community Club. The feasibility study is funded by SPF under the communities' theme and report imminent
· Skipton Youth Council - The Youth Council identified climate change as an area of interest, and officers have attended meetings to provide support and information as required. The council also participated the “Let’s Talk” consultation on climate change via a dedicated youth engagement questionnaire. Skipton Youth Council held a successful “Keep Skipton Tidy” competition, uniting 98 young participants in a community cleanup effort that resulted in 48 bags of rubbish collected over 22 hours. Skipton Girls’ High School won the £300 prize, which they intend to reinvest in equipment for future litter picking projects
· Skipton Civic Society – Climate Change was the theme for their November mtg, and officer provided an update on NYC activities
· Clapham Sustainability Group – officer time to support a SPF audit request to look at a whole village retrofit programme and funding advice for a community insulation programme, unfortunately neither of these have been successful due to complex nature of programme. The group have decided to take this issue of smart meter installation as one of our main projects in 2025
· Malham Enviromental Group – officer time to support ideas and plans around community energy projects
· Settle Town Council Climate Change & Biodiversity working group – officer time to support planning and activities
· Settle Village Hall - officer time to support the submission of a feasibility study to set up a commercial enterprise for reprocessing waste plastics. The feasibility study is funded by SPF under the communities' theme and report imminent
· Skipton Rotary - support to plan the second annual Skipton Eco Day at Skipton Town Hall
· Supporting community groups apply for UK Shared Prosperity Fund: community climate action support and grants (see section 3.4.1). Note there was support to various community buildings around funding for decarbonisation projects that were unable to apply for SPF funding).
3.3 Mitigation: reducing greenhouse gas emissions
3.3.1 Various placed-based decarbonisation and climate mitigation projects are underway in the Skipton and Ripon area as a result of support and funding facilitated by North Yorkshire Council. A snapshot of activity over the past twelve months is given below:
3.3.2 UK Shared Prosperity Fund – capital and revenue grants:
16 UKSPF grants have been awarded under the climate change programme within the Skipton and Ripon area, with a total value of £432,822, unlocking a further £299,114 in match funding. A further 6 grants were given under the DDNZF
Community Building fund: grant funding with a total value of £195,541
Business
|
Name of organisation |
Project |
|
Nexus IT Consultancy Ltd |
Solar Array |
|
Leeds Trading Company Ltd |
LTC Solar Energy |
|
Swinton Estate |
Solar PV |
|
Dalesbred Ltd |
Insulation & Solar PV |
|
JM & EL Sharp |
Solar |
|
T&R Theakston Ltd |
Solar Energy |
Community
|
Name of organisation |
Project |
|
Draughton Village Council |
Village Hall Fabric Enhancements |
|
Cononley Village Institute |
Energy Efficiency Measures |
|
The Church of St Mary, Embsay with Eastby |
Cut the Carbon project |
|
Bishop Monkton Methodist Church |
Decarb aspect of refurb |
|
Holme Grown Eastby CIC |
Circular Economy Project – Community food production |
|
Nidderdale Museum Society CIO |
Energy Efficiency |
|
Low Bentham Victoria Institute |
Improve Energy Efficiency |
|
Share Skipton |
Library of Things |
|
Yorkshire Peat Partnership |
New Kids on the Bog |
|
Settle Area Swimming Pool |
Pool Hall Insulation |
|
Grassington Devonshire Institute |
Heating & Re-Zoning Project |
|
Growing with Grace |
Insulation and technical advice |
|
St John's Methodist Church, Settle |
Decarbonisation Project |
|
South Craven Baptist Church |
Energy Efficiency Improvements |
|
Malham Village Hall |
Sheep Wool insulation |
|
Sandylands |
Solar panels |
3.3.3 UK Shared Prosperity Fund – community decarbonisation audits:
Specialist audits have been carried out for several community buildings, businesses and elderly people’s care homes under the support element of the UKSPF scheme and an earlier scheme (the Community Renewal Fund). These enabled groups to gain a clear understanding of decarbonisation measures needed for their buildings, some of which have led to successful funding bids
· St John's Methodist Church, Settle
· Skipton Town Council (Travel)
· Malham Village Hall
· Bishopton Veterinary Group LLP
· CS and ML Holdings Limited
· The Mashamshire Community Office
· PA Thorpe (Vehicle Components) Ltd - TYRI UK
· Mobili Office Ltd
· Beanlands Nursing Home
3.3.4 Photovoltaic (PV) panels:
Solar PV arrays are installed at Craven Leisure Centre, Skipton Town Hall, The Remembrance Chapel at the Crematorium, and Aireview house. Solar PV arrays were also included in redevelopment of Langcliffe Quarry Enterprise Centre and Waste Management Depot on Engine Shed Lane.
3.3.5 Electric Vehicle Charging Points (EVCPs):
There is a network of public EVCPs in Skipton and Ripon. In the wider context, the council will be going out to tender soon to engage a charge point operator for the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funded project. This will provide charging points across the county, with a focus on delivering in areas where the market otherwise would not, by using public subsidy, while operating under a portfolio approach to ensure that the charge point operator is able to lever in private investment.
3.3.6 Housing
Craven Empty Homes Project
All three homes that will be retrofitted have been purchased. Work has started on the property in Skipton, and the contractor (JP Developers Ltd) is working in partnership with Craven College to offer construction students work experience. A local contactor (Fosters) has recently been appointed for the properties in Horton in Ribblesdale and Bentham), and work will commence shortly. Progress on the Skipton property can be followed on X JP Developers on X and on Linkedin (part of community engagement and sharing of lessons learnt).
3.3.7 Local Energy Advice Demonstrator (LEAD):
The LEAD project has been launched in Greatwood, Skipton, to deliver home energy efficiency advice to residents. A letter drop in early November advised residents of the scheme and the event held on 21st November. There has been a significant amount of interest from residents and all available slots (21) have been filled. There is a waiting list for any dropouts. As part of the LEAD project, trade professionals can assess via Zero Carbon Harrogate fully funded home retrofit, energy installation and assessment training. This series of funded courses aims to upskill professionals and enable them to undertake projects centered around domestic retrofit and renewable energy solutions. Courses include: MCS Accredited Renewables Training, Retrofit Assessment, Coordination & Design Training, Builder Installer Retrofit Training, Air Source Heat Pump Training, Solar PV, Solar Thermal Installation and Battery Storage Systems.
3.3.8 Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) 2 and Warm Home Fund:
The Home Upgrade Grant was put in place to help homes without mains gas supply, with poor quality insulation or inefficient heating systems. Applications for the grant scheme closed on 30 September 2024. Forty properties were supported in the second year of the funding in Skipton and Harrogate (former District boundaries). The contractor is unable to break the report down any further, some houses have benefitted from multiple measures, so the measures total is considerably higher than the number of properties. This is a mix of insulation, air source heat pumps, electric storage heating, solar PV etc.
|
Yr2 to date (April 2024 to Jan 2025) |
Craven |
Harrogate |
|
Properties Complete |
12 |
28 |
|
Measures Installed |
27 |
51 |
|
Carbon Savings |
31.55 |
69.42 |
|
Cost Savings |
£8,820 |
£18,450 |
|
Value of works |
£222,858.11 |
£471,668.12 |
|
Hard to treat |
3 |
5 |
|
Number of properties EPC improvements to C or above |
6 |
14 |
HUG 2 will be followed later this year with a new funding scheme; Warm Homes: Local Grant (WHLG), which will provide up to £9.5 million per year for three years across North Yorkshire to upgrade privately owned homes for low-income households heated by various fuel types. The funding will be used for insulation measures, air source heat pumps, and solar measure.
3.3.9 Big Community Switch Scheme:
Anyone who pays a household energy bill and who is interested in saving money by switching energy suppliers can register for free to the Collective energy switching. We are provided with countywide reports that do not reflect localities. On the autumn auction (Oct/Nov) we had 868 residents registered and 108 accepted the offer, which was £129 below the Ofgem Price Cap, fixed for 12 months and based on 100% renewable electricity.
3.3.10 Decarbonising Community Transport – DDNZF:
The DDNZF project funded the purchase of an Electric Vehicle for Age Concern North Craven alongside an Electric Vehicle Charge Point.
3.3.11 Local active travel improvements:
Area Committee members will be aware of a range of travel initiatives taking place in the area which will have positive climate impacts. Following the active travel audit funded by SPF, North Yorkshire Council will join the Skipton Skipton Active Travel Working Group established by Skipton Town Council in Feb 2025. Recently completed or ongoing projects include:
· The development of local walking and cycling infrastructure plans for Skipton and Ripon
· The Skipton Transforming Cities Fund project – the replacement of Gallows pedestrian bridge, over the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, and better pedestrian links from the railway station to Craven College and also from the railway station to the bus station along an upgraded Black Walk
· The “missing link” Leeds and Liverpool Canal towpath improvement KIldwick to Silsden (DDNZF funding)
· Ripon Mobility Hub.
3.3.12 Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP):
The North Yorkshire BSIP plan was recently revised, with improvements funded via the government’s Bus Service Improvement Fund, including enhancements to weekday timetables on Service 70 and Skipton town and village services, additional Saturday services on the Skipton town and village services, and additional Sunday services on rural services in the Dales, and repair and refresh to Ripon bus station waiting facilities, and maintaining a £1 maximum fare for under 16-year-olds and 16–19 year olds.
3.3.13 Schools climate change engagement:
The council’s energy team continues to provide learning sessions and teacher training and schools support on energy and climate change. One school within the Skipton and Ripon area was awarded the prestigious Green Flag status form the Eco-Schools scheme last year.
· Glusburn Primary and Skipton Girls’ High School took part in “Cut your Carbon” month during November 2024, a month of activity focused on reducing carbon emissions in school
· Glusburn Primary and Greatwood Community School work in partnership with Fairshare to prevent food waste, and have community food pantries
· Ripon Grammar School have applied for planning permission to install 1,000 solar panels on their roof
· Skipton Girls’ High School hosted a Green Futures Showcased event on 8 July 2024. The event to showcased green careers and job roles within different industry sectors and raise awareness to young people about the effects of climate change, carbon footprint and how employers are making progress to become net zero
· Two schools from Skipton and Ripon attended the Climate Action Plan event at Allerton Waste Recovery Centre organised by NYC and University of Leeds in February.
3.4 Adaptation: Preparing for the changing climate.
3.6 The area committee received a presentation from the Head of Resilience and Emergencies in September 2023, and further updates on emergency planning are included in the committee’s work plan.
3.7 Flood warning and alert areas exist along the Rivers Wharfe, Nidd, Ure, Aire, Swale and Crimple, and some of their tributaries. Around 93 flood alerts or flood warnings were issued by the Environment Agency within the area between June 2023 and June 2024.
3.8 As a result of climate change, the Skipton and Ripon area can expect to see weather changes in line with wider regional projections, specifically, hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters. Extreme weather events such as intense rainfall and heatwaves are likely to become more frequent. That is why it is important to better understand the future impacts of climate change, to identify steps we can take to adapt to, or be better prepared and resilient to the effects of climate change for our communities and Council operations.
3.9 Supporting Nature
3.10 The Parks and Grounds service has carried out several activities to support biodiversity in the area.
3.10.1 Ripon parks:
The Parks and Grounds team support ‘friends of’ groups in Ripon, helping them to manage land to increase biodiversity. This has included tree planting, meadow management, invasive species removal and wildflower planting. In 2024 we collaborated with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust with funding from Natural England to have 2 ponds dug out at Little Studley Meadows to create habitat for great crested newts and other amphibians. There are over 200 volunteers supporting these activities as well as residents who will litter pick their local green area as and when. We also liaise with other landowners and nature reserve staff in the area such as Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Skell Valley Project to share good practice and ideas
3.10.2 Skipton parks:
The Parks and Grounds team will be introducing new areas of rewilding within Aireville Park this year.
3.10.3 Tree planting:
The woodland creation tree has plans to plant 37 standard trees in Skipton next year. They have 1 standard planted this year at Ripon Gardens, and further 2 on the pipeline next year.
3.10.4 Nidderdale National Landscape:
A major focus for the work of the Nidderdale National Landscape Partnership is addressing climate change and nature recovery. The Partnership works on nature-based solutions that can deliver nature recovery while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping the area adapt to a changing climate. This work includes peatland restoration, woodland creation, natural flood management, controlling invasive non-native species, wetland creation and habitat enhancement. All of these conservation efforts involve working in partnership with the farming and land management community to deliver the works on the ground, while also ensuring that farm businesses remain financially viable. The National Landscape Team works with a range of statutory and non-statutory organisations including Yorkshire Peat Partnership, National Trust, Natural England, Environment Agency, Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, Environment Agency, Woodland Trust, Forestry Commission, White Rose Forest and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
3.10.5 Grass Cutting:
During 2024, we set up a verge restoration trial which included roadside verges across a variety of locations, some of which were in the Skipton and Ripon area (Gauber Hose, Brae Pasture, Glasshouses, Kettlesing Head, Risplith, North Stainley, Occaney and Farnham). This is an ongoing project in collaboration with Plantlife UK to restore our roadside verges by reducing the nutrient levels found within the soil thus allowing the natural growth of wildflowers. The chosen locations were managed using a tractor mounted box flail cutter to collect and remove the grass clippings to a local sacrificial area. Following the successful completion of this trial, we are looking to implement this on wider scale. During the trial, the 2.4m swathe cut was reduced to 1.2m to assess whether this would negatively impact the safety and visibility. We did not receive any safety related reports and so feel confident that the new proposal is adequate to provide a balance between safety and biodiversity. Where it is safe to do so, we are proposing to reduce the current cutting width to create a ‘biodiversity strip’ on all rural verges currently subject to a swathe cut that are over 1.2m wide with a view to starting in April 2025.
In Jan 2024, we shared a simple guidance document for all parish and town councils to follow to improve the biodiversity of the urban verges managed by the parish and town councils on our behalf.
3.10.6 Weed spraying, 2-year trial starting in April 2025:
We will be undertaking a glyphosate free trial within Embsay & Eastby parish using mechanical and manual methods to manage the weed growth. The purpose of the trial is to understand if we can deliver our weed management programme effectively within a set budget without using glyphosate based herbicides.
4.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES
4.1 The Council has declared a Climate Emergency and pledged to play its part in tackling the causes and impacts of climate change.
4.2 The activities outlined above contribute towards the council climate change strategy objectives, and deliver the following specific Council Plan ambitions:
· Place and Environment:
o A clean, environmentally sustainable and attractive place to live, work and visit
o A well connected and planned place with good transport links and digital connectivity
o Communities are supported and work together to improve their local area
o Good quality, affordable and sustainable housing that meets the needs of our communities
· Economy
o Economically sustainable growth that enables people and places to prosper
o Culture, heritage, arts and sustainable tourism all play their part in the economic
growth of the county
· Health and Wellbeing
o People are supported to have a good quality of life and enjoy active and healthy lifestyles
o Reduced variations in health through tackling the root causes of inequality
· People
o In times of hardship, support is provided to those that need it most
· Organisation
o A carbon neutral council
5.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED
5.1 The recommendation is to note the information in this report, alternative options have not been considered.
6.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
6.1 As this report is for information only, there are no financial implications.
7.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
7.1 As this report is for information only, there are no legal implications.
8.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
8.1 An Equalities Impact Assessment is not required.
9.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
9.1 This report outlines a number of positive carbon reduction and associated initiatives in the Skipton and Ripon area. A Climate Change Impact Assessment is not required as the recommendation is to note this for information only.
10.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
10.1 As requested by the Area Committee, this report outlines some of the local activity being undertaken to address climate change, contributing towards the council’s climate change strategy objectives. The activities described above enable the council as an organisation, as well as resident in the Skipton and Ripon area, to make climate responsible choices.
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11.0
11.1 |
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Skipton and Ripon Area Committee notes the recent climate change activities which are outlined in this report.
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BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:
1) North Yorkshire Council Climate Change Strategy (PDF 11MB)
2) Transport, Economy, Environment and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee, report on the CCDP, 17 October 2024 (PDF 2MB)
Karl Battersby
Corporate Director – Environment
County Hall
Northallerton
18 February 2025
Report Author and Presenter – Fiona Protheroe, Climate Change Business Partner
Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.