North Yorkshire Council
Thirsk & Malton Area Committee
28 March 2025
Climate Change Activity in the Thirsk and Malton Area
Report of the Corporate Director Environment.
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To note the climate change activities that have taken place in the Thirsk and Malton Area.
2.0 SUMMARY
2.1 This report presents an update of the climate change activities that have taken place in the Thirsk and Malton area. It highlights activity that has taken place in 2024 and provides an indication of some expected activities in 2025. The following report includes information on support that NYC has provided to local activities to support the delivery of the climate change strategy. The purpose of the report is to provide an update, and there are no recommendations.
3.0 BACKGROUND
3.1 Executive approved the North Yorkshire Council Climate Change Strategy in July 2023 in response to the declared climate emergency. The Climate Change Delivery Pathway (CCDP) sets out how the Strategy will be delivered and was approved by Executive on 20 August 2024. This outlines the activities that are being undertaken to deliver the Strategy. This report will outline the localised activity underway.
3.2 A report previously made to the Thirsk and Malton Area Committee in October 2023 outlined the public consultation responses to the Climate Change Strategy as part of its development phase.
3.3 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.
4.0 UPDATE ON CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVITY
4.1 A report on progress on the Climate Change Delivery Pathway was made to 17 October 2024 Transport Economy Environment and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
4.2 Governance
4.2.1 Territorial greenhouse gas emissions data is included in the above report for North Yorkshire area. Since Local Government Reorganisation this is the lowest level of administration for which the figures are available. 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.
4.2.2 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.
4.2.3 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 29,951 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.
4.2.4 Climate Emergency UK 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.
4.2.5 Community engagement – info on local groups activities
Council officers continue to engage with local environmental groups including:
· Thirsk Friend of the Earth (FoE) and Ryedale Environmental Group (REG)
· Thirsk Repair Café is running about every six weeks at Thirsk Community Library
· The fifth annual Thirsk FoE country lane litter-pick is scheduled for March.
· NYC officers from the Climate Change, Local Nature Recovery Strategy and the Howardian Hills Natural Landscapes teams presented at the Ryedale Environment Group ‘Restoring Nature’ conference in September 2024.
· The REG ‘Paths For Everyone’ project has seen the completion of the new path at Broughton Bank and plans are now afoot for extension.
· The REG ‘Restoring Ryedale’ project is obtaining equipment for wildflower areas to be lent out to local groups and councils.
4.3 Mitigation: reducing greenhouse gas emissions
4.3.1 Various decarbonisation and climate mitigation projects are underway in the Thirsk & Malton area. A snapshot of activity over the past twelve months is given below:
· UK Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) – capital and revenue grants
4.3.2 A total of £480,943 in grant funding under UKSPF was agreed across 15 projects within the Thirsk and Malton area. This has supported projects including solar PV installations and energy efficiency improvements for both business and community buildings.
|
Organisation name |
Project |
Community/Business |
|
Thirsk Furniture Products Ltd |
Factory Solar PV |
Business |
|
PowerPoint Northern Ltd |
Solar Panel Installation |
Business |
|
Buttercrambe Estate |
Decarbonisation to business units |
Business |
|
Wetherby Stone Products Ltd |
Solar PV |
Business |
|
Filey Golf Club |
Wind Turbine |
Business |
|
Cooper King Distillery Ltd |
Solar Power project |
Business |
|
The Galtres Centre |
LED Lighting Installation |
Community |
|
Sand Hutton & Claxton Village Hall |
Creating Community Climate Action Groups |
Community |
|
Pickering Town CIC |
Geothermal Community Heating Project |
Community |
|
Sessay Community Trust |
Decarb works to Village Hall |
Community |
|
Wintringham Community Hall |
Additional Solar Panel Battery Storage |
Community |
|
Huby & Sutton Community Shop t/a Barkers of Hub |
Solar PV Panel & Battery Storage |
Community |
|
Joint application: Great & Little Barugh Parish Council and Habton Parish Council |
Geothermal Heat Network |
Community |
|
Kirby Misperton Parish Council |
Geothermal Heat Network |
Community |
|
Helperby Village Hall CIO |
Solar Energy Battery Storage |
Community |
4.3.3 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. 111 properties were supported in the second year of the funding in Ryedale and Hambleton (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 |
Ryedale |
Hambleton |
|
Properties Complete |
45 |
66 |
|
Measures Installed |
105 |
130 |
|
Carbon Savings |
162.50 |
209.02 |
|
Cost Savings |
£22,033 |
£50,420 |
|
Value of works |
£891,011 |
£1,246,771 |
|
Hard to treat |
6 |
11 |
|
Number of properties EPC improvements to C or above |
32 |
46 |
4.3.4 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.
4.3.5 Devolution Deal Net Zero Fund (DDNZF)- decarbonising community buildings
DDNZF helps fund carbon and energy reduction measures in community buildings around North Yorkshire. Five community buildings in Thirsk and Malton have successfully applied for DDNZF funding to support their decarbonisation journeys securing a total of £110,491.
|
Helmsley Open Air Swimming Pool |
Decarbonisation of public swimming pool |
Community |
|
Sand Hutton & Claxton Village Hall |
Works to insulate roof and walls |
Community |
|
Norton Community Library |
Window upgrade and cavity wall insulation |
Community |
|
Barton le Willows Village Hall |
Infrared heating and solar array with battery |
Community |
|
Great Ouseburn Village Hall |
Solar panels and battery storage |
Community |
4.3.6 Devolution Deal Net Zero Fund (DDNZF)- decarbonising community transport
The DDNZF project granted £64,000 to Ryedale Community Transport towards the purchase of two electric vehicles, six electric bikes and an electric vehicle charging point and £59,000 for Hambleton Community Action towards an electric wheelchair accessible vehicle and 4 electric mopeds.
4.3.7 In December 2024, the Council completed the Net Zero Solar PV and battery storage project funded by £230,000 external funding from the YNYCA Net Zero Fund (plus match funding from NYC). The project added solar PV and battery storage to 21 of NYC’s commercial units at Pickering Park and Westgate Carr Road industrial estate in Pickering, as well as at the nearby Sheriff Hutton industrial estate (see press release in Background Documents).
4.4 Adaptation: Preparing for the changing climate.
4.4.1 Work to develop an Adaptation section of the CCDP will be concluded in March 2025 and this is now the focus of policy development. Through a collaborative project, North Yorkshire Council is working with the Combined Authority who will be commissioning a comprehensive Climate Risk and Vulnerability report for North Yorkshire. This will identify detailed geographical areas of risk for climate change.
4.4.2 The Resilience and Emergencies Team presented the Malton, Norton and Old Malton flooding update for Thirsk and Malton AC in September 2024. The report is included in the Background Documents below.
4.4.3 As a result of climate change, the Thirsk and Malton 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.
4.5 Supporting Nature
4.5.1 Howardian Hills National Landscapes team have carried out a number of activities:
· Work with the National Lottery-funded North York Moors National Park Authority-led Ryevitalise Landscape Partnership project, including NYC role chairing the partnership, is moving from active delivery to planning of legacy commitments as this very successful project draws to a close on 31 March.
· The 204-25 Generation Green project is funding several visits from schools with a high pupil premium to Howardian Hills sites, enabling school children to have educational and emotional experiences of the natural environment.
· The third workshop on development of the 2025-2030 Management Plan was held on 22 January in Welburn and brought together experts from across the integrated transport and access sectors. The fourth workshop was focussed on planning, development and the built environment and was held in Slingsby on 28 January.
· Nature Connectors, the organisation running the NYC 2023-25 Farming in Protected Landscapes-funded green social prescribing project, hosted a collaborative event for region-wide representatives on 10 February to discuss how to ensure work on this crucial issue continued beyond the end of the funding.
5.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES
5.1 The Council has declared a Climate Emergency and pledged to play its part in tackling the causes and impacts of climate change.
5.2 The Strategy delivers 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
6.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED
6.1 The recommendation is to note the information in this report, alternative options have not been considered.
7.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS)
7.1 As this report is for information only, there are no financial implications.
8.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
8.1 As this report is for information only, there are no legal implications.
9.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
9.1 This report is for information only and an Equalities Impact Assessment is therefore not required.
10.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
10.1 This report is for information only and a Climate Change Impact Assessment is therefore not required.
11.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
11.1 The Council is making good progress on identifying and challenging the causes and impacts of climate change. Consultations, policy reports and feasibility studies can often feel remote from the impacts of making a difference on the ground. This report seeks to indicate the range of such interventions that are making that difference ‘on the ground’ and enabling people in North Yorkshire to make climate responsible choices.
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12.0
12.1 |
RECOMMENDATION(S)
It is recommended that the Thirsk & Malton Area Committee notes the recent climate change activities which are outlined in this report. |
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BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:
· North Yorkshire Council Climate Change Strategy (PDF 11MB)
· Net Zero Fund solar and battery storage press release.pdf - press release detailing the solar PV and battery storage installed on units at Pickering Park, Westgate Carr Road industrial estate and Sheriff Hutton industrial estate.
· Malton, Norton and Old Malton flooding update PDF - report presented by the Resilience and Emergencies Team to the Thirsk & Malton AC in September 2024.
Karl Battersby
Corporate Director – (Environment)
County Hall
Northallerton
6 March 2025
Report author – Victoria Howse
Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.