Reduce our carbon emissions by 2050
Last Updated on September 7, 2024
Shift to renewable energy sources, improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions from transportation, green our urban environment. Change consumption patterns, recycle
Buildings and Heating – 82%
Single tier average: 49%
Brighton and Hove Council got a star rating of 82%. Among other things it scored strongly on retrofit of significant council owned buildings; its target and costings to retrofit all council owned and managed homes; funding and support to private home owners to retrofit their homes; support for residents to purchase renewable energy cheaply through collective buying, as well as support for community energy creation.
It scored less well in response to the following questions:
Are the homes owned and managed by the council energy efficient?
The question is weighted ‘medium’
Score: 2.0/3
Criteria: 50% or more of the council’s homes receive C or above in their Environmental Performance Certificate ratings. Additional points awarded if 60% or more, and then if 90% or more of their buildings received C or above EPC ratings.
Evidence: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/r/24ba309b-c004-4527-9ccf-96bf678845b3
NB the actual response to the FOI request cannot be found!
Other councils who scored the full 3 points include Derby City Council, Manchester City Council and Bradford Metropolitan District Council. See the quick illustrative comparison below
| Energy efficiency Band | Brighton and Hove Council | Percentage of total | Derby city council | Percentage of total | Manchester City Council | Percentage of total |
| A | 3 | 0.03% | 222 | 1.79% | 3 | 0.02% |
| B | 1,244 | 10.77% | 1,883 | 15.20% | 3547 | 23.64% |
| C | 8,879 | 76.87% | 9,762 | 78.80% | 11014 | 73.42% |
| D | 1,330 | 11.52% | 506 | 4.08% | 414 | 2.76% |
| E | 69 | 0.60% | 14 | 0.11% | 24 | 0.16% |
| F | 23 | 0.20% | 2 | 0.02% | 0 | 0.00% |
| G | 2 | 0.02% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
Bradford City Council: 100% of all its residential dwellings are rated at C or above in Energy Performance Certificate ratings. The Council has a stock of just over 400 domestic dwellings, all newly built to the standards required by current building regulation standards. Its former social housing stock was transferred to a local social housing provider in 2003. (See whatdotheyknow.com)
Is the council actively enforcing Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards of homes in the private rented sector?
This question was weighted ‘high’
Score: 1.0/2
Criteria is met if the council has carried out 1-100 compliance or enforcement notices in the last financial year 2021/22. Additional points if more than 100 compliance or enforcement notices have been carried out by a council
Evidence: this was unavailable at the time the FOI was made. The response from B&H Council was as follows:
“Funding from BEIS was awarded to the council in September 2022 to assist with Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) enforcement. Therefore, no information regarding numbers of investigations is held before that date.” see https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/r/24ba309b-c004-4527-9ccf-96bf678845b3
Transport -26%
Single tier average 22%
Transport was Brighton’s lowest score. However few of the single tier local authorities did particularly well and the average score was 22%. Those that did best were overwhelmingly London boroughs.
It achieved scored low scores in response to the following questions:
Has the council introduced a Clean Air Zone or Low-Emission Zone?
The question is weighted ‘medium’
Score 0/1.
Criteria: Criteria met if a council has implemented a Clean Air Zone or Low Emission Zone that has been in operation since 2019
Evidence: Climate Score website states ‘no evidence available’. However this is not true
Brighton has had a low emission zone since 2015.
Update: I am asking Climate Emergency UK who do the climate scorecards to review this score
Does the council’s Clean Air Zone or Low Emission Zone require charges for private vehicles?
The question is weighted ‘medium’
Score 0/1
Criteria: Criteria met if a council has implemented a Clean Air Zone or Low Emission Zone that has been in operation since 2019 and it charges for private vehicles.
Evidence: Climate Score website states ‘no evidence available’
Other councils: There are 39 single tier councils who scored 1/1. Among them Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Glasgow Councils along with all London borough councils. Birmingham council has a separate website outlining details and charges. Drivers through the Gov.uk website
Has the council taken clear steps to support active travel?
This question was weighted ‘high’
Score: 2.0/4
Criteria: Active Travel England’s capability ratings were used to answer this question. Points are awarded for each of the 5 different ratings used by Active Travel England.
Evidence: Active Travel England
Councils with a higher score included Birmingham, Coventry, Kirlees, and Leeds. Their score of 3.0/4 was based on Active Travel England Rating 3 “Very strong local leadership, comprehensive plans, and a significant network in place with a growing number of people choosing to walk, wheel and cycle”. No council scored 4.0/4
Does the council have controlled parking zones across all the residential areas of the local authority?
This question was weighted ‘medium’
Score 1.0/2
Criteria: Two tier criteria
- Points awarded if the council has a controlled parking zone across any area of the local authority. This can be for any time period stated.
- Further points awarded if the council has controlled parking zones across the whole area of the local authority. This can be for any time period stated.
Evidence https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/parking/parking-zones/parking-zone-information
Councils with a higher score include South Tyneside Council and West Berkshire Council along with all London borough councils
Is bus ridership within the council’s area high?
This question was weighted medium
Score:the council’s score was 1.0/2.
Criteria: Criteria met if bus passenger journeys are over 75 per head of population
Further points awarded if bus passenger journeys are over 150 per head of population.
Evidence: government data – local bus passenger journeys
Passenger journeys on local bus services per head increased steadily from 153.7 journeys in year 2010 to 171.8 in year 2019 but dipped dramatically in 2019 to 2022 (when the pandemic struck). They have now increased to 140.3 in 2023. Outside London, this was the highest number.
All London boroughs scored 2.0/2 with 200.8 journeys per head in 2023.
It is notable that even before the covid pandemic struck passenger bus journeys in England declined from 88.4 journeys per passenger in 2010 to 77 in 2019. This is likely the result of austerity policies which inflicted severe budget cuts on local authorities across the board.
Does the council have a workplace parking levy?
The question weight was ‘high’
Score: 0/1
Criteria: The workplace parking levy does not have to cover the whole of the council’s area.
For scoring purposes a scheme is counted as implemented if it is approved by the council with a date set for the start of the implementation.
Evidence: Brighton and Hove Council got a zero score because no evidence was available
Other Councils: Nottingham City Council was the only council out of 181 councils who apply a workplace parking levy. A WPL licence is needed by an employer if any land or building inside Nottingham City Council’s administrative boundary is used by an employer to provide workplace parking. This can be a car park or piece of land owned by the employer or an independent car park (e.g. a multi-storey car park) where parking is provided by the employer. See Nottingham City Council website.
Planning and land use – 40%
Single tier average – 35%
Brighton and Hove council scored well in terms of Its commitment to build all future council owned or managed housing to a high energy efficiency as well as a higher level of water efficiency
It scored less well in response to the following questions:
Is the council’s area wide net zero target a strategic objective of the Local Plan?
This question was weighted medium
Score 0/1
Criteria: Points awarded if the Local Plan includes:
– reaching net zero as a strategic objective of the Local Plan
– The council’s net zero target date is also found within the Plan.
The net-zero target must be an area wide net-zero target.
Evidence for score: Brighton and Hove City Plan part 1 (Local Plan)
Brighton scored zero for not including net zero as a strategic objective of the Local Plan.
Other councils who scored 1/1 either updated their Local Plans to include this (e.g. Leeds council) or wrote new ones (examples are Leicester and Merton)
Does the council set a requirement that all new homes to be built must be operationally (regulated) net zero?
This question is weighted high
Score 0/2
Criteria: Points awarded if the council requires new homes to be operationally net zero with the policy implemented from 2030 to 2040. More points awarded if the council requires new homes to be operationally net zero with the policy already implemented since 2019 or with implementation by 2030.
Evidence: Brighton got a zero score because no documentary evidence could be found that the council requires new homes to be operationally net zero with the policy implemented from 2030 to 2040.
Examples of other Councils: there were 36 councils who scored 2/2:
Leeds Local plan was amended to include the stipulation for net zero.
Another example is Camden Council whose Local Plan states
“We will: a. promote zero carbon development and require all development to reduce carbon dioxide emissions through following the steps in the energy hierarchy….” (pg 250 of Local Plan)
Does the Local Plan identify suitable areas for new solar energy, wind developments and district heat networks?
The question weight is ‘medium’
Score: 2/3
Criteria:
- Points awarded if the council has a map detailing where solar energy can be built within the council’s area.
- Points awarded if the council has a map detailing where wind energy can be built within the council’s area.
- Points awarded if the council has a map detailing where a district heat network can be built within the council’s area.
Other councils: 15 out of 186 single tier councils scored the full 3 marks including Bath and North East Somerset Council, Bedford Borough Council and City of York Council.
Has the Council approved any planning applications for new or expanded solar or wind developments, battery storage, or renewable district heat networks since 2019?
Question is weighted ‘high’
Score 0/5
Criteria: Points awarded for planning applications approved for new or expanded solar, renewable district heat networks, wind developments or battery storage.
Solar developments must exceed 1 megawatt in capacity.
Evidence: Brighton and Hove scored zero because there was no evidence available to show that they had.
Other councils: There are 28 single tier councils awarded the full 5 points, among them urban councils such as Bristol City, Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, Newcastle upon Tyne as well as London councils such as Ealing, Tower Hamlets, and Greenwich.
The evidence used to assess markings is this renewable energy planning database which tracks the progress of renewable electricity over 150kW through the planning system across the UK.