Luton Borough Council Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan March 2010

8/6/2019 Luton Borough Council Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan March 2010

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LBC CLIMATE CHANGE

ADAPTATION ACTION PLAN

March 2010

LBC Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan


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Contents

Introduction 3

Expected changes in climate 4

Climate impacts in Luton 7

National Indicator 188 Planning to Adapt to Climate Change 9

Climate change risks and adaptive actions 11

Adapting Built Environment 11

Minimising Flood Risk 13

Enhancing Green Infrastructure 15

Resilience of Service Delivery 16

Workforce Capability 17

Communicating Climate Change Risks 18

Providing Leadership 19

Next steps 20

Appendices 21

2LBC Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan


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Introduction

Climate change is a challenge thatwill have far-reaching effects on oureconomy, society and theenvironment. The Stern Review,published in 2006, offered thestarkest warning yet: failure to actwould result in devastating socialimpacts and trigger catastrophicglobal recession.

The purpose of this adaptation actionplan is to address the risks (andopportunities) a changing climatemay pose to services within LutonBorough Council and to serve as asummary and is a follow updocument incorporating points raisedby Heads of Service as part of theirindividual service climate change riskassessments.

The past several years have seen asteady and growing rise in the publicprofile of the issue in the UK andelsewhere. Much attention is placedon action at the national andinternational level, which is essential.But we all have a vital role to play, asmany of the activities causing carbonemissions are influenced by localauthority services and actions.

Accommodating the impacts ofclimate change is vital and this willrequire adaptation strategies.

This initial adaptation plan willinclude actions that will requirefurther investigation and planningwithin the relevant services andsome actions may be implementedas long term potential adaptationoptions.

The action plan will be reviewed andupdated annually, to reflect thedynamic nature of climate changerisks and opportunities.

A commitment to adapting to climatechange is featured within LutonsSustainable Community Strategy, adocument produced by Lutons LocalStrategic Partnership, Luton Forum.One of the key priorities within this

strategy is successfully adapting andmitigating for climate change.

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The UK Climate Projections 09(UKCP09) were published in June2009, to illustrate what the changesin our future climate may be. Thegovernment funded projections,produced by a consortium oforganisations including The MetOffice Hadley Centre, UK ClimateImpacts Programme and theEnvironment Agency are based onrecent science and climate models.

UKCP09 include three differentgreenhouse gas emissionsscenarios and show what theexpected major changes would bewithout action to cut global carbonemissions (high), with limitedreduction in emissions (medium) andwith major cuts to global emissions(low emissions scenario). The

projections also show the changes indifferent 30 years time slices and fordifferent levels of probability.

The key findings from UKCP09 are:

Summer temperature: allareas of the UK will getwarmer, more so in summerthan in winter

Summer precipitation willtend to decrease across theUK

Winter precipitation willtend to increase across theUK

The UK has suffered in the past fromthe negative and destructive effectsof severe weather. Although thiscannot be directly attributed toclimate change, the effects of achanging climate could be similar inthe future.

The August 2003 heatwavecaused 2,000 excess deathsin the UK (UKCP09)

The flooding of 2007 resultedin 55,000 properties becomingflooded and 350,000 peoplewithout mains water(UKCP09)

The Environment Agencyestimated the costs of 3.2bndirectly attributable to thefloods in South and EastYorkshire, Worcestershire,Gloucestershire andOxfordshire in 2007.

Expected changes in climate



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Summer temperatures

Map is a central estimate for annual temperature change in the medium emissions scenario for2080s. Figures represent regional averages from data tables in Projections report. Hottest day is formedium emissions scenario 90% probability level, 2080s.

Summer precipitation

The map shows a 50% probability level for 2080s in the medium emissions scenario. Data representregional averages.



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Winter precipitation

The map is at 50% probability level for 2080s and the medium emissions scenario. It is based atregional averages. The wettest day is at the 90% probability level, for medium emissions scenario inthe 2080s.

*

*The findings of UKCP 09 projections can be accessed at

http://ukclimateprojections.defra.gov.uk/

http://ukclimateprojections.defra.gov.uk/http://ukclimateprojections.defra.gov.uk/


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Climate impacts on Luton

A study commissioned by EERA andthe Sustainable Development RoundTable- Living with Climate Change inthe East of England (2002)described the East of EnglandSouthern Heartland (includingLuton) as having issues with waterresources and a greater risk ofsubsidence, which is likely to placespecific requirements on serviceproviders, including local authorities

and others involved in maintainingthe road and rail networks, as well asservice implications for propertymanagers.

The main events that have causedproblems (during the time of study2003-2008) in Luton were:

Flooding (most common eventbeing reported in local mediaand the cause of cancellationof 2007 carnival)

Heavy snow and issues withgrit availability, impact ontransport and pedestrianhealth and safety

During the 5 years considered by thestudy there were 19 instances offlooding (following heavy rainfall)reported, consequences of whichincluded interruptions andcancellations of sport events, seriousinterruptions in the annual cereal

harvest, collapse of ceiling andsubsequent closure of a juniorschool, evacuation of the policestation, damage to cars and housing,damage to roads and buildings anddelays in scheduled road repairs andconstruction.

As Luton and the surrounding areasare some of the areas most underpressure from development in theEast of England, both now and in thefuture, the area is likely to suffer

more from water supply issues.

Luton Borough Council went throughthe process of creating an LCLIP(Local Climate Impact Profile) forLuton, which involved reviewing localnewspapers and web sites forweather and climate related incidentsand their effects, and interviewingCouncil Service Heads and

Managers about their experiences ofdealing with extreme weather andthe effect such events have had ontheir service delivery levels.

Eight reported occurrences of snowand freezing temperatures also

caused a number of eventsdisruptions, delays in train service,cancellation of flights, schoolsclosures, road gridlocks andincreased numbers in requests forAA and ambulance assistance.

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Other weather related reports from2003-2008 included a mini tornado(T1-T2) that damaged 6 houses,some cars, trees and fences in theLimbury area in September 2007,

fallen trees, damaged roofs and

delays in refuse collections due togale force winds in Jan 2007,increase in cases of food poisoningin the hot Summer of 2006, and lossof cattle and computer problems

caused by storm and lightning.

Weather Event Lutons worst rainfall since 1891

Causal Weather Variables: 99mm of rain in 48 hours (21:00 26/05/07 to 21:00 28/05/07).Two months of rain fell in just two days. Rain was coupled with a cold snap, with temperaturesfalling to 7.2c on Bank Holiday Monday.

Climate Impacts: Travel disruption, flooding on main routes in Luton transport network and inWardown Park, the main locations used for the carnival parade.

Strong winds affected ability to erect stages etc - health and safety concerns. 100,000 peopleunable to attend and 2000 participants were unable to take part

Incidents: Cancellation of Carnival, Wardown Park and New Bedford Road flooded, increasein number of calls to emergency services.

Economic/ strategic consequences :-

Costs of over 300,000 for cancellation of the Carnival (not inclusive of man hours to organiseevent) plus uninsurable losses.

Smaller scale event re-scheduled to September to showcase costumes etc. with associatedfinancial costs. Loss of a years worth of work including organising road closures, ensuringpublic health and safety and organising venues. Knock-on effect on reputation of the Council.

Services affected: All services involved in organisation of event



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The UK Climate Impacts Programmedescribe adaptation as takingaction to deal with the consequencesof a changing climate, resulting fromincreased levels of greenhousegases(UKCP09 Report, 2009).

In recognition of the role that localauthorities should be taking, in 2008the Government introduced an

Adapting to Climate Changeindicator (NI188) in the new LocalGovernment PerformanceFramework.

The indicator allows authorities andpartners to measure progress inadapting to climate change over fourlevels. The levels range fromidentifying the priority areas for

adaptation through to developingand maintaining an adaptation actionplan.

Luton Forum has chosen NI 188 asone of the 35 Local Area Agreement(LAA) improvement indicators andagreed to achieve the highest levelof the indicator (level 4) by 2011/12.To put this into context, the

Governments overall objective inthis field is to support LocalAuthorities towards level 2 by2011/12. Achieving level 4 asplanned would put Luton in the 5%best performing councils in England.

Luton Borough Council is now at thestage where we can present anAdaptation Action Plan- a documentbringing together a comprehensiverisk based assessment of climatechange to Luton Borough Council,with adaptive actions for priorityservices to mitigate, or at leastmanage the risks.

The Climate Change Act 2008

The Climate Change Act 2008commits the UK to carry out anassessment on of the risks to the UKof climate change every five years.The first cycle is required to report toParliament by end of January 2012.

The Climate Change Risk

Assessment will provide evidence

and analysis which will enable all UK

Administrations to:-

Understand the level of risks

(threats and opportunities)

posed by climate change

(likelihood and scale of

impact) Compare the risks of a

changing climate with other

pressures on the Government

Prioritise adaptation policy

geographically and by sector

National Indicator 188 Planning to Adapt to Climate Change



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Assess the costs and benefits

of adaptation actions and

support the case for resources

for these

The Climate Change Act also gives

the Secretary of State the power to

direct certain organisations (statutory

undertakers for example) to produce

reports by the end of 2011 on the

impact of climate change on their

functions and how they plan to adapt

to these changes.

Climate change risk assessment process at LBC

LBC signed up to the NI 188 Planning to Adapt to Climate Change pledging to assess therisk associated with climate change and the implications for our services and ourcommunities of climate change impacts and adapt accordingly

High level stocktake of plans, strategies and policies for consideration of climate changeimpacts

Local climate impact profile process completed(based on evidence of Lutons vulnerabilityto severe weather events and in particular how these events affected the local communityas well as the authoritys assets and capacity to deliver services), incorporating a mediareview and one-to-one interviews with Heads of Service.

Heads of Service complete risk assessments for their vulnerability to climate change,listing the effects and impacts, control measures that are in place and scoring the risk to

service from 1 (low risk) to 9 (high risk)

Findings of the risk assessment used to identify priority services and adaptive actions forthese services incorporated into anAdaptation Action Plan



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Luton Borough Council is made up offive departments within whichService Heads were asked to assessthe risk of climate change to theirservice delivery, consider the effects,provide control measures tominimise the risk and provide a riskscore for their service as a whole.

These scores are listed inAppendix 1.

This plan lists the key areas thatwere identified through the riskassessment process, how theserisks can be controlled and specificareas for future action, allocated tothe relevant services.

The built environment is identified byCentral Government as a prioritysector for adaptation to a changingclimate. Built environment in thiscontext is understood as thecommissioning, design, constructionand operation of buildings, roads,utilities and other infrastructure.

Because of its longevity, the builtenvironment needs plans that dealnot only with new-build but also withmaintenance and retro-fitting ofexisting buildings and infrastructure.

It is also one of the sectors whereadaptation options must carefullyconsider the impact on carbondioxide emissions. The use ofmechanical air-conditioning toprovide cooling in the face ofincreased summertime temperaturesis a simple example of a mal-

adaptation strategy that will increasegreenhouse gas emissions.

Most commonly expected effects of achanging climate on the builtenvironment include:

increased risk of subsidence(e.g. in Farley Hill andStopsley)

reduced thermal comfort ofoccupants (especially fromoverheating in summer)

increased damage to propertyand infrastructure

temporarily impassable roads

increased disruptions to

transport services increased maintenance of

roadside verges

Luton Borough Councils responsesto address the above issues arecoming from a number of different

Climate risks and adaptive actions

Adapting Built Environment



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Services including Planning, Capitaland Asset Management, HighwayStrategy, Maintenance andEngineering, Road Safety andRegeneration.

The Council has included ClimateChange Risk in its risk registers ofmajor construction projects and as afactor in assessing suitability of itsown property portfolio. Adaptation tohotter weather and local flooding isbeing taken into account in majornew build and regeneration projectsand it is making its way into the LocalDevelopment Framework (see

Butterfield Case Study).

Adaptive actions feature in the recentrefresh of the Local Transport Plan(LTP3) and as well as in theoperational practices of road networkmaintenance.

Areas of further work include areview of budget implications,considerations on how the risk ofdelays in works should be splitbetween the contractor and client,setting thresholds and reviewingspecifications of constructionsmaterials and re-evaluation of roadsafety measures addressing varying

seasonal use of the public highwayand extreme weather events.

Adaptation in buildings Butterfield Business Park, Luton

This award winning LBC building is one of thefirst office buildings in the UK to incorporate arange of new energy efficient systemsincluding a ventilation system using earthducts, solar power, sustainable drainagesystems and thermal mass cooling. It alsooptimises natural light whilst minimisingoverheating due to direct sunlight through theorientation of the buildings; solar shading, inthe form of automatic internal blinds; andstrategic planting of deciduous trees tomaximise shading.

Utilising these types of technology will be vitalin the future to ensure that our buildings are fitfor purpose and comfortable for work in allconditions, without relying on measures suchas air conditioning in periods of hot weather.



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The risk of flooding in Luton islocalised and the most effective way

to reduce the risk of localisedflooding is to look at long-termadaptation of the environmentthrough redevelopment andchanging the character of urbanareas situated in the flood plain.Luton has certain characteristics thatmakes the town susceptible tolocalised flooding, for example heavydevelopment and significantinfrastructure on areas of the

floodplain. Future development andurban expansion may also increasethe risk of flooding throughincreasing rapid run off from non-permeable surfaces.

At this point in time, the types offlooding that Luton is most likely tosuffer from include overtopping ofriver banks and the channel,

overflow of surface water drains andinundation of sewers. With predictedchanges in rainfall patterns and anincrease in severe weather thesetypes of flooding may become morecommon for Luton.

The Pitt Review, published in 2008was a response to the UK 2007floods and detailed 92

recommendations covering flood riskmanagement (knowing when andwhere it may flood; better planningand reducing the risk of flooding andits impact); emergency response;maintaining power and watersupplies and protecting essentialservices; better advice and helping

people to protect their families andhomes; and recovery.

As a response to theserecommendations, the Luton FloodManagement Group was set up tooversee local flood risk managementissues and respond to the pointshighlighted in the Pitt Review. ForLuton, important key actions arisingfrom the report will be taken forwardby the Luton Flood Management

Group and are included in thisAdaptation Action Plan.

As a follow up to this work, theGroup will ensure the developmentof a Surface Water ManagementPlan. The Surface WaterManagement Plan is a documentthat will assist in planning for anddealing with flooding from

overflowing sewers, drains, smallwater courses and ditches that occuras a result of heavy rainfall, which isa specific problem in Luton.

The Luton Flood Management Groupalso have a detailed action plan andhave completed work in the followingareas:

Completing a Strategic FloodRisk Assessment for Lutonand South Bedfordshire

Including SFRA policies inLocal DevelopmentFramework documents

Minimising Flood Risk



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Gaining access to ThamesWaters online asset data toassist in locating sewers tohelp in dealing with floodingincidents

Luton Borough Council is alsoheavily involved in working withthe Local Resilience Forum forBedfordshire and Luton (BLLRF)on tasks such as completing aVulnerable Persons procedure to

identify persons who may needassistance in times of floodingand a bringing together a MultiAgency Group Response Plan tospecifically address flooding

issues. BLLRF are planning totake climate change trends intoconsideration when draftingprocedures for future incidents.



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Parks and green spaces of Lutonoffer significant opportunities formitigating against and adapting tothe changing climate. Green spacesare essential for retention of waterand modification of temperatures inan urban environment. Trees inparticular play a significant role incooling the air and providing shadefor the benefit of people and wildlife.Hotter summer temperatures arelikely to see an increase in use ofparks for outdoor activities andshade. Furthermore, large expansesof grass provide areas for waterabsorption, essential in managingthe flood risk in town.

At the same time the changingclimate poses a serious threat tobiodiversity and endurance of thegreen spaces from heat-stress,drought, strong winds and gales,pests and diseases. Extremeweather conditions are a particularchallenge in the management of thetowns tree stock. The combination ofmore frequent gales and wetterwinters is making the premature lossof the towns mature and veteran treestock a cause for considerableconcern. Hotter and drier summerscould cause an increase in claims for

subsidence caused by trees andincrease risk of fire damage. Also,establishing new trees and shrubsand maintenance of green spacescould become more challenging asirrigation may be limited during watershortages in the summer.

Mitigation against and adaptation tochanges in climate are being widelyincorporated in the way local parksand green spaces are designed andmanaged. The Draft Luton and SouthBedfordshire Green Space Strategy(2008) recommends that in both newgreen space provision andenhancement of existing sitesimportant decisions need to be takento include choice of trees and shrubsto withstand more extreme weatherconditions and to incorporatesensitively designed storage ponds.

Consideration should be given to: Drought resistant planting Permanent and Temporary ponds

to which runoff is directed Selection of tree species based

upon research or likely shifts inclimate zones associated withclimate change

At an operational level new risks arebeing taken into account and speciescomposition in seasonal displays arebeen adapted to sustain draughts,for example bedding displays in StGeorges Square are using geraniumagain because they need less waterthan other seasonal bedding plants.

Further planned areas of workinclude increasing the tree cover inLuton, developing and amendingappropriate tree management plansand increasing awareness of the roleof parks and green spaces in achanging climate among staff,voluntary groups and visitors

Enhancing Green Infrastructure



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Changing demand for services as aresult of the impacts of climatechange is likely to have a significanteffect on local authorities.

For instance, climate changes arelikely to lead to more outdoorlifestyles resulting in changes in

demand for parks, sporting andleisure facilities but also to morelittering and noise complaints. Hottersummers are likely to lead tochanges in pattern of demand forsocial and medical support services,as a result of vulnerable clientssensitivity to extreme temperaturesbut also increase in public healthrelated pests, communicablediseases, food poisoning and air

quality issues among others.

More extreme weather events couldalso mean more damage to councilhousing stock and buildings,disruptions to service delivery,increase in the number ofemergencies and rise in demand forlocal authority enforcement action onlittering, fly tipping, noise nuisance,rogue trading or anti social

behaviour.

Finally some services may need tochange their character and extendthe range of service, for example thefuel poverty team may need to startsupplying emergency summercooling equipment in addition toemergency winter heaters providedat the moment.

In order to ensure effective planningand delivery of services, LutonBorough Council has undertakenincorporating climate change risksinto the corporate managementprocesses. Climate change issueshave now found a way into businesscontinuity plans, service deliveryplans and the corporate plan.

Many services have recentlyundertaken (or are planning to)reviews to ensure flexibility inresponse to changes in demand andemergency situations. Jobdescriptions are being amended toinclude new responsibilitiesregarding management of variousrisks. Also budgets are being closelymonitored to ensure effective

allocations of finance for revised oradditional provisions.

Resilience of Services Delivery


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Changes in climate towards hottersummers, milder winters and moreinstances of severe weather willchallenge traditional workingmethods. Through completing riskassessments on the effects ofclimate change on their serviceareas, service managers haveconsidered some of the issues thatare of particular importance.

Many services operating within LutonBorough Council recognise thathaving flexible staffing arrangementsis a key response to staff shortages,arising from factors such as severeweather preventing access to theworkplace.

The main concern for service

managers is threefold:

The impact of severe weatheron staff access to work(especially to town centrelocations)

The effect of extreme weather(excessive heat/cold) onworking conditions,productivity and health andsafety of staff

Meeting demand for serviceswhen staffing levels may becompromised

Services are planning, or have madearrangements through their BusinessContinuity Plans for key staff to beequipped with remote access to theirdocuments, voicemail and email sowork can be completed from anotherlocation, such as at home. The issueof managing staff and deliveringservices in times when decreasedlevels of staffing is coupled with anincrease in demand for services

(such as the call centre in times ofheavy snow, dealing with serviceenquiries and requests forassistance from residents) has alsobecome apparent, which in turnneeds a flexible approach to workingpatterns and locations to deliver theservice level expected.

With the issues raised by service

managers in mind, it is apparent thatthere is a need for bothcomprehensive guidance for servicemanagers as to some of the actionsthat can be taken to ensure theirworkforce remains safe, well andproductive during periods of severeweather and guidance to employeesto raise general awareness of theeffects of extreme heat or cold andthe impact of climate change.

Workforce Capability



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Luton Borough Council have alreadytaken steps to build adaptivecapacity into the organisation by fullyassessing the impacts of climatechange across the Council. Bycompleting a comprehensive riskbased assessment of impacts ofclimate change and severe weatheron service delivery, LBC hasidentified the services areas that aremost vulnerable to an increase in

instances of severe weather andlong term temperature changes.

LBC have a climate change team,whose work includes communicatingmessages about climate change andfuture impacts to residents,community groups, businesses,managers and staff. The

communication campaign MyClimate is an umbrella campaignthat aims to engage these keystakeholders. The climate changeteam have led many events on thetheme of adaptation and climatechange impacts, both internally withservice managers and externally withLSP partners.

LBCs Communications Team isresponsible for communicatingheadline messages in times of

severe weather (for example schoolclosures) and use a variety ofmethods to do this, including radioand through the LBC website. Theyare working to ensure that themembers of staff responsible for thisvital communication link can useremote working to be able to publishthese messages, even if they areunable to get to the office in person.

Information Management (IM) haveresponsibility for ensuring stabilityand reliability of LBC IT andtelecommunications infrastructurewhich is vital to communicatemessages within the organisation.When this may be compromised(e.g. in times of severe weather,power cuts etc.) there will be extra

monitoring of systems to spot thefirst signs of overheating/ powerinterruption and act accordingly.

The Adaptation Action Plan will actas a communication tool for thosewho have not been made aware ofthe specific risks that LBC faces as aresult of climate change, as it is

publicly available and regularlyupdated to reflect changes in servicepriorities.

Communicating Climate Change Risks



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Luton Borough Council is ideally

placed to provide guidance andleadership to many stakeholders andlocal authorities can play a vital rolein helping their local community tobecome more resilient to extremeweather and climate change.

Communities look towards their localauthority for support to act on climate

change, but also for guidance on theimpacts of these changes. LBC workin close partnership with theBedfordshire and Luton LocalResilience Forum (BLLRF) who havea warning and informing procedurefor communicating to residents andpartners during an emergency, suchas a flood. BLLRF, supported byLBC also promote preparedness forflooding to residents by encouraging

them to sign up to the EnvironmentAgencys Floodline Warnings Directsystem through a link on the BLLRFwebsite.

LBC are also well placed to provideschools with the guidance they needto adapt to climate change andmanage the risks that it may bring.

The communication channels LBChas with schools can be used to

reach children and therefore parents,

by supporting schools tocommunicate the issues withstudents through the curriculum.

The Sustainable CommunityStrategy for Luton- Our vision forLuton in 2026 by the LSP statesadapting to climate change as a keypriority to 2014. As a main partner in

the LSP, LBC is actively involved inorganising events to raise awarenessof the effects and risks of climatechange, providing the offer ofsupport to organisations who want tolook more closely at the risks to theirown service delivery.

LBC services are planning to

encourage more collaboration andpartnership working with statutoryagencies, businesses and thevoluntary sector within the LSP onadapting to climate change, fromsupporting businesses to assesstheir own risks to encouraging healthservices to look more closely at theadverse effects of climate change onhealth.

Providing Leadership



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Embedding Adaptive Responses

For this adaptation action plan to besuccessfully implemented, it isfundamental that the authority takesownership, reflecting effectiveadaptive responses and principleswithin its actions and services itdelivers. To fully embed climatechange adaptation a number of

actions, outlined below, will have tobe taken forward by staff, membersand the council as a whole.

Strategic ownership and oversight

Overall management andresponsibility for the plan will lie withthe Sustainability Board. The board,

chaired by the Corporate Director ofEnvironment and Regeneration, hasresponsibility for overseeingenvironmental work delivered by theauthority and its partners. Meetingevery eight weeks, the board willseek updates and support work ofofficers to fully implement all theactions within the plan. Theoutcomes of each meeting arereported via a briefing note which is

presented by the Chair to the Valuefor Money Board (VfM) andCorporate Leaders and ManagementTeam (CLMT), which are the primary

management boards for the wholeauthority.

Reporting

The Board will review annually thetargets and actions within the plan.An annual progress report on actionsto date will be presented to the

Executive in April of each year andthe Overview and Scrutiny Boardwhen requested. The plan willrequire updating, when for examplenew funding streams becomeavailable or new evidence basedstudies or guidance documents arepublished. For this reason, the AAPwill be a live document, beingreviewed and updated over time,allowing it to reflect the changing

economic and legislative driversaround the climate change agenda.

Risks and issues management

The named officer leads within theplan will have responsibility for themanagement of their risks andopportunities. If risks arise they

should be dealt with within existingmanagement arrangements. If it isfelt that the risk is not being dealtwith appropriately, the issue will bereported to the Sustainability Board

Next steps



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Appendices

Appendix 1: Service Risk Ratings for Luton Borough Council

Dept Service CURRENT CONTROLLEDScrutiny 9 9Chief

Executives Democratic Services 3 2

Emergency Planning 9 9

Corporate Assets Management 9 5

CommunicationsCorporate&CustomerServices Corporate Finance

8 6

9 9

Customer Services 5 5

Corporate HR 5 2

IM 9 9Internal Audit 1 1

Legal 5 5

Revenues and Benefits 9 9

Regeneration 5 5

Environment & Consumer ServicesEnvironment&Regeneration Planning (service/extreme weather)

9 5

3 3

Planning (built env/flood) 3 3

Planning (built env/heath) 3 3

RPR 9 5Fleet Transport (adverse weather) 8 8

Fleet Transport (gradual change) 3 1Parks Service (adverse weather) 7 7

Parks Service (gradual change) 3 1

Highway Maintenance (adverse weather) 5 2

Highway Maintenance (gradual change) 3 3

Street Cleansing (adverse weather) 5 5

Street Cleansing (gradual change) 3 3

Refuse Collection (adverse weather) 5 5

Refuse Collection (gradual change) 3 1

Community Safety & Enforcement (adverseweather) 5 5

Community Safety & Enforcement (gradualchange) 3 3



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CURRENTDept Service CONTROLLEDEngineering & Transportation 5 5


Integrated Transport ProgrammeEnvironment&Regeneration Station Quarter

7 4

9 7

Integrated Children Services (S,E,C) 2 1Children &Learning Integrated Children Services (N,W) 2 1

RPR 2 1

School Improvement 3 2

Housing Landlord (cold) 5 2

Housing Landlord (wind)Housing &Community

Living Housing Landlord (heat/drought)

2 2

5 2Housing Landlord (flood) 3 1Private Sector Housing (flood) 2 1

Private Sector Housing (wind) 5 2

Private Sector Housing (heat) 5 2

RPR 5 2

Adult Social Care (heatwave/drought) 5 2

Adult Social Care (flood) 3 1

Adult Social Care (excess cold/snow) 5 1

Adult Social Care (wind) 2 1


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Appendix 2 Key Actions

Adapting Lutons built environment to a changing climate

Key action Timeframe Responsibility

Review construction materials specifications to reflectchanging temperatures and conditions. Set thresholds formaterials changes

Review every 12months

HighwaysEngineering

Consider health and safety of the workforce when working

out on site including appropriate PPE for differing weatherconditions

Ongoing Engineering

Services

Review road safety measures in place to address the varyingseasonal use of the public highway, including education,promotion of reflective/hi visibility items, road safetyengineering schemes addressing safer routes to services,schools etc

Ongoing Road safety

Mitigate against extreme weather impacts on

programmed worksWork to be reprogrammed in the event of severe weatherpreventing highway works

Ongoing, review

every 6 months

Highways

Engineering

Include policies in the Local Development Framework toimprove design standards for new buildings and for adaptionof existing buildings to withstand periods of extreme hotweather

2011/ 2012 Planning



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Include policies in the Local Development Framework tominimise the effects on the built environment of periods ofextreme rainfall. Appropriate policies within the LDF tominimise hard surfaces in key locations, maximisesustainable drainage systems.

2011/ 2012 Planning

Promote sustainable design principles (including climatechange adaptation) among developers Ongoing Planning

Maintain and refurbish existing buildings to improve resilienceto extreme weather events and longer term effects of climatechange.

Ongoing CAM

Regularly review services provided from locations andsuitability of existing buildings

Ongoing, reviewevery 3 months

CAM

Consider reviewing Asset Management Plan to includeclimate change adaptation as a criterion of building suitability

2010/11 CAM

Ensure air conditioning is serviced on a regular basis. Reviewprovisions of air conditioning units

Ongoing PropertyServices

Review specification of materials used in rigid and flexiblepavement types. Consider reviewing skid resistanceperformance criteria

2010/11 Engineering andTransportation

Assess which parts of network are most at risk and prioritiseimprovements and alternative routes. Assess and prioritisekey routes

Covered inNetworkManagement andCongestionStrategy 2008 -2012

Engineering andTransportation

Ensure adequate levels of drainage maintenance and assessand prioritise key routes


Review established resources for winter maintenance.Review use of budgets in cases of warm winters. WinterMaintenance

Ongoing,reviewed annually


Review contract conditions to ensure client is protected fromcontractual claims. Share or transfer risk to contractor

As and whencontracts areprepared




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Monitor budgets for exceptional expenditure events. Plan forfuture expenditure. Where additional expenditure is highlylikely, ensure medium term plan adequately reflects financialneed

AnnualProgramme ofWorks preparedand monitoredmonthly


Minimising Flood Risk in Luton


Ensure the Luton Strategic Flood Risk Assessment is rolledout to policy planners, Development Control, EmergencyPlanners so everyone is aware and making use of thedocument

2010 LBCDevelopmentControlLuton FloodManagement

GroupConsidering EA Map provided on surface water flood risks,identify all Luton-owned bridges, culverts, sewers and drains;and devise a strategy to establish current condition andrequired remedial/ redevelopment work

Medium Term

Work in partnership with the EA to progress the Luton FloodRisk Management Strategy to identify in detail the mosteffective and sustainable options for managing flood risk.

Ongoing Luton FloodManagementGroup

Develop an asset replacement policy to enable existingassets to be replaced with more sustainable options throughregeneration and redevelopment.

Short Term LBCRegenerationLBC Planning

LBC CAMTo collate and map the main flood risk management anddrainage assets (over and underground), including a recordof LBC ownership and condition.

September 2011 Luton FloodManagementGroup

Develop Local Surface Water Management Plans, as set outunder PPS25 and coordinated by local authorities to providethe basis for managing all local flood risk.

March 2011 Luton FloodManagementGroup



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Managing and enhancing Lutons green infrastructure to improve resilience to a changing clim


To review the current policy of the planting of two trees forevery one removed

2010- 2011 Parks

Electronically record the current tree stock and then developmanagement plans for the street and parks trees

2010- 2012 Parks

Create a register of all trees in the borough that would bereviewed annually and include: removals and replacementsand ideally impact on CO2 reduction

2010 - 2012 Parks

Continue to pursue the sponsorship of tree planting forexternal companies

2010-12 Parks

Provide training to parks employees and volunteers toincrease awareness of parks and green space contribution tomitigate against climate change

Started 2008/9,ongoing

Parks

Open a new allotment site to match the demand in futureyears

2010-13 Parks

Ensure that all Park Management Plans include actions to

mitigate against climate change

Review annually Parks

Strive to meet targets of the Bedfordshire and LutonBiodiversity Action Plan

Ongoing Parks,Regeneration

Continue to work with partners in respect of Luton flood riskmanagement group , walking and cycling

Ongoing Parks



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To continue to improve the parks buildings within existingbudgets to reduce energy consumption of both water andfossil fuels

Review annually Parks

Implement recommendations of the Draft Luton and

Bedfordshire Green Space Strategy

Long term Planning,

Parks

Increasing resilience of Councils services delivery


To ensure that Luton Borough Councils Corporate BusinessContinuity Plan is full fit for purpose and is able to respond toa wide variety of emergency situations, including those

brought about by adverse weather conditions

Ongoing CorporateDirectors &Business

Continuity TeamTo ensure that individual Business Continuity Plan for allservice areas are full fit for purpose and is able to respond toa wide variety of emergency situations, including thosebrought about by adverse weather conditions

Heads ofService andCorporateDirectors

Regularly review Service Delivery Plans, Departmental Plansand the Corporate Plan to reflect potential impacts of climatechange and extreme weather based on the most up-to-dateevidence based research.

Ongoing Heads ofService andCorporateDirectors

To ensure Call Centre capability to deal with increasednumber of enquiries from the public following an extreme

weather event

Ongoing CCS

Consider increasing monitoring frequency of vulnerablecustomers in periods of extreme temperatures

2010/11 Housing andCommunityLiving

Monitor the numbers of weather related insurance claims toensure adequate contingency funds

Ongoing InsuranceManager



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Monitor the demand on Registration Services Ongoing,review

Legal

Environmental Health to implement recommendations of theLEx project to help streamline the processes and drive outwaste so that officers time is spent more efficiently

2010 Environmentand ConsumerServices

To adopt more integrated approach to clearing litter and otherareas that harbour pests. More emphasis on treating an arearather than individual properties

Ongoing Environmentand ConsumerServices

Prioritise environmental health and health and safetyenforcement in high risk businesses and trade sectors

Ongoing Environmentand ConsumerServices

Carry out air quality assessment in and around the airport Ongoing EnvironmentalProtection

Work closely with Licensing to ensure all venues make

suitable noise reduction measures.Operation Butler to deal with noise at weekends as ithappens

Ongoing Environmental

Protection

Review service activities to ensure efficiency 2009/10 EnvironmentalProtection

Housing Landlord to review the use partner and agencyresources to meet service demands

Ongoing Housing

Housing Landlord services to review vulnerable tenants toenable monitoring in periods of extremeweather/emergencies

Ongoing Housing

Request assistance from Tenants and ResidentsAssociations in emergencies, develop/review appropriateprocedures

Ongoing Housing

Housing Landlord to complete ongoing stock survey 2010 Housing

To develop procedure for re-commissioning once watersupply is restored

2010/11 Housing



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Consider setting aside a contingency fund to monitor and todeal with subsidence, issues connected with heat wave ordrought or any other damage due to adverse weatherconditions

2010/11 Housing

Improve housing standards and resilience through DecentHomes programme - insulation, new windows, new boilers Ongoing Housing

To assess all council housing properties in flood risk areasand develop long term management plans

2011/12 Housing

Increasing Workforce Capability to Adapt to Climate Change


All services to review staff remote access/ flexible workingarrangements as part of Business Continuity Plan updates

Next annualupdate of BCPs

ServiceManagers

Customer Services to provide telephone capability that linksinto the current call centre technology to enable staff to workout of locations other than in the town centre

2010 CustomerServicesManager

Revenue and Benefits service to look into home working 2010 Revenue andBenefitsManager

E&R RPR to encourage staff take sufficient breaks and plenty

of fluids in times of hot weather

Ongoing RPR Manager

Finance to monitor SSC charges with increased use of fansand air conditioning units in hot weather

Ongoing E&R Finance

Refuse Collection Service to review clothing requirementswith Health and Safety Team and Trade Unions in light ofchanges in weather conditions

2010 RefuseCollectionManager



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Fleet Transport to consider early start times/ later eveningfinish times to avoid the hottest part of the day

2010 Fleet Manager

Housing and Community Living department to consider riskassessing some roles for the effects of hot weather, revisingworking hours to avoid hottest part of the day and providing

rest periods for staff

April 2010 HCL ServiceHeads

HR to consider issuing corporate guidance on workingarrangements and employee well being in times of excessiveheat/cold and severe weather

2010 Corporate HRwith input fromdepartmentalHR

Raise staff awareness of the potential impacts of climatechange and extreme weather conditions on their work placeand their individual responsibilities towards building resilienceto those impacts

2010/11 Climate ChangeTeam

Housing and Community Living (Housing Landlord) toorganise briefings for first aiders to recognise signs of heatexhaustion

2010/11

Raising Awareness and Communicating Climate Change Risks


Children and Learning department to increase awareness ofhealth implications of extreme weather by using existing

partnerships with public health colleagues and existingcommunication channels to schools, childrens centres andparents to disseminate information

2011 IntegratedChildren

Services

Climate change team to continue work on raising awarenessof climate change impacts both within LBC and to residents,businesses and partners

Ongoing Climate ChangeTeam



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Environmental and Consumer Services to step up food safetycampaigns (in conjunction with FSA) in times of hot weatherwhen food poisoning risk is increased

As and whenneeded

Head of E&CS

Private sector housing to promote to householders insuringtheir home contents against severe weather damage

Ongoing Private SectorHousing

Ensure that PR and Web staff have remote access for issuingnews releases/ updating website in times of severe weather Dec 2010 Communications ManagerIM to begin to monitor IT installations closely for signs ofoverheating/ failure/ power interruption, plan for these events(through more agile virtual server technology) and actaccordingly

2010 IM Manager

To provide leadership across the Borough in increasing resilience and adapting to climate ch


To provide assistance and advice to Luton Forum membersto ensure robust flood resilience and climate changeadaptation across the borough


To continue active engagement and dialog with Luton andBedfordshire Local Resilience Forum


Distribute (and where necessary initiate developmentof)available specific guidance for supporting vulnerablegroups (e.g. children) in extreme weather conditions e.g. safesun policies, drinking water provisions guidance etc


Work with museums and libraries to raise awareness of theissues of climate change adaptation.


To cooperate in delivery of thematic exhibitions in museumson environment and climate change across the borough in2011.


To engage with local businesses to promote businesscontinuity planning and climate change adaptive action

Ongoing Regeneration


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ContactClimate Change TeamLuton Borough CouncilTown Hall01582 546004

Luton Borough Council Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan March 2010

Documents

Transcript of Luton Borough Council Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan March 2010