Clyde Climate Forest Regional Concordat
North Lanarkshire Council · 9 November 2022
Back to Environment and Climate Change Committee — 9 November 2022 and its agenda
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AM/VA Date 09/11/22 Clyde Climate Forest Regional Concordat From Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions E-mail mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary The report provides background on the Clyde Climate Forest programme. It outlines the vision for the programme, details the steps taken to date by the council to contribute to the regional initiative and outlines the commitment to the longer-term vision requested of the council. Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change committee: 1) Endorses the council’s initial engagement with Clyde Climate Forest. 2) Agrees to become a signatory to the Clyde Climate Forest Regional Concordat. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition statement (17) Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive
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1. Background 1.1 The Clyde Climate Forest (CCF) was launched by Glasgow city region in June 2021 with a headline target of “18 million trees over the next decade”. The aim of the Clyde Climate Forest is to enable and co-ordinate an approach that will deliver a major increase in tree planting across the Glasgow city region by 2032 as a response to the Climate Emergency. 1.2 Trees, woodlands, and forests provide a range of nature-based solutions to the twin and linked challenges of a changing climate and ecological collapse and the Clyde Climate Forest focuses on: • Urban trees – provide urban cooling in heatwaves, and surface water management for cloudbursts, whilst also providing some carbon storage and wildlife habitat; • Native woodlands – provide essential ecosystem services and habitat for associated species and, when part of a wider network, allow those species to migrate as the climate changes • Plantation forests – effective carbon sinks, can provide upstream natural flood management, provide construction timber to substitute for high emission steel and concrete and provide wildlife habitats. 1.3 Specific objectives for the Clyde Climate Forest are based on three ‘C’s: • Canopy: to increase average urban tree canopy cover to 20%; • Connectivity: to increase the average woodland habitat network area by 20% (142 Ha); • Carbon: to increase forest and woodland land cover in the Region to 20%. 1.4 This means that over the next decade the Clyde Climate Forest will facilitate and coordinate: • tree planting in urban neighbourhoods where there are few trees, and which are susceptible to the impacts of a changing climate; • new native woodlands in target locations which join up existing woodland habitats; • a doubling of the current rate of forest and woodland planting in the Region. 2. Report 2.1 A previous report to the Environment and Place committee in August 2022 noted the council’s intention to contribute towards the aims of the Clyde Climate Forest. To confirm this intention, it is proposed that the Council signs the concordat attached at Appendix 1 as this provides the opportunity to formalise the commitment and to publicise it more widely within our communities. 2.2 The same report highlighted the major loss of trees anticipated as Ash Dieback disease accelerates and the additional resources that will be required to deal with this disease and to both recover these losses and increase tree cover. Further reports will be brough to committee outlining resource requirements following completion of the Ash Die Back plan early next year. 2.3 The Clyde Climate Forest team have committed in the concordat to working with councils to seek additional resources and funding.
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Council engagement to date 2.4 The council’s Community Greenspace team sit on the CCF Canopy Cover Working Group. The aim of this working group is to undertake new urban tree planting which will be focused on towns and neighbourhoods with low levels of canopy cover, particularly in areas of deprivation and at risk from the impacts of climate change. 2.5 Following an assessment on urban tree canopy cover carried out by CCF, North Lanarkshire was found to have an average urban tree canopy cover of 16.5%. CCF have identified 4 Target Neighbourhoods across the Glasgow city region area where urban tree planting will be carried out this financial year (based around early opportunities that were identified for greenspace planting). One of those Target Neighbourhoods is Hattonrigg, Bellshill where urban tree canopy cover was identified to be 10.2%. Working in partnership with CCF and Trees for Cities, a number of local sites have been identified for planting of standard size trees and whips and as part of the project Trees for Cities will be undertaking consultation with the local community. Approximately 40 standard sized trees will be planted across the grounds of Noble Primary School and local amenity areas. Going forwards 16 other target neighbourhoods have been identified across the region including North Motherwell (7.9%) and Wishaw (10.6%) and these areas will be targeted for planting as part of the wider project, with early engagement to identify planting sites taking place ahead of planned future planting. 2.6 In further contribution to the aims of CCF, to date P7 pupils involved in the Outdoor Education Programme at Strathclyde Country Park have planted over 4500 native trees as part of the Climate Emergency Woods programme, a further site with 2300 trees has been planted at Low Wood (Cumbernauld) and two further sites in Calderbank and Palacerigg Country Park will be planted in the new planting season from October 3. Measures of success 3.1 Council signs the Clyde Climate Forest Regional Concordat and successfully prioritises the agreed aims and objectives 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 - Clyde Climate Forest Regional Concordat Andrew McPherson Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The concordat does not commit us to immediate costs, but tree management resources will be required to both recover tree cover from ash die back and increase canopy cover as described, and further reports will be brought to committee to outline these. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact
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Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Partnership with the Clyde Climate Forest gives opportunities to increase woodland cover in partnership 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Promote Clyde Climate Forest to our communities 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed?
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Appendix 1 – Clyde Climate Forest Regional Concordat
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The Clyde Climate Forest Glasgow City Region Concordat
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Actively participate in, and promote, the realisation of CCF targets within each council area; Support the work of the CCF team and the CCF Delivery Partners as part of the Council’s commitment to partnership working; Ensure the CCF is integrated and trees are embedded, as appropriate, into development plans, development frameworks, masterplans, design briefs along with corporate policy and investment documents; Manage, protect and enhance the council’s tree resource through robust tree canopy cover strategies and appropriate policies and practices; Identify council owned land holdings appropriate for woodland creation as part of the council’s plans to achieve ‘Net Zero’; Work with the CCF team to identify ‘target neighbourhoods’ to increase urban canopy cover, and to identify potential tree planting sites, target available resources and facilitate delivery; Actively participate in the CCF ‘Canopy Working Group’ and other CCF working groups as they arise; Actively promote a cultural change in relation to tree provision and management and overcome perceived barriers to the planting and the retaining of appropriate trees; Actively work toward achieving the globally recognised status as a ‘Tree City of the World’ for each council. GCR Councils commit from this date to:The government’s support for the Clyde Climate Forest (CCF) through its inclusion in Scotland’s National Planning Framework; The CCF concept and targets as described in the CCF brochure The opportunity the creation of the CCF provides to deliver our economic, social and environmental aims; The opportunity to develop and enhance our partnerships with other Local Authorities, National Agencies, NGOs and communities in delivering CCF ambitions. GCR welcome: Date Work to achieve CCF targets within each Council area and to seek additional resources and funding to facilitate their delivery; Promote the interests and activities of each Council toward trees and their management, protection and enhancement wherever possible within the architecture of the CCF; Ensure that CCF communications work is compatible with, and supportive of GCR communications. The Clyde Climate Forest* commit from this date to: *The Clyde Climate Forest here refers to the CCF staff team and the CCF Delivery Partners (namely: Scottish Forestry; Woodland Trust Scotland; TCV Scotland; Green Action Trust; Trees for Cities and Glasgow City Region). The Clyde Climate Forest will see 18 million trees planted across the region over the next decade as a response to the Climate and Ecological Emergencies. Glasgow City Region’s (GCR) local authorities are important stakeholders in its delivery. Objectives – • Urban trees – 1.5 million trees to increase tree canopy cover in urban areas vulnerable to climate impacts • Woodland habitats – new woods in over 200 locations to connect our habitats and create migration routes for wildlife • New forests – doubling the current rate of woodland creation to lock up carbon and create new jobs and a renewable resource for the region. Councillor Gordan Low, Leader, East Dunbartonshire Council Councillor Owen O’Donnell, Leader, East Renfrewshire Council Councillor Iain Nicolson, Leader, Renfrewshire Council Councillor Jim Logue, Leader, North Lanarkshire Council Councillor Stephen McCabe, Leader, Inverclyde Council Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader, Glasgow City Council Councillor Martin Rooney, Leader, West Dunbartonshire Council Councillor Joe Fagan, Leader, South Lanarkshire Council Trees, woodlands, and forests have a vital role to play in making Glasgow City Region resilient to the impacts of a changing climate, helping to achieve ‘Net Zero’, and repairing our damaged ecosystems; Additional effort must be made to manage, protect and enhance our existing trees and increase the number of trees in urban and rural areas if we are to gain the climate and ecological benefits that they can afford; We must plan to deliver the benefits and values that trees, woodlands, and forests can provide to all the region’s people equally; Delivering the change at scale required for our regional tree, woodland and forest resource can only take place over a long period with sustained resourcing; GCR acknowledge that:
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7482 5/21 www.traffic-design.co.uk The Clyde Climate Forest is being delivered with the help of: The Clyde Climate Forest is a Green Network Blueprint delivery project. Contact Us Clyde Climate Forest c/o TCV, Unit M1, Rosemount Workspace 141 Charles Street Glasgow G21 2QA @ClydeClimateFor www.clydeclimateforest.co.uk