Issue - meetings

Mr D Wimble - Cabinet Member for (the Kent) Environment presented the item. Ben Hudson- Energy Security and Future Impacts Manager were in attendance

1.Mr Wimble introduced the decision and discussed that KCC had secured £4 million in external funding to upgrade estates and utilities, generating nearly £9 million in fuel and utility savings over five years in addition to the £1 million generated from KCC’s two solar farms.

a)  KCC had cut emissions from 23,000 tonnes to under 10,000. Despite the progress made financial and technological constraints remained challenging to achieving the full 50% reduction target.

b)  KCC had received £24 million in external funding, with £21 million secured in 2020–21. Accessing new funding was becoming increasingly difficult.

c)  Some targets in the Net Zero plan were not feasible under current technology constraints, so greater flexibility would be needed to optimise solutions. The New Energy Efficiency plan was built on four principles: financial value, pragmatism, efficiency, and solutions led technology fit. A 2026 action plan covered estate efficiency, fleet optimisation, governance, and finance. The contract offered a balanced approach to emissions reduction and efficiency and enabled KCC to modernise assets and explore financial options whilst retaining the benefits of its previous net zero plan.

2.Members responded to the presentation:

a)  Members raised concerns that there were not enough significant differences between the plan presented and the previous approach. Furthermore, a number of Members voiced scepticism at the proposed £32 million pound of savings.

b)  It was further raised that the decision represented an abandonment of previous Net Zero strategies and would impact on any savings that had been made to date. Future decarbonisation bid works were also noted as an area of concern.

c)   Mr Wimble addressed Members concerns and suggested that KCC was not abandoning its climate strategy or denying climate change. The decision was made to move away from the constraints of the strategy to allow best policy practice.

d)  Members asked officers for an historic example of when a past net zero scheme did not focus on value for money or result in cost saving. Officers addressed the point by clarifying that in the early stages after recognising the climate emergency, KCC had accessed government funding, often 100% grants which had enabled investment in schemes without immediate financial returns

e)  Queries were raised on the 2026 action plan reference to fleet optimisation. Mr Wimble responded that the Council would review all fleet vehicle options, including EVs, diesel, and petrol, with decisions based on best value. Current contracts could be extended, and council owned vehicles could be retained longer. The aim would avoid any unnecessary spending on vehicles that could only be used briefly or redistributed under potential Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). Members raised frustrations on the clarity of the £7.5 million proposed savings.

f)    Mr Prater (named as requested in the Minutes) shared that the presented report had in fact captured that the past Council’s Net Zero work had saved millions of pounds and avoided significant  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44