Agenda item

(1)       Ms Carolyn McKenzie (KCC Sustainability and Climate Change Manager) gave a presentation on Coastal Communities 2150 (CC2150). The slides from this presentation are contained in the on-line agenda papers.

(2)       Ms McKenzie said that the purpose of CC2150 was to help communities to develop their own local visions and action plans to decrease their vulnerability and increase resilience to climate and coastal change.  She said that some impacts of climate and coastal change were already being felt through severe events such as flooding, severe heat or cold.  Preparation for these events was not at the level that it needed to be.

(3)       Ms McKenzie said that between the years 1961 and 2006, average temperatures had risen by 1 degree over all four seasons.  These years had been characterised by heavy winds and downpours as well as a decrease in summer rainfall.

(4)       Ms McKenzie explained that CC2150 was a partnership. It was led by the Environment Agency and involved Kent CC, Hampshire CC, Alterra (a research institute for the green living environment in the Netherlands), Province West-Vlaanderen (Belgium) and the Agency for Maritime and Coastal Services.

(5)       Ms McKenzie then set out the risks and opportunities from climate and coastal change.  The risks were loss of biodiversity, risk to built infrastructure, risk to flood security, increased frequency of flooding, health complications, increased rates of coastal erosion, shrinking of beaches and loss of landscape value.  The opportunities provided were increased tourism, increased regeneration potential, agriculture and biodiversity diversification, renewable energy resources, skills development, economic development, and community building.

(6)       Ms McKenzie went on to refer to the Severe Weather Impact Monitoring System that had been developed in Kent.  This had revealed that on two weeks’ rainfall had fallen during a two hour period on 20 July 2012.  Another example of the impact of severe weather had been provided by the London Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine which had revealed that 700 deaths had occurred due to heatwaves in 2013. 

(7)       CC2150’s priority communities in Kent were Romney Marsh, Margate and Cliftonville, and the Isle of Sheppey.  The method of delivery was to build knowledge, widen partnership working, develop visions, develop plans, and launch the project within the community.  Each of these activities would lead naturally to the next, and the community launch would be the spur to further knowledge building as well as the final act of a project.  Examples of practical actions were the development of flood alert systems, water retention and conservation measures and insulation from heat and cold.

(8)       Ms McKenzie said that the next steps would be to attend and host events, gather local feedback and to develop the Vision and Action Plans.  This would continue the pattern of very good local engagement that had already taken place.

(9)       Members of the Committee thanked Ms McKenzie for her presentation and also commented on the excellent awareness-raising work undertaken by Christine Wissink (KCC Coastal Communities Project Manager).

(10)     In response to a question from Mr Vickery-Jones, Ms Mckenzie said that the health impacts of climate change were to dramatically worsen environment-related conditions such as asthma.

(11)     Ms Wissink replied to a question from Mrs Blandford by saying that a large number of studies had taken place locally, nationally and globally on plants that were able to sustain themselves. This was all part of work being undertaken to identify crops that needed less intensive water usage.

(12)     RESOLVED that the presentation on CC2150 be noted with thanks, including the work that is being undertaken on the impacts of coastal and climate change.