This report is a transcription of notes taken during the meeting on flipcharts and in small groups. 

Agenda

  • Welcome and Introductions
  • Short presentations
    • Tony Norton
    • Alistair Mumford
    • Tara Bower
    • David Durant
  • Working session
  • End by 5pm

Objectives

  • Hear about what is needed to be achieved and some of the existing initiatives
  • Develop ideas and recommend Actions for the Action plan

A series of short presentations were followed by questions between each presentation. The presentations are appended to the end of this report. The following is a transcription of the notes made during the question and discussion following presentations from  Tony Norton, Alistair Mumford , Tara Bower and David Durant.

  • House building in Torbay. Do costs include embedded energy in new and existing buildings?  Refurbishment to reduce embodied energy.  Future home standard on the way but not with us yet.
  • Torbay and Paignton – lots of old buildings, is this a particular problem to our area? Do we have the capacity to meet retrofit needs via traditional planning?
  • Heat pumps and insulation must go hand-in hand.
  • Behaviour change is tiny from the stats but how do we convince people it is worth it?
  • Regarding pumps? Are you talking about air or ground source? Ground source is more expensive, need bore holes and lots of space. There is research into shared arrays
  • Heat pumps – fine for private individual but for the fuel poor government funds are needed.
  • Role for Local authorities to coordinate people who want pumps. Project with Regen on this.
  • How do we stop shoddy and fraudulent retrofit installers? Trading standards. Cosy Devon is calling out cold callers and those pretending to be from the Council
  • Training insulation Paz 2035 to help create local jobs. All must be compliant, installers need qualifications
  • Citizens Assembly, include link to CA to this report
  • Do doctors pass on leads for health reasons? They do but very few.  Should also be getting leads from Food banks
  • Private land-lords in Torbay? How many? EPC data from rentals and Western power data.
  • Are there any Passive houses in Torbay. Exeter City Council have built a few.

Notes from the Working sessions

What is important and how do we accelerate change.  Who should be helping to deliver?

  • All new development and to be Net Zero now funding and planning
  • Come up with examples of good projects people know of (in and out of Torbay). Who is delivering these?
  • All new development to be net zero now – Need to involve funding and planning. How to make local plans utilise the existing evidence base.
  • Retrofit – Community champions, and develop a system so the installers, insulators etc are champions.
  • Education – Primary, Secondary, and higher education, building relationships with schools
  • Retrofit – backwards sounding techy, not a great word, rebrand and frame it as more accessible. Future fit.
  • Permitted development rights PV’s and double glazing in listed buildings shouldn’t need permission
  • Working with landlord’s forum. Bring in sharing best practice and work together, forming networks e.g. Sanctuary housing
  • Construction skills
    • Future fit skills for builders and others in industry
  • Social housing sector / Local authority be able to trial without the use of red tape
  • Torbay signing up to ‘Lendology’, that helps people to access cheap loans for future-fitting
  • Check-a-trade to minimise the scoundrels
  • Make alternative to gas market more attractive
  • Take to gas installers who need to renew and get skilled in alternatives.
  • Examples – Live-West, schemes in Bristol, using ground-source heat pumps, they are happy to share findings
  • Exeter Passiv houses
  • Energy Sprong scheme
  • Large number of caravans and park houses – Teignbridge.
  • Education system? Lobbying for retrofit education, needs a policy change.
  • FE/HE colleges
  • Inspire a future workforce into retrofit construction – partnering with construction companies, go into schools and careers fairs
  • Funding – we need to attract funds in all new (Re) development to be NZC now. A better solution than Air source heat pumps
  • Dealing with heat loss first. Educating the workforce PAZ2035
  • Allow changes to properties – triple glazing in conservation areas
  • Planning must be easier for energy improvements
  • Focus on micro generation
  • Retro-fit! Only  572 homes funded across Devon – use community energy champions to accelerate work , trained qualifications skills process – do those become ambassadors? Limk those working in the industry with carbon reduction promotion Inc, Buildins regs officers
  • Western power social indicator mapping to access data. Map fuel poverty and fuel depravation to target key areas.  – link to independent agents and landlords
  • Whole carbon life cycle assessment
  • Evidence base improvement to support net zero construction in Torbay.

Come up with examples of good projects (in and out of the Bay) Who is delivering these?

  • ZEB – CAT
  • Build Torbay
  • Plymouth empty homes project (job centre conversion)
  • Exeter City Council – Passivhaus investment subsidy
  • EG advantage SW – procurement club to aggregate supply
  • Landlord forum in Exeter
  • BAM / Whole life cycle analysis in new build
  • Livewest – best practice sharing, share customer experience
  • Lendology
  • Low carbon Hub (Manchester)

Recommendations for the carbon neutral Torbay Action Plan.

  • TCC needs to declare that all new builds HAS to be 0% carbon Enforcement?
  • Also all consequential developments
  • More manufacturing supply chain being sited in the Torbay/South Hams area
  • Discounted retrofit installation plans.
  • Retrofit – word sound like ‘going backwards’ Social media campaign which is accessible.
  • Drop in centre /clinics which flow from social media campaign – explain the context.
  • Exeter City Council Passivhaus – investment subsidy
  • Advantage SW – procurement club to aggregate supply e.g. Daikin Ash?
  • Live-West has developed flats in Hartcliffe using mains district heating system off GSHP
  • All new build Net Zero – now!
  • How to get / incentivise people off gas before 2050
  • New innovative technologies needed – easy access to procurement
  • Fast track new technologies
  • Net zero planning powers – no need to apply for PV
  • Attack the private rented market – no exemption / slow adoption
  • Enforce C by 2030
  • Address fuel poverty to avoid health issues from damp and mould
  • More people to accelerate /spread the word. (community Champions)
  • Local jobs and SDC ambassadors for industry and role in Clustering locally social enterprise
  • Data Analysis – link to Prospect Brixham to pilot
  • Landlord forum Engaged and info sharing
  • Data – find the quick work, those in most need
  • Campaigns not one size fits all
  • Flexible funding and Torbay signup to Lendology
  • Review local plan to increase net-Zero standards
Name Organisation
Alistair Munford Devon County Council
Amy O'Dwyer
Bernice Williams
Chris Gunson Local Spark
David Durant PassivHaus
David Pickhaver Planning
Gale Alexander
Helena Davidson TDA skills and construction
Ian Stronach Sanctuary
Jennifer Walter
Justin Millman Westward Housing
Liam Montgomery TDA / Tor Vista
Matt Bamsey
Nathan Cronk Livewest
Nick Walter
Pamela Charlick
Stephen Moors
Tara Exeter Community Energy
Tracy Brooks Planning