Agenda item

To welcome Chris Hailey-Norris, Chief Officer of Selby District Association of Voluntary Service (AVS), to brief Members on the work being done to create a climate friendly future in the Selby area.

The Chief Officer of the Selby District Association of Voluntary Service (SDAVS) was welcomed to the meeting and gave a short briefing on the Selby Sustainability Partnership (SSP), and Our Zero Selby project (OZS).

It was explained that the SSP had been established in 2021 by the SDAVS to champion and develop a shared understanding of sustainable priorities for the district, share project updates; and foster collaboration and look for opportunities for joint delivery.

The Committee heard that the SDAVS worked in partnership with a number of local groups to include amongst others, Selby District Council, North Yorkshire County Council, Groundwork, Yorkshire Energy Doctor, Monk Fryston and Hillam Sustainability Project and Tadcaster and Rural C.I.C.

Members noted that the SDAVS ran a number of initiatives to include the Selby Community Fridge which had been successful in terms of overcoming the stigma of food poverty and reducing food waste by redistributing waste, perishable food donated by supermarkets and members of the public, to local residents who faced challenges in financial and food insecurity.

In addition, the SDAVS also provided education in the form of the Yorkshire Energy Doctor.  Members were informed that 37 Energy Ambassador training courses had been delivered to over 400 advice workers, who then cascaded the information learned through the training to residents on how to reduce energy consumption and energy bills and engender a positive view on the difference individual people could make.

In response to a question from the Chairman, it was explained that Our Zero Selby (OZS) was launched in 2021 as part of a national pilot to support residents to take action on climate change and to inspire the transition to a zero-carbon economy.  Members noted that a 6 month period of consultation with over 300 residents had taken place, followed by a three day decision making event, from where an action plan of 25 different projects had been developed that could achieve measurable carbon reductions.

In response to a query regarding the geographical area covered by the SSP, it was confirmed that historically the SDAVS was based within the Selby area, however as the new Council emerged a more flexible approach would be taken to ensure that the skills and knowledge gained by the SDAVS would be cascaded across the County, if and when needed.  The Officer explained that during the Covid pandemic three community support organisations based in Selby, Sherburn in Elmet and Tadcaster had worked together as partners to provide aid and advice, and this continued to happen.  It was noted that members of the three organisations continued to meet periodically to share learned information for each of their respective areas.

Finally, the Committee heard that the SDAVS provided monthly drop in sessions where residents could talk to a number of specialist advisors to gain support and advice in a range of areas to include financial concerns, energy bills and health.  It was noted that in 2021 the SDAVS had dealt with 12,000 enquiries, the figure to date for 2022 was approximately 18,000 enquiries.