Green Plan

Green Plan

In 2019, the Council declared its Climate Emergency pledge to be carbon neutral by 2030, and for the whole borough to be carbon neutral by 2040.

Our goal is ambitious and the transition to a truly sustainable borough will be extremely difficult to achieve but it is essential to ensure our ongoing quality of life, now and for generations to come. The scale, complexity, and urgency of the challenge ahead is unprecedented, and we must therefore meet it with an unprecedented and sustained level of focus, effort and pace.

Kensington and Chelsea’s “Green Plan” now sets out how this will be delivered.

Following consultation with residents, residents’ associations, and voluntary organisations in the borough during the summer of 2020, The Green Plan will focus on five environmental priorities:

• Achieving carbon neutrality and tackling climate change
• Improving air quality
• Tackling fuel poverty
• Minimising waste
• Protecting and enhancing biodiversity

Alongside our Green Plan we are launching a new “Green Fund”. This fund, totalling £10 million over 10 years, will be used to enable ambitious exemplary projects, to encourage environmental innovation, and to help deliver the five environmental priorities and a Green Recovery.

The Green Plan pulls together existing, new and developing environmental related strategies, plans and key targets, into one simple document, so that we can give ourselves the best possible chance of meeting our environmental goals.

The scale and pace required to deliver the Green Plan requires significant and bold action, and for everyone to be involved – residents, community groups, schools, businesses, and the Council, to build a greener borough and a sustainable future.

The Green Plan Vision

The Green Plan will help us, residents and stakeholders work in partnership to create a cleaner, greener and safer borough, where people love to live, work and learn.

The Plan will ensure we “build back better” and deliver a Green Recovery to COVID-19.

We will be:

Achieving carbon neutrality

By reducing carbon emissions at pace and tackling the main sources of emissions from buildings, transport, and waste. We will do this by implementing actions such as improving the energy efficiency of homes in the borough, requiring all major developments to be zero carbon, increasing the deployment of renewable energy, and encouraging a shift to a low carbon economy. Our new Climate Emergency Action Plan will set out how the 2030 and 2040 NET Zero Carbon targets will be met.

Improving air quality

By increasing active travel, implementing actions to reduce exposure to air pollution like School Streets, and installing increased green infrastructure. We will continue to monitor air quality and expand the range of pollutants monitored within the borough. Our new Air Quality Action Plan will set out how will work towards achieving the World Health Organisation Guideline Values.

Tackling fuel poverty

By ensuring better insulated and energy efficient homes. The Sustainability Housing and Fuel Poverty Strategy and Greening Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) sets out how this will be achieved.

Minimising waste

Starting with a new waste contract that increases food waste collections and maximises reuse. Our Recycling and Reduction Plan sets out how we will minimise waste, increase recycling, and promote the circular economy.

Protecting and enhancing biodiversity

With a new Biodiversity Action Plan to help safeguard and support our precious local ecology, and by developing a new Bee Superhighway of pollinator friendly habitats across the borough.

Green PlanDelivery

Each Green Plan priority will have its own programme to deliver a range of projects and initiatives. Below sets out what will be achieved for each priority area.

Carbon Reduction and Climate change 

Aims

• Reduce carbon emissions at pace across the Council’s own estates and operations to achieve the Council’s net zero carbon target by 2030.
• Work with community groups, residents, schools, and businesses to drive change and encourage them to take climate action in their local area to ensure the borough is carbon neutral by 2040.
• Develop a Climate Emergency Action Plan using the Carbon Neutral Pathways and Route Map as evidence base.
• Ensure a transition to a low carbon economy which protects the most vulnerable, improves health and well-being, and tackles inequality.

Targets

• Make the Council’s operations carbon NET Zero by 2030, and the whole borough carbon NET Zero by 2040.
• Develop the Lancaster West Estate to become a model to illustrate how all estates can be carbon neutral by 2030.
• “Green” the Council’s fleet by ensuring 100 per cent of fleet vehicles are electric by the end of 2022.
• Work with RBKC community schools to develop decarbonisation plans and climate change action plans by 2022. Actively encourage all schools to commit to net zero and help them to access the advice and funding necessary to deliver this.
• Improve the vehicle charging infrastructure so that all residents live within 200m of at least one charging point by April 2021, and investigate further charging infrastructure development needs to meet our 2030 and 2040 carbon neutrality targets.
• Continue to increase the number of community owned energy schemes every year through the North Kensington Community Energy organisation, and develop a Solar Power Target.
• Reduce surface water flood risk by implementing Local Plan Policy CE2g which requires 50 per cent improvement (reduction of surface water run-off) for small developments and greenfield run-off (around 80-90 per cent improvement) for major developments.
• Ensure that NET Zero energy standards are delivered for all major developments by adopting the Greening SPD in 2021, the new Local Plan in 2023, and encouraging energy efficiency retrofitting to tackle fuel poverty and support vulnerable residents.

Improving air quality

Aims

• Reduce emissions of harmful pollutants, including particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide
• Reduce exposure of residents, workers and visitors in areas of poor air quality
• Reduce the harmful impact poor air quality has on the health of residents, workers and students
• To produce a new Air Quality Action Plan
  detailing actions to be taken by 2025

Targets

• Meet National Air Quality Objectives (below):
  • NO2 (annual mean) 40μg/m3 by 2030
  • NO2 (hourly) 200μg/m3 by 2030
  • PM10 (hourly) 50ug/m3 by 2030
• Work towards the more stringent World Health
  Organisation (WHO) Guideline Values (below):
  • PM10 (annual mean) 20μg/m3 by 2030
  • PM2.5 (annual mean) 10μg/m3 by 2030
• Encourage active travel by having 70 percent of residents within 400m of a cycle route by 2021 and 96 per cent by 2024.
• Work to improve local air quality by identifying all schools that are located in an area which air quality modelling predicts will exceed the WHO guideline values in 2022, and offer the resources to carry out air quality audits to identify measures that could be taken to reduce emissions of air pollutants. From 2022,
  complete 10 audits per year at schools located in areas that exceed objective levels to identify measures to reduce emissions of air pollution.
• Replace existing old monitors, install a new automatic PM2.5 monitor at a roadside location and four new mobile sensors during 2021.
• Increase awareness about the pollution produced by using domestic wood burners, and oversee the introduction of new legislation that restricts the sales of solid fuel.

Reducing fuel poverty

Aims

• Deliver better insulated and energy efficient homes and reduce energy bills
• Reduce the number of fuel poor residents
• Support vulnerable people and residents to keep their homes warmer in winter and cooler in summer

Targets

• Achieve the fuel poverty target for England by improving fuel poor homes to a minimum energy efficiency rating of Band C by the end of 2030.
• Continue to deliver at least 100 free home energy visits or telephone consultations every year for fuel poor residents.
• Develop and publish a Fuel Poverty Strategy and Action Plan by 2021.
• Work with all landlords with energy efficiency rated properties of F and G in the borough to achieve the minimum energy efficiency standard by 2023.

Protecting and Enhancing Biodiversity

Aims

• Creating a better, more joined up green space network
• Protecting and improving important local habitat sites
• Improve the understanding, enjoyment of nature, and making it accessible to all

Targets

• Ensure that all new development in the Borough provides at least a 10 per cent net gain in Biodiversity from 2022 onwards.
• Publish a 5-year plan for the protection and enhancement of the Boroughs biodiversity by 2021.
• Increase the number of designated Local Sites that are in positive conservation management from 66 per cent to 80 per cent by 2026.
• Implement a full review of the Boroughs designated Local Sites and habitats by 2022.
• Develop a spatial plan for biodiversity through a nature recovery strategy by 2023.
• Deliver a Bee Super Highway including 15 new pollinator friendly schemes during 2021.

Waste minimisation

Aims

• Reduce how much we throw away
• Encourage the reuse, repair and redistribution of items
• Embrace and promote the circular economy

Targets

• Increase the household recycling rate (NI192) by 2 per cent to 30.6per cent by April 2022.
• Increase the household recycling rate (NI192), by 4 per cent, to 32.6 per cent, by 1 April 2025.
• Decreasing the average amount of residual waste per household (NI191) by 10kg to 406.22k, and the average amount of household waste per head (BVPI84a), by 9kg to 326.24kg by April 2022.
• Decrease the average amount of residual
  waste per household (NI191), by 20kg to
  396.22k, by April 2025.

Delivering a Green Recovery

Aims

• Develop local Green jobs, through initiatives such as retrofitting homes, installing solar panels and developing green technologies.
• Improve access to high quality Open space
• Revitalise public spaces to encourage walking and cycling
• Rebuild the economy whilst retaining the observed environmental improvements

Targets

• Secure funding from Central Government for Green Homes and Low Carbon Skills Fund
• Invest in new and existing Parks and ensure we achieve 10 green flags
• Create a new riverside park on Lots Road.

How you can get involved

It will take all of us to work together to deliver a cleaner, greener, healthier, and safer borough, where people love to live, work, and visit. 

This means we have to change the way we do things, so could mean driving less, using less energy, helping plant a wildflower meadow or recycling more. It is important everyone does their bit to help deliver the Green Plan and make a difference. 

There are a range of opportunities to get involved and help shape each of the Green Plan priorities and develop new ways to deliver our targets. More information and additional resources for each of the Green Plan priority areas can be found elsewhere on this site:

• Climate change, Air Quality, and Biodiversity
• Waste minimisation
• Fuel poverty

Case studies

Treadgold House – Mustbe0

An exciting new award winning zero-carbon system designed for Treadgold House in the Lancaster West Neighbourhood. This scheme won the 2019 Energiesprong UK’s Research & Development competition (Net Zero energy concept designs category).

The retrofit of the existing structure will bring the building to near-Passivhaus levels of energy performance whilst Improving and expanding the amenity space for building residents.

The building’s hot water and heating demand will be provided by on-site renewable sources, helping to eliminate the need for fossil fuel consumption and drastically reducing energy bills for residents.

North Kensington Community Energy (NKCE) Project

NKCE is the first community-owned energy enterprise in Kensington and Chelsea developed by Repowering London with support from the Councils Climate Change Team. This award winning initiative generates clean local energy, reduces carbon emissions, and helps tackle climate change at the local level whilst empowering the community and putting people at the heart of the energy system.

It is 100% funded through community share offers. NKCE pays its investors back with interest and creates a community fund to support local projects. So far, NKCE has installed 224 kW of solar panels on local public buildings including two primary schools, a community centre, and a leisure centre.

Together they will save 46 tonnes of carbon emissions every year and over their lifetime generate £75,000 of profits to benefit the local community. Every member has an equal say, no matter how much they invest, and RBKC residents can join for £1. NKCE plans to continue developing future schemes across the borough.

Clean Air Villages (CAV)

CAV3 is the third year of a Defra funded project led by Cross River Partnership (CRP) in collaboration with Councils, to work in areas where both air pollution and population density levels are high.

In RBKC this year we have chosen to focus on the Cromwell Road area due to the proliferation of museums, educational institutions, and businesses where shared initiatives could be implemented. We are working with businesses and the local community to reduce traffic levels and encourage more active travel.

We are also assessing a new Clean Air Walking Route, running from Gloucester Road Station through South Kensington along some of the quieter and less polluted side roads. The new walk covers the same distance as walking directly along the Cromwell Road, and we will be monitoring and comparing pedestrian air quality exposure along both routes using wearable sensors.