On 17th April members of Action on the Climate Emergency Brent, brought their full range of expertise in Cycling and Active Travel, Insulation, housing and planning, Divestment, Trees and Green Space, Food etc to a meeting with Brent Council's Leader and lead councillors.
Our work as a coalition meant that Cllr Krupa Sheth, Cabinet member for Environment , Infrastructure and Climate Change, also gathered together the Leader Mohammed Butt and Deputy Leader Millie Patel (Cabinet member for Finance, Resources and Reform) - with the cabinet members for Housing, Homelessness and Renters (Cllr Promise Knight), Regeneration, Planning, and Growth (Cllr Shama Tatler), and Customers, Communities and Culture (Cllr Fleur Donnelly-Jackson). The meeting was also attended by Oliver Myers - Head of Environmental Strategy, Waste and Climate Action.
We made strong cases for specific actions across our different areas as well as reiterating our over-arching requests for stronger leadership and a renewed, fully co-ordinated and measurable climate strategy with meaningful community engagement. We argued that "if you engage with residents fully, we will be part of the solution - we bring additional energy, expertise and resources that you can harness in these hard times". We stressed our concern that the only engagement for most of us at the moment is to observe the Scrutiny Committee which only receives a report from the climate team approximately annually.
We received some considered responses from the Leader and cabinet members. Lack of finance was a significant issue. There were clear areas of agreement but a lack of new commitments, and many of our detailed proposals need more discussion.
We were told that the climate team is being relocated in the community engagement directorate and that mechanisms for public involvement suggested by ACE (including reinstating the Active Travel Forum) are being considered as part of this re-organisation. We were also told that work on the 2024-6 Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy Delivery Plan had not started, but that involvement in the development of the delivery plan could be considered as part of this review.
We are expecting to hear more from the council, and hoping to meet again after the Council AGM later in May.
See below for ACE Brent's proposals.