Scrutiny

Environment Select Committee

What does this select committee do?

The Environment Select Committee has the remit to scrutinise service delivery and policy areas relating to:

  • planning policy
  • culture
  •  environmental policy
  • regulatory services
  • flooding
  • transport and traffic management.

Current priorities for the select committee

The priorities for the Environment Select Committee, which members will review throughout the 2022/2023 municipal year are:

  • Greening the borough
  • Cleaner streets
  • Air quality improvement
  • Sustainable transport
  • Place-shaping and high streets
  • Culture and the cultural offer
  • New Local Plan Review.

The select committee’s 2022/2023 work programme will set out how the priorities will be scrutinised, what reports will be considered at meetings and how scrutiny activities outside of the select committee meetings will be done.

Improving Our Air Quality, 15 May 2023

The Environment Scrutiny Committee is holding a special public event on Monday 15 May 2023, 6.30pm-8pm to discuss the issue of air quality in the borough.

The focus of the meeting, which will be chaired by Cllr Tom Bennett, will be a presentation by Professor Frank Kelly of Imperial College London on the latest research, solutions, and actions to help improve air quality. There will also be an opportunity for anyone attending to ask questions or make a contribution.

The event will be in Committee Room 1, Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London, W8 7NX. Arrival is from 6pm for a 6.30pm start.

Anyone who lives or works in the borough is welcome to attend. Attendance is free, but please RSVP in advance. For more information email [email protected] or call 07971 982 073.

Air quality is a priority for the select committee in this municipal year and it has already received reports on air quality in schools, and the Council’s Air Quality Action Plan.

Flooding Risk Management Working Group

Environment Select Committee agreed on 23 June 2022 to set up a members’ working group to review the management of flooding risk in the borough. This follows the flooding in the borough in July 2021 which was scrutinised by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The working group members are:

  • Cllr Hamish Adourian, Chair
  • Cllr Aarien Areti
  • Cllr Joanna Gardner
  • Cllr Stuart Graham
  • Cllr Eva Jedut

Evidence Session 1

The first evidence session of the working group took place on Tuesday 26 July 2022 in Committee Room 5 at Kensington Town Hall. The focus of the meeting was on the Council’s recently published Section 19 report.

Participants in the session included:

  • James Latham, Principal Flood and Water Management Officer
  • Jonathan Wade, Head of Spatial Planning
  • Anna Beasley, JBA Consulting
  • Ken Thompson, Waste and Street Enforcement Team Manager
  • Gary O’Hagan, SUEZ General Manager

Residents and members of the public were also invited to have their say as well on the Section 19 report and the issues raised. For members of the public and residents who were not able to attend, you can watch a YouTube recording of the meeting.

Evidence Session 2

The second evidence session took place on Wednesday 7 September at Kensington Town Hall. The focus of the meeting was on Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) as part of flood risk management.

Participants in the session included:

  • David Ifould, Groundwork London
  • Ian Hawthorn, Hammersmith and Fulham Council
  • Jessica Bastock, Hammersmith and Fulham Council
  • Professor Albert S Chen, University of Exeter
  • James Latham, Principal Flood and Water Management Officer

For members of the public and residents who were not able to attend, you can watch a YouTube of the meeting.

Evidence Session 3

The third evidence session took place on September 29 2022 and focused on the impact on residents and businesses of flooding risks, including the flooding re-insurance scheme, the impact on businesses, and how residents are affected by flood risks. 

Participants in the session included:

  • Harriet Boughton Flood RE
  • Tracey Garrett, Chief Executive National Flood Forum
  • Swenja Surminski, London School of Economics
  • Graham Hart, Economic Development Manager, RBKC
  • James Latham, Flood and Water Management Officer, RBKC

For members of the public and residents who were not able to attend, you can watch a YouTube recording of the meeting.

Evidence Session 4

The fourth evidence session took place on Wednesday 19 October 2022. The meeting focused on the London Flood Review and the report into the July 2021 flooding event. 

Participants in the session included:

  • Alex Nickson, Head of London Flood Response, Thames Water
  • Graeme Kasselman, Waste Water Planning System Lead for London, Thames Water
  • Mike Woolgar, Chair, Independent Expert Group
  • Doug Taylor, Consumer Council for Water

For members of the public and residents who were not able to attend, you can watch a YouTube recording of the meeting.

Evidence Session 5

The meeting reviewed cross-borough approaches as part of flood risk management in west London and involve other local authorities in the area.

The evidence session took place on 2 November 2022 in committee rooms 3 and 4, starting at 6.30pm.  Unfortunately, because of technical problems the Council was not able to broadcast the meeting on YouTube.

Final Report

The final report of the working group has now been published and will be discussed at Environment Select Committee on 25 April 2023. Once the final report and recommendations are agreed by the select committee, there will be a follow up report setting out responses to the recommendations.
 

Call for Evidence: Flooding Risk Management Working Group

Do you have experience of flooding or flood risk management in the borough? If so, you can submit a written submission to the Flooding Risk Management Working Group. 

The purpose of the call for evidence is to allow members of the working group to have a greater in-depth understanding of how residents are being affected by flooding and flooding risk. Ideally, your submission should focus on: 

  • how flooding or flooding risk has affected your home or household
  • how flooding or flooding risk has affected your quality of life
  • what you have done, or would like to do, to manage flooding risk.

Members of the working group will consider the responses, which will be anonymised, as part of their evidence-gathering and in the development of their final report and recommendations. 

The call for evidence opens on Friday 30 September and closes on Friday 4 November. 

Please email your submission to [email protected] and write ‘Flooding Scrutiny Submission’ in the subject line. If you are unable to email, post your responses to: Scrutiny Team, Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London, W8 7NX.

Please do not provide unnecessary personal details or identify other individuals.

Please note that the call for evidence isn’t part of the Council’s complaints processes and can’t be used for complaints and information about other organisations. We may contact you about your submission, which should be no more than 2 sides of A4 or 1,000 words. 

Last updated: 19 April 2023