Scrutiny

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.

The select committee reviews of topics throughout the municipal year by discussing reports at formal meetings, carrying out in-depth scrutiny at single-issue meetings and setting up working groups. The select committee will seek to gather evidence from the community and to hear from local people, and policy experts.

Current priorities for the select committee

The priorities for the current municipal year 2024-25 include:

• e-bikes
• cleaner streets
• road safety
• short-term lets
• net zero
• culture and the cultural offer
• planning policy.

Meeting papers and agendas are available on the Council committee pages.

Committee-led events

E-bike residents conference 

The Residents’ Conference to discuss the use of e-bikes in the borough took place on Monday 28 October 2024, at the Small Hall in Kensington Town Hall.

The event was convened by the Environment Select Committee because cycling and e-bike hire are growing in popularity among visitors and residents. It was chaired by the committee's chair Councillor Greg Hammond, and heard directly from residents about issues including: 

• concerns about pavement use for pedestrians and maintaining accessibility
• safety and responsible cycling while using e-bikes
• storage and parking of hired e-bikes
• use of virtual bays and marked bays for e-bikes
• environmental benefits of e-bikes and cycling as an alternative to other forms of transport

As well as residents’ contributions, there was a Q&A with panel speakers. They were:

• Representatives from e-bike providers Lime and Forest 
• Cllr Cem Kemahli, Lead Member for Planning and Place
• A representative from London Councils
• Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea sustainable transport officer

The Environment Select Committee will use the evidence and insight gathered at the meeting, including residents’ contributions, to develop a report with recommendations for the Lead Member and Council’s Leadership Team. This report will be discussed at the select committee on 27 January 2025 and published ahead of the meeting.

For more information email [email protected].

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

Read the working group's final report

Find further information on the council's flood risk management strategy 

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, 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 been published and was discussed at Environment Select Committee on 25 April 2023.