Project Zero - What are we doing

View this page in Welsh / Gweld y tudalen hwn yn Gymraeg

Some of the work the Council is already taking forward as part of Project Zero is detailed below and demonstrates the breadth of activity across our services.


Planning

✓ The Local Development Plan (LDP) provides the local planning policy framework for delivering sustainable development, and specific guidance has also been developed seeking enhancements on Biodiversity, Trees and Development, Travel Plans and Renewable Energy.

✓ The 2022-23 LDP target of granting planning permissions sufficient to meet 10.6% (56.68 GWh) of projected electricity demand through renewable energy sources by 2020 has been met.

✓ Since July 2018 we have secured a replanting ratio of 2:1 for the removal of trees with a preservation orders (TPO) or trees in a conservation area (TCA) in accordance with the Trees, Woodlands, Hedgerows and Development Supplementary Planning Guidance.


Energy

✓ The Council purchases 100% of electricity from renewable sources and has granted planning permission to a number of solar farms.

✓ We have undertaken over 100 energy saving projects across council buildings including switching old inefficient lighting to LED lighting and the introduction of better energy controls.

✓ We have begun switching heating from gas to electricity by installing a Ground Source Heat pump at Cadoxton House in Barry and an Air Source Heat pump at BSC2 (the Engine Room) in Barry. These sites have seen significant improvements in energy consumption and there are plans for further installations.

✓ We have installed Solar panels on 23 buildings with a combined capacity of almost 1 Megawatt. All systems are sized appropriately to match demand at the buildings on which they are mounted.

✓ 90% of the Council’s street lighting has been converted to LED against a target of 95% for 2022-23.


Waste

✓ 70% of household waste collected by the council was prepared for reuse and/or recycled during the first half of 2022-23, exceeding the statutory target of 64% for 2022-23 and in line with achieving the minimum target of 70% by 2025.

✓ All tenders for Council contracts now specify the reduced use of single use plastics and all new tenancies and food concessions that are granted prohibit the use of single use plastics.


Food

✓ We have reduced food miles by changing our milk supplier to a local dairy farm just outside Bridgend. We have gone straight to the milk producer who now supplies all of our schools rather than using a company to supply on behalf of farmers.

✓ The Council-owned Big Fresh Catering Company is making a conscious effort to reduce or eradicate single use plastics. They are working with suppliers to find alternative products and have for example changed the ice cream product in all of our schools from a polystyrene tub to a recyclable cardboard tub, which has helped reduce waste within our kitchens.

✓ The Big Fresh Catering Company is working with the 21st century schools team to reduce the amount of carbon produced from our kitchen equipment.


Transport

✓ All relevant planning applications are required to be accompanied by a travel plan to promote sustainable travel choices and prevent unnecessary car use and since March 2019 at least 10% of car parking spaces on non-residential developments are required to have electric vehicle charging points infrastructure.

✓ Active Travel schemes have been delivered to improve opportunities for walking and cycling in a number of areas including Cowbridge, Llantwit Major, Penarth Heights, Lavernock Road/Cosmeston, Sully Road/St Josephs School and South Road/Hayes Road/Sully Moors Road.

✓An Electric Vehicle charge points installation programme is underway with 36 points installed in public places across the Vale and 80 points on council premises at January 2023.

✓ We are working with our schools to encourage cycling and 6 balance bikes have been provided to every primary school in the Vale. Cycle shelters have been installed at 4 schools and we are working with schools on their Active Travel Plans.


✓ Bike repair stations have been installed in 5 sites across the Vale and Pedestrian improvements made to routes on St Brides Way, Barry, Murch Road, Dinas Powys and Woodland Road, Barry.


Council Housing

✓ Works undertaken to the Council’s housing stock through the WHQS have improved energy efficiency and reduced fuel poverty. We have raised the average SAP (energy performance rating) rating from the low 40s to 73 with improvements including modern windows and doors, new roofs, insulation and modern heating systems.

✓ We are piloting an Optimised Retrofit Programme in our council housing with Welsh Government grant funding to expand knowledge and improve local contractor capability in green heating services, to decarbonise the domestic heating market and provide sustainable council homes with an EPC target rating of A.


Schools

✓ The Council has designed a net zero carbon in operation school building model, which is being delivered as part of the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme. South Point Primary School, opened in March 2022, was the first school in the Authority and in Wales to achieve net zero carbon in operation.

✓ Carbon has also been significantly reduced during the construction process with 99% of construction waste being recycled or energy recovered to reduce emissions from raw material extraction and to avoid landfill use.

✓ The Council has been awarded funding from Welsh Government to support decarbonisation measures as part of the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme.

✓ We have installed photovoltaic panels (PV) on a number of school sites to increase use of renewable energy and also utilised Salix funding to implement a range of energy efficiency measures across schools in the Vale.

✓ We have also installed electric vehicle charging stations at selected school sites.

✓ Over 1,200 trees from the Woodland Trust are due to be planted as part our Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme which will help create wildlife areas and also contribute to improved air quality around schools.


Our Land

✓ All our country parks and the Heritage Coast only use peat free compost for all gardening projects. Both country parks have created in house composting areas and produce their own compost for use on site. We have also reduced pesticide and herbicide use across our land.

✓ Over 200,000m2 of parks, open spaces and highways land has been sown with wildflowers or was maintained as a naturalised area. Section 106 contributions have also been used to enhance public open space with wild-flower, bulb and tree planting including a comprehensive tree planting scheme in Penarth.


The Council has also made a number of changes in recent years to reduce the impact of the organisation on the environment and to demonstrate strong leadership to staff, partners and the local community.

We have implemented a space project to rationalise the amount of office space we need, we have utilised technology to support more agile and flexible working, benefiting customers, employees and the environment.

We have given clear messages to staff about reducing waste, reuse and recycling within the workplace and have made significant improvements to our buildings to improve energy efficiency. We have also signed the Vale PSB Staff Healthy Travel Charter.

Regular communication about changes being made and recognition of the contribution of different teams and individual staff members has helped create a culture where staff feel their well-being is valued and the connections between well-being and our environment have been strengthened.

Staff are encouraged to generate new ideas to help transform how the Council works and their commitment, innovation and expertise are an important part of Project Zero.

View this page in Welsh / Gweld y tudalen hwn yn Gymraeg

Some of the work the Council is already taking forward as part of Project Zero is detailed below and demonstrates the breadth of activity across our services.


Planning

✓ The Local Development Plan (LDP) provides the local planning policy framework for delivering sustainable development, and specific guidance has also been developed seeking enhancements on Biodiversity, Trees and Development, Travel Plans and Renewable Energy.

✓ The 2022-23 LDP target of granting planning permissions sufficient to meet 10.6% (56.68 GWh) of projected electricity demand through renewable energy sources by 2020 has been met.

✓ Since July 2018 we have secured a replanting ratio of 2:1 for the removal of trees with a preservation orders (TPO) or trees in a conservation area (TCA) in accordance with the Trees, Woodlands, Hedgerows and Development Supplementary Planning Guidance.


Energy

✓ The Council purchases 100% of electricity from renewable sources and has granted planning permission to a number of solar farms.

✓ We have undertaken over 100 energy saving projects across council buildings including switching old inefficient lighting to LED lighting and the introduction of better energy controls.

✓ We have begun switching heating from gas to electricity by installing a Ground Source Heat pump at Cadoxton House in Barry and an Air Source Heat pump at BSC2 (the Engine Room) in Barry. These sites have seen significant improvements in energy consumption and there are plans for further installations.

✓ We have installed Solar panels on 23 buildings with a combined capacity of almost 1 Megawatt. All systems are sized appropriately to match demand at the buildings on which they are mounted.

✓ 90% of the Council’s street lighting has been converted to LED against a target of 95% for 2022-23.


Waste

✓ 70% of household waste collected by the council was prepared for reuse and/or recycled during the first half of 2022-23, exceeding the statutory target of 64% for 2022-23 and in line with achieving the minimum target of 70% by 2025.

✓ All tenders for Council contracts now specify the reduced use of single use plastics and all new tenancies and food concessions that are granted prohibit the use of single use plastics.


Food

✓ We have reduced food miles by changing our milk supplier to a local dairy farm just outside Bridgend. We have gone straight to the milk producer who now supplies all of our schools rather than using a company to supply on behalf of farmers.

✓ The Council-owned Big Fresh Catering Company is making a conscious effort to reduce or eradicate single use plastics. They are working with suppliers to find alternative products and have for example changed the ice cream product in all of our schools from a polystyrene tub to a recyclable cardboard tub, which has helped reduce waste within our kitchens.

✓ The Big Fresh Catering Company is working with the 21st century schools team to reduce the amount of carbon produced from our kitchen equipment.


Transport

✓ All relevant planning applications are required to be accompanied by a travel plan to promote sustainable travel choices and prevent unnecessary car use and since March 2019 at least 10% of car parking spaces on non-residential developments are required to have electric vehicle charging points infrastructure.

✓ Active Travel schemes have been delivered to improve opportunities for walking and cycling in a number of areas including Cowbridge, Llantwit Major, Penarth Heights, Lavernock Road/Cosmeston, Sully Road/St Josephs School and South Road/Hayes Road/Sully Moors Road.

✓An Electric Vehicle charge points installation programme is underway with 36 points installed in public places across the Vale and 80 points on council premises at January 2023.

✓ We are working with our schools to encourage cycling and 6 balance bikes have been provided to every primary school in the Vale. Cycle shelters have been installed at 4 schools and we are working with schools on their Active Travel Plans.


✓ Bike repair stations have been installed in 5 sites across the Vale and Pedestrian improvements made to routes on St Brides Way, Barry, Murch Road, Dinas Powys and Woodland Road, Barry.


Council Housing

✓ Works undertaken to the Council’s housing stock through the WHQS have improved energy efficiency and reduced fuel poverty. We have raised the average SAP (energy performance rating) rating from the low 40s to 73 with improvements including modern windows and doors, new roofs, insulation and modern heating systems.

✓ We are piloting an Optimised Retrofit Programme in our council housing with Welsh Government grant funding to expand knowledge and improve local contractor capability in green heating services, to decarbonise the domestic heating market and provide sustainable council homes with an EPC target rating of A.


Schools

✓ The Council has designed a net zero carbon in operation school building model, which is being delivered as part of the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme. South Point Primary School, opened in March 2022, was the first school in the Authority and in Wales to achieve net zero carbon in operation.

✓ Carbon has also been significantly reduced during the construction process with 99% of construction waste being recycled or energy recovered to reduce emissions from raw material extraction and to avoid landfill use.

✓ The Council has been awarded funding from Welsh Government to support decarbonisation measures as part of the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme.

✓ We have installed photovoltaic panels (PV) on a number of school sites to increase use of renewable energy and also utilised Salix funding to implement a range of energy efficiency measures across schools in the Vale.

✓ We have also installed electric vehicle charging stations at selected school sites.

✓ Over 1,200 trees from the Woodland Trust are due to be planted as part our Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme which will help create wildlife areas and also contribute to improved air quality around schools.


Our Land

✓ All our country parks and the Heritage Coast only use peat free compost for all gardening projects. Both country parks have created in house composting areas and produce their own compost for use on site. We have also reduced pesticide and herbicide use across our land.

✓ Over 200,000m2 of parks, open spaces and highways land has been sown with wildflowers or was maintained as a naturalised area. Section 106 contributions have also been used to enhance public open space with wild-flower, bulb and tree planting including a comprehensive tree planting scheme in Penarth.


The Council has also made a number of changes in recent years to reduce the impact of the organisation on the environment and to demonstrate strong leadership to staff, partners and the local community.

We have implemented a space project to rationalise the amount of office space we need, we have utilised technology to support more agile and flexible working, benefiting customers, employees and the environment.

We have given clear messages to staff about reducing waste, reuse and recycling within the workplace and have made significant improvements to our buildings to improve energy efficiency. We have also signed the Vale PSB Staff Healthy Travel Charter.

Regular communication about changes being made and recognition of the contribution of different teams and individual staff members has helped create a culture where staff feel their well-being is valued and the connections between well-being and our environment have been strengthened.

Staff are encouraged to generate new ideas to help transform how the Council works and their commitment, innovation and expertise are an important part of Project Zero.