The Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel are scheduled to meet to discuss the Environment Act 2021, receive an update on the Net Zero Carbon Plan 2024-25, review performance and budget monitoring, and consider their work programme. The meeting will be held at Wychavon District Council in Pershore.

Performance and Budget Monitoring

The panel will be updated on performance and financial information for services relating to the environment. The report pack includes a dashboard of performance information for Quarter 2 (July to September 2025). The dashboard includes data on:

• Planned highways inspections
• Highways development control cases dealt with on time
• Traffic regulation orders
• Condition of roads and footways
• Public enquiries (PEMs)
• Streetworks licences and permits
• Street lighting energy consumption and spend
• Development control technical submissions
• Household waste
• Worcestershire's greenhouse gas emissions
• Countryside access reports and resolutions

The panel will also receive in-year budget information, including a summary of reserves, for Period 6 (Quarter 2). The report pack indicates that the Q2 position forecasts a breakeven position after use of £11.3m of reserves and a further £33.6m of Exceptional Financial Support. Increased forecast overspends are predicted in demand led areas of Adult Social Care and Children's Social Care, which are being mitigated by forecast underspends in all other services and reductions in corporate budgets. Of the £12.5m savings, 88% are RAG rated green (delivered or expected to be delivered), and the £0.3m Red rated savings are included in the forecast overspend. Forecast reserves show a decrease from £93.7m at the start of 2025/26 with a year end forecast balance of £72.5m, of which only £19.6m are unearmarked and deemed usable (risk reserves). A transfer of £6.5m of uncommitted reserves to the risk reserve is requested from the Digital Reserve, Whittington Footbridge Reserve, Wildmr Landfill Deposit, Loans Fund Legacy, Worcester Parkway Reserve, Children's Revenue Grants, Health and Wellbeing Reserve, and Open for Business. Worcestershire County Council is forecasting a High Needs overspend in 2025/26 of £95.3m, with a 20% increase in Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) over the last 12 months, and a forecast deficit by 31 March 2026 of £193.7m. The current value of the Capital Programme reported to Cabinet is £495.8m, with the 2025/26 programme totalling £159m, and £39m spent at Q2. 57% of the total Capital Programme is funded via external sources, namely developer contributions (s106 funding) and government grants.

With regard to the Economy and Infrastructure Directorate, Highways and Transport Strategic Transport and Skills, the report pack indicates a net forecast underspend of £0.9m, which is an improvement since Q1. Within Waste Management, there is a £0.5m underspend projected, and a £0.2m underspend in Road Lighting, based on the current LED rollout continuing to reduce the overall kWh usage. Passenger Transport is demonstrating a forecast net underspend of c£0.1m, while Highways Operations are forecast to overspend due to pressures relating to delivery of vacancy management and costs of vehicle maintenance.

The Environment Act 2021

The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Environment has been invited to update the Panel on developments relating to the Environment Act 2021, in relation to the natural environment and air quality covering Local Nature Recovery Strategy, Biodiversity Net Gain and Air Quality.

The Environment Act 2021 resulted in significant new responsibilities for Worcestershire County Council in relation to the protection and enhancement of the natural environment and increased its role in the management of air quality.

Local Nature Recovery Strategy

The Environment Act 2021 places a requirement on upper tier authorities to develop and publish a Local Nature Recovery Strategy¹ (LNRS). Worcestershire County Council was appointed by the Secretary of State as the Responsible Authority for preparation of a LNRS for the county of Worcestershire in June 2023. The LNRS must:

a) Agree priorities for nature's recovery, b) Prepare a 'Local Habitat Map' to identify the most valuable existing areas for nature, and c) The Local Habitat Map also identifies specific proposals for creating or improving habitat for nature and wider environmental goals.

The LNRS will be delivered in partnership with public, private and voluntary sector partners, and is funded through Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and a Strengthened Biodiversity Duty on Public Authorities. The LNRS's Local Habitat Map will identify where offsite BNG delivery ('biodiversity offsets') can best be located.

The LNRS Regulations require development of a LNRS to be both a collaborative and inclusive exercise, and engagement with Worcestershire's residents, communities, businesses, and other organisations is fundamental in preparing a strategy with local support.

During 2023-24 an evidence base was developed to support preparation of Worcestershire's LNRS, including Worcestershire's 'State of Nature' report and habitat mapping and habitat modelling work undertaken in collaboration with neighbouring LNRS Responsible Authorities. A public consultation on an LNRS Issues and Options was undertaken between 15 January and 10 March 2024 to inform the preparation of a Draft LNRS.

A series of stakeholder engagement events were held during 2024-2025, including:

• a 'nature friendly farming conference', developed and delivered in collaboration with the National Farmers Union ('NFU'),
• a nature and greenspace engagement project, developed and delivered in collaboration with the University of Worcester, Worcester Environment Group ('WEG') and several local community groups;
• a series of webinars for parish councils in collaboration with the County Association of Local Councils ('CALC'),
• an 'LNRS stand' providing public information and advice, e.g. held at the Three Counties Show and at multiple Wildlife Trust events,
• briefing sessions for each of the county and district planning authorities' planning policy and development management teams,
• production of a series of short films and guidance notes bespoke for target LNRS audiences.

A Draft LNRS was developed during 2025 in collaboration with Supporting Authorities and expert Task and Finish Groups. The Draft LNRS consultation proposed the following LNRS 'Vision Statement':

Worcestershire's Local Nature Recovery Strategy will be the blueprint for achieving more, bigger, healthier, better-connected landscapes and natural habitats that are richer in all wildlife and able to support the recovery of the county's most threatened species. The LNRS will play a key role in improving the county's resilience to climate change, helping land managers achieve nature recovery alongside sustainable food production and regenerative farming practices, and supporting our communities to increase their understanding of and engagement with nature.

The Draft LNRS set out:

• 9 Wider Environmental Benefits of nature's recovery
• 6 over-arching Biodiversity Themes
• 24 individual habitat or strategic priorities
• 16 individual species priorities
• 10 species assemblage priorities

The Draft LNRS proposes targeting action through:

• 44 Mapped Potential Measures
• 31 Non-Mapped Measures
• 18 Supporting Activities

A public consultation on the Draft LNRS was undertaken between 4 August and 26 September 2025, and a Draft LNRS Consultation Report is currently in preparation. Initial analysis of consultation responses confirmed the written support of all of Worcestershire's Supporting Authorities and indicated that 89% of public respondents agreed that the Draft LNRS helped stakeholders to understand what nature recovery is.

Submitted feedback is currently being incorporated into a Final LNRS and Local Habitat Map, and a pre-publication consultation is scheduled for January 2026. It's planned that Cabinet will consider the Final LNRS in February 2026.

Biodiversity Net Gain

The Environment Act (2021) also implemented the requirements for Biodiversity Net Gain² (BNG). The post-development value of schemes in-scope of Biodiversity Net Gain requirements must be at least +10% of the pre-development 'baseline'.

Biodiversity Net Gain can be achieved 'on-site', 'offsite' or through a combination of both, and the management and monitoring of all 'offsite' and 'significant' onsite Biodiversity Net Gain must be legally secured through planning consent for a period of no less than 30 years.

Biodiversity Net Gain training, process-mapping and supporting guidance have been developed and delivered to the Council's Development Management and Major Projects teams, and a 'BNG good practice' training course was commissioned and delivered between August 2024 and January 2025 by the Field Studies Council.

The Council has also developed new Biodiversity Net Gain advice within its updated Planning Validation Document, and a BNG Monitoring Fee Framework has been published on the Council's webpages.

In September 2024, a Biodiversity Net Gain officer was successfully recruited to support these functions, and a project to explore the potential for the Council's landholdings to benefit from Biodiversity Net Gain payments in collaboration with Property team is at an early stage of consideration.

Air Quality

The Environment Act 2021 strengthened the role of Air Quality Action Plans³ (AQAP). The responsibility for air quality remains with lower tier authorities but upper tier authorities are now designated as Relevant Public Authorities and required to commit to measures they will take and the dates by which these measures will be taken to assist in securing air quality improvements.

AQAPs have been produced and adopted for the following Air Quality Management Areas:

• Worcester City
• Bromsgrove; Worcester Road
• Bewdley; Welch Gate
• Kidderminster; Coventry Street

For all of the AQAPs, the actions identified as achieving the greatest benefits within the 5 years of the plan are:

Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans in the County are well advanced, and the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans for Evesham and Redditch are now adopted and on the website.

These actions are part of wider opportunities for travel choice and to facilitate modal shift which can, through the increased use of active and sustainable transport, contribute to air quality improvements. This includes the investment in demand responsive transport (Worcestershire on Demand) and increased frequency or operating hours of buses on selected routes including the X50 (Worcester/ Wychavon) 44 X44, (Worcester/ Malvern) 30/ 34/35 (Worcester), 12 (Redditch), and 3/8 (Wyre Forest).

Duty to Consult on removal of trees

The Environment Act through an amendment to the Highways Act (96A) imposes a new duty to consult on proposals to fell trees in the urban areas, commonly known as street trees, on non-classified roads within the urban area.

Funding

The Council received a £32,500 'seed fund' grant from DEFRA in January 2021, and has since received further grants to undertake LNRS preparatory work. DEFRA has committed to the provision of further LNRS 'delivery phase' grants to LNRS Responsible Authorities, however the amount and timing of these has yet to be announced.

The Council is in receipt of an annual grant of £26,807 for the purposes of contributing towards costs in delivering biodiversity net gain , and has created a biodiversity net gain officer post, the BNG grant contributes towards revenue expenditure incurred for the new role.

No direct additional funding has been made available for the development and delivery of the AQAPs, and delivery is being supported through existing resources and external funding streams.

Net Zero Carbon Plan 2024-25 Update

The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Environment and Communities, the Acting Strategic Director for Economy and Infrastructure and Assistant Director for Economy have been invited to update the Panel on developments relating to Worcestershire County Council's (the Council's) Net Zero Carbon Plan⁴ (NZCP). The Council's first NZCP, approved by Cabinet in October 2020, was produced in direct response to the Notice of Motion agreed at the Council meeting on 16 May 2019, at which the Council pledged to make the Council carbon neutral by 2050.

The objective for the NZCP 2024-25 was to set out a plan for the Council to achieve Net Zero by 2050 and thereby address the Council's Net Zero commitment to reduce emissions from its own services and estate, and to reflect Central Government Net Zero Commitments. The latest NZCP (2024-25) was developed by the Council's Sustainability Board and agreed by Cabinet in March 2024.

The plan set out progress to date, provided a baseline carbon emissions assessment and outlined the strategy the Council would take to deliver on its commitments to the end of 2025. The Council has direct responsibility for cutting emissions from its own operations and activities, and this is the focus of the NZCP.

The Council accounts for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from the following areas:

• Scope 1 emissions that are under the Council's direct control
• Scope 2 emissions arising indirectly from purchased grid electricity
• Scope 3 emissions that are not directly under the Council's control, but over which the Council do have an influence, for example through purchasing decisions.

The Council has realised a 43% reduction in net GHG emissions since the 2009/10 baseline year. Since 2020, the Council has purchased REGO-accredited green electricity for all corporate sites and street lighting, however, the Council ceased purchase of REGO-accredited electricity for its corporate buildings from April 2024 due to the increase in price associated with this.

Key achievements to date include:

• Streetlighting has seen a decrease in absolute GHG emissions of 15% from the previous year, attributed to LED lighting upgrade schemes.
• Continued reduction in use of residual fuels in corporate buildings has led to a 34% reduction in associated emissions from the previous year.
• The Council's staff mileage emissions reduced by 13% from the previous year due to a reduction in staff mileage claims, and an increase in the number of miles claimed for use of electric vehicles for business travel.

Increases in Council GHG emissions have arisen from some sources, including:

• Increases in emissions have arisen from gas and electricity use in corporate buildings (15% and 6% respectively on previous year), linked to increased use of council buildings.
• Air travel emissions increased by 76% on the previous year, due to a small increase in domestic flights taken.
• The Council's own fleet vehicle emissions increased by 12%, linked to an increase in home to school transport provision utilising the Council's own minibus fleet.
• Significant increases in demand for school transport plus improved data capture and recording has seen a 56% increase in emissions from contracted fleet from 2022/23.
• Emissions from household waste disposal increased by 4%, associated with a slight increase in the amount of household waste generated in the County.

The Council's annual Greenhouse Gas (GHG) report 2024/25, due for imminent publication, will highlight progress towards the net zero target and will feed into the emerging Sustainability and Efficiency Plan (detailed in the next section of this report).

The current NZCP expires at the end of 2025, and is proposed to be replaced with a Sustainability and Efficiency Plan (SEP). The proposed SEP will outline the Council's approach to sustainability and carbon reduction, and will cover the full range of the Sustainability Team's work. The structure of the SEP will be around three pillars of action around sustainability:

• Sustainable Council
• Sustainable Community
• Sustainable Economy

The existing Sustainability Board will monitor delivery against the objectives of this plan, and the SEP is proposed to be presented to Cabinet in Spring 2026 and will cover a two-year period, up to the point of local government reorganisation in 2028.

The report pack includes an updated NZCP Action Log, which includes updates on actions such as:

• Reviewing existing decarbonisation reports for Worcestershire County Council properties.
• Focusing on underperforming EPCs⁵ in rental properties.
• Identifying energy saving and decarbonisation measures in planned programmed works of Worcestershire County Council properties.
• Reviewing options to purchase renewable electricity for 2025-26 for Worcestershire County Council corporate properties.
• Updating and implementing the Sustainability Design Guide.
• Producing a Heating and Cooling policy for Worcestershire County Council properties.
• Purchasing 100% renewable electricity for street lighting assets 2024-25.
• Undertaking a Depot Electrification Feasibility Study.
• Identifying replacement ULEV⁶ vehicle options for Worcestershire County Council fleet.
• Producing a fleet replacement schedule compliant with Government transport decarbonisation plans.
• Updating the existing Travel & Subsistence Policy to include a sustainable travel hierarchy for work related travel.
• Reviewing the number of electric vehicle chargepoints required in Worcestershire County Council car parks to allow staff to transition to electric vehicles, and securing an electric vehicle chargepoint operator for Worcestershire County Council estates.
• Producing a feasibility study to identify carbon capture and storage options for EnviRecover.
• Working in partnership with Districts to implement changes to household waste collection outlined in Environment Act 2021.
• Continuing to promote waste prevention initiatives to households.
• Reviewing existing and future contracting requirements and develop a procurement policy for how Worcestershire County Council's supply chain will address the councils net zero ambitions.
• Undertaking tree planting registered with the Woodland Carbon Code accredited scheme.
• Reviewing options for sustainability training for Worcestershire County Council staff, Senior Management, and Councillors.

Work Programme

The panel will review its work programme and consider which issues should be investigated as a priority. The Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel is responsible for scrutiny of:

• Environment including Net Zero
• Highways
• Flooding
• Waste

The work programme is part of the Council's rolling Annual Scrutiny Work Programme, and the overall scrutiny work programme was discussed by Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board on 16 October and agreed by Council on 6 November.

Dates of future meetings:

• 16 January 2026 at 10am
• 11 March 2026 at 10am
• 15 May 2026 at 10am

Possible future items for discussion include:

• Highways Maintenance – Ringway annual update
• Update on Active Travel (including Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIP))
• National Highways – 5-year plan for road projects/improvements in Worcestershire
• Renewal of Highways Maintenance Contract. Discussion on issues to be included in the new contract.
• Local Transport Plan 5, to include a review of LTP4.
• S106 agreements
• Bromsgrove Route Enhancement Plan Phases 3 & 4
• Policy on Traffic Speeds

The report pack includes a scrutiny work programme for 2025/26.