Citizens' Panel - Making the Borough Greener

A consultation was designed to seek feedback on how environmental issues are impacting residents’ local area, what environmental improvements residents would like to see happen, and which actions they think the Council should prioritise to shape a greener, healthier, and more resilient future for Kensington and Chelsea.

As extreme weather events like heatwaves and flooding become more severe and frequent affecting the borough and our communities, the survey also aimed to explore how the Council can adapt to climate change and help build a more climate resilient community.

The survey was distributed to the Citizens’ Panel and 369 Panel members responded.

• Your environmental priorities and concerns – Panel members identified air pollution (69 per cent), high levels of road traffic (66 per cent) and increasing energy bills (64 per cent).
   
• Extreme weather priorities –   Panel members suggested the top three initiatives to help tackle extreme weather events should be:
  1. Increase tree cover and shaded areas to reduce the impact of heat waves (56 per cent)
  2. Implement sustainable drainage systems for roads and buildings/roofs to manage water better (53 per cent)
  3. Strengthen local infrastructure to withstand extreme weather (39 per cent)
• Tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions – The top three actions Panel members think will help reduce carbon emissions are:
  1. Enhancing green infrastructure to improve air quality and reduce urban heat islands (59 per cent)
  2. Improving energy efficiency in Council-owned public buildings (46 per cent)
  3. Installing renewable energy on Council-owned buildings (46 per cent)
• Acting on climate change – The top three motivators for respondents acting on climate change are, protecting the environment for future generations (66 per cent), reducing energy bills and saving money (62 per cent) and improving the health and wellbeing of my community (54 per cent).
   
• Air quality –  Over half of Panel members either strongly agreed (24 per cent) or agreed (30 per cent) that air pollution in the borough has affected their daily life or health. When asked about specific focuses for tackling air quality in the borough, Panel members mentioned traffic management, addressing local pollution sources and travel alternatives.
   
• Biodiversity and Greening – More than three quarters (78 per cent) of Panel members said the main reason they visit green spaces in the borough is for their mental wellbeing. Panel members suggested the top three priorities for protecting and enhancing biodiversity should be:
  1. Planting more trees (75 per cent)
  2. Creating more community gardens or pocket parks (62 per cent)
  3. Installing green roofs and walls on buildings (40 per cent)
• Specific focus for parks and green spaces - The top three things Panel members would like the Council’s parks and green spaces to provide that they don't already offer are, increased general maintenance and management, more wildlife friendly practices and more amenities e.g. toilets.

The feedback from this survey will be used to influence the review and update of key environmental action plans, specifically the Climate Emergency Action Plan, Air Quality Action Plan and the Biodiversity Action Plan.

Feedback will also be fed into the development of a new Parks Strategy and be used to inform the Council’s response and mitigations against extreme weather events