Councillor Carmel Swan, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Transport and Sustainability, reflects on twelve months in administration.

When this administration took over running Derby City Council it set out our vision for becoming a decarbonised city, by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and achieving net-zero carbon status by 2035.

One year on, I’m proud to say that I have successfully delivered on our short-term manifesto commitments. Our Climate Change Action Plan is being revised and refreshed and will include fewer, more strategic actions to bring about bigger carbon savings in this area.  It will focus on what we do as a Council, both on our own and in partnership with other stakeholders across the city.

I have also invited key stakeholders from across the city to join the New Sustainable Derby Partnership Board. This group will identify areas for collaboration, recognizing that climate change is an issue that needs to be tackled at a city-wide level to so that we can gain a deeper understanding of the issues we face to develop a joined-up plan to deliver our 2035 target.

The Board brings together major employers such as Rolls Royce, Toyota and Severn Trent, along with the University of Derby, the Environment Agency and the Derby Climate Coalition.

With the Derby Climate Coalition, I have enabled the Community Climate Forum, providing a meaningful space for open and constructive dialogue between the Council and local groups and individuals to ask questions and seek opportunities for collaboration. The meetings take place bi-monthly and normally focus on a theme of interest which has so far included air quality, energy and climate communications.

Throughout this year, we have worked with partners to champion the shift to more active and sustainable transport options across the city.

Thanks to Government funding, infrastructure upgrades have been completed  by Eurovia around the Morledge and Railway Station, to provide new and improved cycle lanes and footpaths and bus access, and work is still continuing on similar schemes at Victoria Street, Albert Street and Corporation Street. We also saw the number of Bee Bus Stops from Clear Channel increase to 43, more than any other city in the UK!

Continuing our charge towards net zero, we have already created one Mobility Hub in Darley at Six Streets, and another is planned for Chaddesden.

We're also greening the grey in our city, and recently announced the creation of seven new parklets, also known as pocket parks, that will enhance biodiversity and encourage active travel such as walking and cycling.

Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) is another exciting addition to our growing sustainable transport network, along with a our partnership with Enterprise Car Club which will make it easier than ever for citizens to get around using electric and low emission vehicles.

Allestree Park has entered its third year of rewilding and earlier this year and, through our partnership work, was awarded £1.1m from the National Lottery Community Fund. Going forward, this new funding will will be used to support a range of projects to improve diversity of wildflowers, encourage community involvement, and deliver community and nature benefits in Allestree Park and across Derby City.

Throughout the year, Derby Homes – the Arm’s Length Management Organisation responsible for council housing – have been improving the efficiency of our housing stock. Thanks to funding from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, they’ve made major upgrades to some of the cities most inefficient homes in Allenton. Phase alone will save 72.8 tonnes of carbon entering our atmosphere every year.

If we needed more reason to push forward with these green measures, it came in October 2023 when Storm Babet brought historic river levels. The city was prepared, though, and the Our City, Our (OCOR) River flood defences did their job well. The new pumping station at Bass’s Rec, completed in June 2023, was a real success and is credited with keeping huge areas of the city centre from flooding in its first real-world test.

This year the OCOR project has shown that it’s about more than just flood defences, with hundreds of households and schools have received free trees from the scheme. To date, this scheme has planted more than 500 trees and aims to exceed 2,000 in total. 

Our commitment to creating a better, greener Derby remains at the heart of all we do. Heading into the second year of this administration, there are plenty of further initiatives planned as we continue to deliver on the promises we’ve made to the people of Derby.