Leicester:
The environment city project
Leicester:
| |
| Country: | a) Western Europe | ,b) United Kingdom |
| Language: | |
| Type: | Project, Policy, Concept, 1 |
| Area: | City/Town, 100,000 - 1 mill. |
| Actors: | Local government, Regional government, Economic sector, Publ.-priv. partnership |
| Funding: | Local government, Regional government, European Union, Publ.-priv. partnership |
| Topics: | Air-quality |
| Business and industry | |
| Energy | |
| Health | |
| Information and public participation | |
| Mobility and transport | |
| Solid waste | |
| Objectives: | Improve access to information |
| Improve intersectoral cooperation | |
| Increase cogeneration | |
| Increase district heating | |
| Increase green areas | |
| Increase non-motorised mobility | |
| Increase public awareness | |
| Increase use of clean technology | |
| Increase use of public transport | |
| Reduce car mobility | |
| Reduce energy consumption | |
| Waste avoidance | |
| Waste recycling | |
| Instruments: | Demonstration and pilot project |
| Eco audit / Environm. Impact Assessment | |
| Integrated planning approach | |
| New environmental institutions / Institutional reorganisation | |
| New urban management tools and instuments | |
| Public participation |
The City of Leicester, which became Britain's first Environment City in 1990, has set up eight specialist groups with representatives from the public, private and voluntary sectors to guide and develop action around selected environmental matters. The group's aim is to build on Leicester's achievements in moving towards local sustainability within the framework of a twenty year period. The policy can be regarded as a good practice case for the following reasons:
At the United Nations Earth Summit held in Rio in 1992, Leicester’s Environment City initiative was praised as one of the world’s top 12 local environmental initiatives. In 1996 it was one of five cities to be given a European Sustainable City Award.
The City of Leicester, which became Britain's first Environment City in 1990, has set up eight specialist groups with representatives from the public, private and voluntary sectors to guide and develop action around selected environmental matters. The group's aim is to build on Leicester's achievements in moving towards local sustainability within the framework of a twenty year period. The policy can be regarded as a good practice case for the following reasons:
At the United Nations Earth Summit held in Rio in 1992, Leicester’s Environment City initiative was praised as one of the world’s top 12 local environmental initiatives. In 1996 it was one of five cities to be given a European Sustainable City Award.
The City of Leicester was the first British city to develop environmental policies under the heading of Environment City. Originally the idea of Environment City was initiated by the Royal Society for Nature Conservation in order to implement practical and pragmatic strategies within cities that encourage individuals and non-municipal actors to take responsibility for the urban environment. In Leicester the Environment City programme is developed around eight themes, with each theme being the responsibility of a Specialist Working Group (SWG) (compare actors and structures section):
The SWGs are in charge of the creation, establishment and implementation of projects in each sector. They are the forum for the participation of interested parties from public administration, the business sector, and voluntary groups or committed citizens. The partnership approach to the setting up of initiatives and their practical implementation should help to stimulate a wide range of projects. This model of comprehensive action is regarded as a suitable working method for the following reasons:
The wider approach to environmental projects stimulated a variety of innovative projects which styled Leicester’s image as an environmental pioneer in the creation of environmental progress at the urban level.
To ensure that these standards are monitored, maintained and improved wherever possible, the Leicester City Council has recently adopted the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme – or EMAS in short. This Europe-wide scheme will help the Council to manage and improve its own environmental performance, allowing the authority to move further towards its goal of achieving sustainable development in everything it does.
As the number of initiatives set up within the Leicester Environment City project is too profuse, an overview on the implementation is limited to outstanding projects in each sector.
1. Energy
The Leicester Environmental Strategy has set itself an ambitious target of reducing CO2 emissions and energy consumption to half their 1990 level by the year 2025. Long-term projections have shown that this aim can be achieved by an integration of technical and behavioural changes. With the help of a computer-based Energy Model, three scenarios on the energy future have been worked out. As good practice cases are usually the most efficient assets of local urban policy, the energy planners have given high priority to the creation of demonstration projects (e.g. district heating schemes, small-scale combined heat and power, or a new energy efficiency standard in the housing sector). In 1993 the Energy Advice Centre was opened. However, up to now city-wide energy projects are beyond the powers of the municipality. Therefore, a major impetus to energy saving must come from the national level (compare case study on Leicester’s energy policy).
2. Built Environment
The built environment projects aim to preserve and enhance the quality of buildings and open spaces in Leicester. A prominent project had been the Riverside Park Project which succeeded in the clean-up of a 12 mile-long park along the river Soar and the Grand Union Canal. The previously derelict land was transformed into a park area which runs through the heart of the city. The project involves a range of organisations like British Waterways, the National Rivers Authority, the Countryside Commission, the County Council, and private land owners. The project was also supported by hundreds of local volunteers who are organised in the Friends of the Riverside Group. The city has made the offer of an on-going commitment, and two riverside rangers are employed. The annual spending for maintenance is 110,000 British Pounds.
3. Natural Environment
The activities in the area of natural environment mainly concentrate on preservation of species, habitats, and open spaces. The projects include a survey of wildlife in 4,000 gardens, a tree-planting scheme and the creation of two new community forests, as well as the publication of leaflets on the ecological treatment of trees.
4. Social Environment
The social environment projects are geared toward the communication of the goals of the Environment City project to the citizens and encourage participation.
The Neighbourhood Environmental Appraisals programme is designed to find out what people think about the environmental services and what issues are relevant in their neighbourhood area. Surveys on the quality of life and the environmental situation are carried out on the local level. Each appraisal takes about six months to complete and on average 10% of the population are interviewed by means of questionnaires.
As Leicester has the largest community of Indian people in Britain (25% of the population), a special project, called the Friends of Vrindavan, is aiming to inform the Hindu and Sikh community on environmental issues. The project also includes landscape schemes like the renovation of temples and the sponsoring of walks. The latest project has been the creation of "Vrindavan Garden", one of the new city parks.
5. Economy and Work
The economy and work projects are oriented towards a greening of businesses. Projects include environmental reviews, green checks, Environ Business Line, and business seminars.
Environmental reviews are regarded as a first step towards environmental management. They highlight the company’s existing good practice and make recommendations on further areas of improvement. Between 1992 and 1995, 18 reviews have been carried out including a major brewer, a timber company, a textile company, retail stores, and Leicester City Football Club.
The green checks are cheap, prioritised advice on the potentials of environmental improvements (usually a two hour check on-site and a two hour report). Up to 1995, 51 green checks have been performed.
The Environ Business Line is an advice service via telephone consultancy. The project was launched in August 1994 and in the first year 600 calls were answered and 300 information packages were sent out. The project is administered by the non-profit organisation Environ, and funding is provided by the EU programme LIFE, Leicester City Council, and Leicestershire Training and Enterprise Council.
The business seminars are initiated and run by the Business Sector Network (compare actors and structures section).
6. Transport
The transport projects are mainly looking for improvements in the area of non-motorised means of transport. The Leicestershire cycle strategy is one of the main initiatives. So far the initiative had secured funding of 5 million Pounds within ten years by the City of Leicester. By 1995 approximately 50 km of cycle routes were in place in the City of Leicester. A high degree of publicity has led to an increase in cycling by 50% compared to the level of the late 1980s.
7. Waste and Pollution
In the waste sector priority was given to recycling projects. Since 1994 with kerbside recycling, approximately 10% of the population have had access to a regular refuse collection of recyclables. However, after the first year in operation the results had been disappointing, as only 30% of the target group put out waste for collection. Currently, a research project on the determining factors of recycling is being carried out.
Another recycling project proved to be more successful. The Green Accounts project is an upgraded version of the traditional aluminium drinks can collection centres. Instead of paying a small sum to the collectors, each time a Green Account can be opened which pays out every three months. In consequence, the collector can build up a sum and his motivation is raised. The collection system has been extended to aluminium foil, textiles, and paper.
8. Food and Agriculture
The projects in the food and agricultural sector are concerned with environmentally compatible food production and the increase in healthier food sales. Initiatives were started to promote the sale of organic vegetables or to reduce the use of pesticides in agriculture.
The Leicester Environment City project has been set up as an independent charitable trust with overall executive responsibility for co-ordinating the project. The project has been supported by four groups of actors:
1. Leicester Environment City Trust Ltd;
2. City Council Task Forces;
3. Business Sector Network;
4. Voluntary Groups.
1. Leicester Environment City Trust Ltd
Leicester Environment City Trust Ltd was established to steer the project. The trust is headed by a board which brings together senior representatives from key organisations in the public, private, academic, and voluntary sector with equal representation from each. The main tasks of the Environment City Trust are research, networking and building partnerships. Partnerships are the underlying feature of each Environment City project. In order to work out concepts for each environmental sector the Leicester Environment City Trust set up a series of SWGs as working parties which comprised local decision makers, interest groups, academics and business representatives.
The SWGs are designed to improve communication and understanding between organisations and to elaborate proposals, plans, and projects for the area concerned. Each SWG has 8 to 20 members who meet monthly. In total approximately 150 representatives have attended SWG meetings.
2. City Council Task Forces
In the process of the Environment City project the local authorities have created internal, cross-departmental groups to improve communication and to design and implement projects. Later on a systematic management system was established in order to adapt a framework for the procedure of urban environmental policies. The proceedings include the formulation of policies, the proposal of action strategies, communication in the implementation process, and the monitoring of the progress. This set of administrative instruments also applies to the future implementation of Local Agenda 21 initiatives. The point of the new procedures is that they enable the local authorities to become aware of their own options in environmental fields. Furthermore a clear-cut administrative procedure is also helping other actors to react to certain policy goals.
3. Business Sector Network
As business also plays a vital role in the Environment City project, it launched its own organisational structure as early as 1991. The Business Sector Network contributed to the Environment City project by providing business seminars on topics like energy, transport, waste, environmental reviews and auditing, and environmental legislation. In addition, the Business Sector Network co-operated with the non-profit organisation Environ on a number of environment-related business activities, especially eco-audits as consultancy for smaller businesses. However, business participation in the SWGs remained at a low level as they often regard the partnership building as too time-consuming. Only 18 out of 121 private representatives in the SWGs meetings had been from the business community.
4. Voluntary Groups
The role of voluntary groups in mainly defined by their orientation. In particular, this refers to the participation in local projects. Campaign groups are usually engaged in a certain field of activity (e.g. recycling collections, creating of safer bicycle lanes, implementation of car-sharing, promotion of solar energy etc.). Therefore, their part in the Local Agenda 21 process is limited and often further activities are impossible due to the restriction of time and financial resources. However, their role is vital in the raising of awareness and in public relations (e.g. the Leicester EcoHouse, a project of the non-profit organisation Environ, has been seen by 15,000 visitors each year).
The Leicester Environment City project received with 1.2 million ECU funding from the EU LIFE programme.
Fleming, Paul 1996: Leicestercomprehensive approach to energy saving and CO2 reduction, in: EA.UE, (ed.), Facing the Challenge. Successful Climate Policies in European Cities, Berlin, p. 187- 193
Environ, (ed.) 1996: Local sustainability. Turning sustainable development into practical action in our communities, Leicester
http://www.leicester-env-city.org.uk
http://www.leicester.gov.uk
http://www.bestpractices.org
http://www.leicester-env-city.org.uk
Personal contact with Anna Dodd, January 2000
| Name | : | Dodd |
| Firstname | : | Anna |
| Telefon | : | ++44 / 116 / 54 99 22 |
| Telefax | : | ++44 / 116 / 255 38 09 |
| Address | : | Environmental Policy |
| Coordinator | ||
| Leicester City Council, New | ||
| Walk Centre | ||
| GB - Leicester LE 1 6 ZG |
| Name | : | Environ |
| Firstname | : | |
| Telefon | : | ++44 / 116 / 285 66 75 |
| Telefax | : | ++44 / 116 / 255 23 43 |
| Address | : | Parkfield |
| Western Park | ||
| GB - Leicester LE 3 6 LX | ||
The City of Leicester is one of the largest cities in the East Midlands of Great Britain. It covers an area of approximately 73 square kilometres. About 28% of the population are of Asian or West Indian origin, giving Leicester the largest Indian community in the whole of Great Britain.
There are 2,000 industrial companies in Leicester employing over 45,000 people. In terms of employment, the size of these companies ranges from only a few workers to over 1,000 employees. In 1987, industry accounted for 61% of the total workforce in Leicester. Almost half of the companies produce textiles, and this is also the largest sub-sector in terms of employment. Other sub-sectors well-represented within Leicester include the engineering industry and the paper industry.
Project was added at 28.06.1996
Project was changed at 05.03.2001