An environmental audit of liverpool

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool Data Provided by Partners Coordinated by Alex Nurse, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Liverpool

Foreword

Foreword Liverpool lies at the centre of England's most renewable energy rich region. Currents of air and sea can yield a harvest of power that has yet to be fully realised. The universities are at the forefront of research into the science of climate change and the impact on the oceans. Regional businesses are going green and exploiting the international markets for green technology.

Schools are educating our young people in sustainability. Faith groups and churches are waking up to the imperative to care for the earth. New hospitals are realising that trees and parks are the best setting for pathways to health. The local authorities of the City Region of Liverpool are working with the third sector to green our urban landscapes with carbon crunching trees. All this is happening around us here on Merseyside. The future is green. At least, the future could be green.

The five W's: Wind, Waves, Water, Weather, Waste. These are the big issues that face us. There's a sixth W: Willpower! It's down to us all to press forward to make the future green. Liverpool's in a race with other British and European cities to prove that it really means business in building a sustainable city. If we don't we shall be left behind. People will vote with their feet and those who can will go to live in healthier places leaving Liverpool to lag behind.

This Green Audit of Liverpool points the way forward. It shows what can be done both to retrofit the city for a green future and to plan strategically so that transport, housing and all the city's infrastructure can benefit from the latest green wisdom and technology.

The vision is that one day soon Liverpool could become the Green Capital of Europe. Will you will it?

Bishop James Jones June 2013

3

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

4

Contents

Contents Introduction

7

Section One: Local Contribution to Addressing Global Climate Change

11

Section Two: Local Transport

15

Section Three: Green Urban Areas Incorporating Sustainable Land Use

19

Section Four: Biodiversity

23

Section Five: Quality of Local Ambient Air

26

Section Six: Quality of the Acoustic Environment

29

Section Seven: Waste Production and Management

31

Section Eight: Water Consumption

34

Section Nine: Waste Water Management

37

Section Ten: Eco-Innovation and Sustainable Employment

41

Section Eleven: Environmental Management of the Local Authority

45

Section Twelve: Energy Performance

48

5

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

6

Introduction

Introduction In 2010, Liverpool University produced the report ‘Building the Low Carbon Economy on Merseyside’ . Out of this report came two central recommendations; that ‘Low Carbon’ be made a fundamental driver of all of Liverpool’s strategic economic ambitions as set out in the so called transformational actions around the low carbon economy, super-port, visitor economy and the knowledge economy; and that the City consider a future bid for the European Green Capital award.

For the last 18 months this process has been supported by an emerging ‘Liverpool Green City Partnership’ comprising of key institutions including the University, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, Liverpool Vision, Liverpool Primary Care Trusts (PCT), Mersey Forest, and private and third sector partners, with active support from the City Council, and Local Enterprise partnership.

The Partnership’s work has been supported by funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (with contributions from Liverpool Vision and Chamber of Commerce) and Liverpool PCT. In autumn 2012, the Green City Partnership decided to work with its partners to establish a baseline audit of Liverpool’s (and the City Region) current environmental performance. This Audit is reports on the criteria used as part of the bidding process for European Green Capital, and reflects the same criteria that winning cities have used (see below for more details). This model was selected as it provided a robust template for measuring environmental performance across a number of areas.

Addressing 12 areas, the Green Capital bid criteria reflects the broad nature of sustainability in modern cities. Although still containing more traditional areas such as green spaces and biodiversity, the inclusion of energy performance and eco-innovation reference the new challenges facing cities in the 21st century. Conversely, the Green Capital bidding process might ask for data on issues that are not priorities for the city, or on which it might have little or no control. The advantage of this model is less in the specifics of the data provided than in the benefits of the audit process itself.

The audit process allowed the partners to examine and compile data that they each hold, in order to establish how Liverpool compares against the UK Core Cities (considered to be Liverpool’s main economic competitors), and against the best European practice as a means to discover where the city performs well, and how it can improve performance.

1

Funded by the ESRC as a knowledge exchange partnership between Liverpool Vision, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and the University to explore how Liverpool was developing its Low Carbon Economy.

7

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Principally, the data presented in this report relates to the City of Liverpool (i.e. within the boundaries of Liverpool City Council). However, Liverpool lies within a wider city region, and as such cannot be considered in isolation with regard to a number of environmental performance criteria including economic activity, transport, waste and biodiversity. Most importantly, Liverpool’s most defining geographical feature is the River Mersey which does not conform to designated borders. Consequently, the audit also examined data from across the wider Merseyside area – comprising the districts of Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and the Wirral.

Data Collection The audit was completed as a collaborative effort by members of the Green City Partnership, with partners providing both data and narrative for appropriate sections, and commenting on cross-sectoral aspects.

In doing so, and reflecting the multi-disciplinary nature of environmental performance, data was provided by the following partners and organisations; l l l l l l l

ARUP Eldonian Group Ltd Environment Agency Liverpool Chamber of Commerce Liverpool City Council Liverpool Local Enterprise Partnership Liverpool Primary Care Trust

l l

Liverpool Vision Merseyside Environmental Advisory Service

l l l l l

Mersey Forest Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority Mersey Travel United Utilities University of Liverpool

In undertaking the audit, an assessment was undertaken to map out plans and strategies in place for Liverpool, and the City Region, that address the European Green Capital’s twelve criteria. Table one below shows this; It is clear that Liverpool has a wealth of strategies in place across the broad range of Green Capital criteria. The results of the audit provide more detail, examining how the city performs against these criteria and the factors specified within each sub-section. This includes detailed contributions from the relevant organisations/stakeholders across the city and city region that have provided detailed technical information on performance.

8

Introduction

Table One - Existing Liverpool and City Region plans and strategies ECG Criteria

Coverage

Local Contribution to Climate change

l l l l l l

Local transport

l Local Transport Plan

Green urban areas incorporating sustainable land use

l Liverpool Green Infrastructure Strategy l Greenprint for Growth

Nature and biodiversity

l l l l

Quality of local ambient air

l Air Quality Action Plan

Liverpool Climate Change Strategic Framework Covenant of Mayors Mayoral Development Zone/Mayoral Development Corporation Centre for offshore energy Sustainable Energy Action Plan NHS Carbon Reduction Plans

Liverpool Green Infrastructure Strategy Biodiversity Action Plans Ecological Framework Greenprint for Growth

Quality of the Acoustic Environment Waste production and management

l Waste Management Plan

Water consumption

l North West River Basin Management Plan l Lower Mersey & Alt Catchment Abstraction Management Plan

Waste water treatment

l Mersey Estuary Catchment Flood Management Plan l Alt Crossens Catchment Flood Management Plan l Local Authority Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Sefton, St Helens, Knowsley, Halton, Liverpool l Merseyside Community Risk Register

Eco innovation and sustainable employment

l l l l l l l l l l l

LEP Low Carbon Economy Action Plan Decade of Health and Wellbeing Green Deal Low Carbon Liverpool Green Ambassadors International Festival of Business Smart City Mayoral Development Zone/Mayoral Development Corporation Centre for Offshore Renewable energy Greenprint for Growth Sustainable Energy Action Plan

l l l l l l l l

LEP Low Carbon Economy Action Plan Green Deal International Festival of Business Smart City Mayoral Development Zone/Mayoral Development Corporation Eldonians Energy transfer Hub Centre for offshore energy Sustainable Energy Action Plan

Environmental Management of the Local Authority Energy performance

9

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

The audit was undertaken in three parts by identifying; I) Current environmental performance, based on existing data II) Details of targets met and an explanation of what has contributed to the current situation III) What plans and proposals will achieve to change and improve current performance?

Full details of the European Green Capital programme, providing further information on the bidding process and from winning cities, can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/Summary

Analysis To provide an assessment of Liverpool’s environmental performance across a wide range of indicators a simple traffic light system was adopted, based on an analysis of the city’s performance against best UK and international practice, operating as follows; n n n

Green – Good/Excellent The city performs well against European Green Capital winners and/or UK competitor cities.

Yellow – Average Whilst not indicating bad performance, the city does not excel in this area.

Red – Poor The city is underperforming against European Green Capital winners and/or UK Core Cities.

While the underlying data on the city’s environmental performance is provided by the partners and is robust, the use of any scoring system for analysis is unavoidably subjective in its nature, what is good or not good performance is of course debatable. The purpose of the audit is to provide an ‘at a glance’ illustration of Liverpool’s environmental performance and the traffic light system represents the best way of doing this, in a simple and easy to understand way. The partners have reviewed and agreed the audit’s assessment.

In providing analysis, it has been noted that some areas provide easier comparison than others: for example, purely numerical outputs such as CO2 emissions per capita or recycling rates allow for direct comparison against other cities. However other, areas such as the competitiveness of the city’s eco-innovation strategy in comparison with other cities is not as easy.

This audit is a snapshot in time provided by the partners, and should be used to decide how the city, and the city region, can improve its environmental performance to enable it to compete successfully with other cities.

10

Section One: Local Contribution to Addressing Global Climate Change

Section One: Local Contribution to Addressing Global Climate Change The Data Since 2005, statistics demonstrate that there has been a reduction in both energy consumption and overall CO2 emissions. With regards to energy consumption there has been a reduction of 15.44% from 9,984 GWh (2005) to 8,613GWh (2010). In terms of CO2e emissions a total of 461kt CO2e has been saved at a rate of 92ktCO2e a year. This equates to a 16.7% reduction by 2010 and indicates that carbon savings targets are being achieved at a higher rate than that required for a 20% reduction by 2020.

In terms of overall performance, Liverpool’s per capita emissions (CO2 tonnes) are decreasing in every area. Total emissions have decreased by nearly 10% in the period 2005-2010. Amongst the Core Cities Group, Liverpool has been consistently ranked as the 3rd best performing city, yet, over time, other competitor cities are showing bigger rates of improvement. Liverpool’s figures also compare favourably with other Green Capital winners, with, for example, Liverpool’s CO2 emissions being approximately 1 tonne lower than Vitoria-Gasteiz for the same period.

Table 1.1 – Liverpool’s Per Capita Emissions (CO2 tonnes) (by type) 2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Total

6.4

6.4

6.4

6.2

5.6

5.8

Electricity

1.02

1.04

1.04

0.98

0.87

0.89

Gas

1.37

1.3

1.24

1.27

1.11

1.21

Road Transport

1.4

1.37

1.39

1.36

1.31

1.29

Liverpool’s performance with regard to CO2 emissions arising from the use of domestic electricity remains consistent and mirrors trends from all other areas measured (i.e. a longer term trend towards reduction). In terms of comparing Liverpool with English competitor cities, here the picture is less favourable, as Liverpool is consistently the worst performer of the core cities in this regard.

11

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Emissions arising from the use of domestic gas are similar to those for domestic electricity, with long term reductions, although Liverpool is ranked as the 3rd worst performer of the seven core cities in this regard.

Liverpool’s CO2 emissions from road transport indicate that between 2005 and 2008 road traffic emissions remained stable at 1.4(t)CO2 per capita, before dropping to 1.3 tCO2 per capita in 2009 and stabilising at that level. This makes Liverpool the 3rd best performer of the Core City Group.

Plans and Strategies The city appreciates the need for clear evidence, coupled with business case examples to inform its decision making processes. However there is recognition of the need to focus on long-term climate change predictions and increase in extreme weather events (e.g. heat-waves and heavy rainfall). There is a need for the city to recognise the risks that these changes bring and adapt to these extremes by encouraging resilient developments. The Liverpool Climate Change Strategic Framework, Green Infrastructure Framework and ‘Green Print for Growth’ strategy will be essential tools for planning and delivering climate change adaptation and building resilience into the city. Liverpool City Council has also collaborated with the University of Liverpool in order to consider more precisely the likely scenarios (i.e. flood risk) to stem from climate change and increased volatility in weather patterns. Over the past two years the city has developed and commenced implementation of an integrated flood management plan, and authorised new governance structures to review the effectiveness of this work in practice.

The Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has made a Low Carbon Economy one of its four key priorities and resources new structures and posts to facilitate development around this. Other work being undertaken around the city includes the University of Liverpool’s Stephenson Institute which researches renewable energy, as well Liverpool Community college which has been granted status as a national Low Carbon Skills Hub, providing bespoke training facilities for students and local employers alike There have also been notable successes across Liverpool which reflects the latest building design requirements. Examples include sustainable urban drainage systems used in new business parks, St Pauls Commercial Quarter Liverpool South Parkway, The Echo Arena and Convention Centre, St.George’s Hall and the green roof and oil and grey water recycling at Liverpool One. Led by the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, in 2009 Liverpool launched a Green Business Ambassador Programme and published Liverpool’s Little Green Book; a directory of local green

12

Section One: Local Contribution to Addressing Global Climate Change

businesses and a business support guide for those businesses seeking to improve their environmental performance. This is now supported by the ‘Little Green App’, which provides similar functions using mobile phone technology. The directory is updated regularly; however there has been a significant decline in the amount of hands on business support available.

However, there is now a significant gap in terms of business support, with key organisations offering direct support such as Groundwork Merseyside, Envirolink no longer in place.

Liverpool can also point to a number of local community actions addressing climate change, including; l l l

l

Project Dirt: an innovative social networking site that groups can use to raise awareness, contact and learn from each other has over 70 local groups involved.

Transition Towns: Liverpool’s branch of the global Transition Towns network, which advocates local scale solutions to climate change mitigation.

Merseyside Environmental Trust: An environmental advocacy group, aiming to increase public awareness of environmental issues in Liverpool and to influence the public policy process.

Liverpool Echo Environmental Awards: this awards ceremony celebrates local successes from both the public, private and community sector.

Traffic Light Score Total Emissions CO2 from domestic electricity CO2 from domestic gas CO2 from transport Grams of CO2 per kWh used

No Data

Details of targets achieved or not Plans to meet/revise targets

13

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Data Confidence Data relating to climate change and CO2 emissions was obtained from national level DECC databases, whilst plans and strategies were principally outlined by Liverpool City Council. We can report the data for climate change with a high degree of confidence.

Commentary Liverpool’s performance on its climate change mitigation/carbon reduction commitments is good.

The City can demonstrate long term trends in reduction across all areas, and the evidence suggests that it is well placed to meet its carbon reduction targets moving forward.

The areas where Liverpool performs less well are emissions emanating from domestic gas and electricity. One of the reasons for this has been identified as the poor energy performance and age of Liverpool’s housing stock resulting in higher levels of energy consumption during cold periods, especially during severe winters.

14

Section Two: Local Transport

Section Two: Local Transport The Data The proportion of public transport classed as low emissions is 22.57% of buses and 100% of Merseyrail Electrics’ trains. Network Rail has recently signed a new 10 year deal with EDF energy to supply low carbon electricity for the UK’s electrified rail network. This deal also includes new electrification schemes such as the Liverpool Manchester and North West Electrification. Based on current calculations, 98.9% of Liverpool's population lives within 300m of an hourly or better bus service.

For journeys under 5km, private cars account for 41.5% and 46.8% of journeys in Liverpool and Merseyside respectively, when combining figures for drivers and passengers. Whilst this is high, this compares to both Nantes and Hamburg.

Liverpool has a total of 108.5km of cycle lanes in the city. This is split between 22.3km of onroad advisory, 6.2km of on-road mandatory, 23.6km of bus lanes and 56km of off road (i.e. routes through parks). This includes the 16km of loop-line, a disused railway designated as a mixed use leisure facility, including cycling. For Liverpool, this means that each kilometre of cycle lane is shared by 4292 residents. Or, alternatively, there is 23cm of cycle lane provision per capita. The city compares poorly with the cities of Hamburg and Stockholm, who have 1m and 0.99m of cycle lane per capita respectively. Compounding this, Hamburg has over 1500km (88%) of mandatory cycle lanes, compared to Liverpool’s 11km (11%). This means that the best performing European cities far outstrip Liverpool for cycle lane provision not only in terms of quantity, but also quality.

Plans and Strategies A low carbon economy is a central theme of the current Merseyside Local Transport Plan (LTP).

The aim of the LTP is to contribute to a City Region committed to a low carbon transport network and mobility culture that positively contributes to a thriving economy and the health and wellbeing of its citizens and where sustainable travel is the option of choice. The LTP recognises that clean cities are prosperous cities and, in doing so, integrates wider housing, health, environmental, education and other policies in the region and Nationally, supporting the continuing regeneration and economic development of the Liverpool City Region. One of the six priorities of the LTP is to provide and promote a clean, low emission transport system which is resilient to changes in climate and availability of oil.

2

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/7288/Ten-year-deal-powers-Britain-s-biggest-railelectrification-programme-in-a-generation

15

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

In January 2012, the Department of Transport established the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), worth £560m. Partners in the Liverpool City Region have since been successful in securing almost £25m of this funding for projects in the area. The fund aims to support local economic growth whilst addressing the urgent challenges of climate change. Funding will be used across the City Region to develop schemes to help individuals to travel to employment, thus supporting Merseyside's continued economic regeneration. Schemes include provision for increasing cycling, with £1.5m going towards a cycle hire scheme, which will see 1000 bikes available for hire from 60 stations located across the city. The Linking Places Fund, will also be accessed and used to help to fund further cycle improvements, including provision for a Lime Street cycle hub and improved cycle parking at Liverpool South Parkway. A travel plan has been developed to promote access to the station by sustainable transport - this will be expanded to further stations on the Merseyrail network in the future.

Currently 22% of the bus fleet can be classed as low emission (Euro V and above or using alternative fuels) and Merseytravel aim to increase this through: l l l

Supporting fleet operators in using alternative fuels and low emission technology in their fleets to reduce carbon and improve air quality Setting minimum Euro engine standards for vehicles used on supported services and Statutory Quality Partnerships.

Merseytravel Bus Stations departure charges based on the environmental performance of the vehicles.

To reduce emissions from vehicles, Freight and Taxi Partnerships have been established to develop low emission options. An Electric Charging Infrastructure Strategy is also being developed to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles by transport operators and individuals.

In recent years bus operators such as Arriva and Stagecoach have invested in new vehicles for their bus fleets, thereby helping to improve the quality of the bus service in Merseyside.

A Green Bus Fund bid, submitted by Arriva was successful in securing £3.46m for 33 Volvo hybrid vehicles, to operate on the cross-river services between Liverpool and Wirral. This builds on the success of the previous round of funding, with 'Cumfy Bus' getting new hybrids for the supported Liverpool city centre circular services, building on existing full electric and sustainable bio-fuel services already in operation.

16

Section Two: Local Transport

Merseytravel set minimum Euro engine standards for vehicles used on supported services, Statutory Quality Partnerships (SQPS) and commercial operators using bus stations via a departure charge systems. SQPS have been developed with the bus operators and other partners for several key corridors in Merseyside. Merseytravel are also developing a new real time information system for the bus network, and continue to improve ticketing via the Walrus smartcard.

The delivery of these schemes will be supported by changes to the governance structures for transport in the Liverpool City Region which, from 2013, will enable better co-ordination and delivery of transport priorities across the region, in line with existing policy.

Traffic Light Score Cycle Lanes Population living 300m from a bus stop with an hourly or better service Proportion of journeys under 5km made by car Proportion of public transport classed as low emission Details of targets achieved or not Reduction of overall demand Reduction of individual motorised transport Promotion of less environmentally damaging modes of transport

Data Confidence Data for Transport can be reported with a high degree of confidence, reflecting detailed data provided by Merseytravel and Liverpool City Council.

17

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Commentary The evidence emerging from Liverpool with regards to transport are mixed. The fully electrified Merseyrail train network is excellent, a status which should be strengthened as forthcoming strategies are realised. Equally, the connectivity of the city’s bus network is excellent.

Whilst progress is being made on the environmental efficiency of buses operating in Liverpool, improvements are required to meet the standard set by other European cities.

However, the real weakness in this regard is cycling, where Liverpool fails to meet a good European standard both in the quality and quantity of its cycle lane provision. It should be noted that other European Green Capital winners began with, and improved from, a comparatively low baseline and the proposed Cycle Hire scheme, alongside other initiatives brought forward under the LTSF should help to improve Liverpool’s performance in this regard.

18

Section Three: Green Urban Areas Incorporating Sustainable Land Use

Section Three: Green Urban Areas Incorporating Sustainable Land Use The Data There are 507 areas of open space in the city, comprising some 3006.07 Ha, and equating to 27% of Liverpool’s total area. Of this, 636.02 Ha comprised 11 city parks, 234.92 Ha comprise 16 district parks and 164.14 Ha comprise of 56 neighbourhood parks. This equates to 30,060,000 meters squared of open space which, in turn, means that each of the 466,400 residents in the city has access to 64m2 of open space. This compares very favourably with other European Capital winners, e.g. Hamburg (17m2) and Nantes (57m2).

Approximately 70% of the population live within 300m of public green urban areas of at least 2ha in size. By comparison, 80% of Copenhagen’s citizens, 89% of Hamburgers, and 100% of Nantes’ and Vitoria-Gasteiz’s citizens live within 300m of a public green space of any size.

The population density of the city is approximately 35 inhabitants per hectare. If green infrastructure figures are omitted, the population density is calculated as approximately 91 inhabitants per hectare. This compares somewhat favourably to Vitoria-Gasteiz (101.51 in/ha) and is far outstripped by Copenhagen (847.2 in/ha).

Taking the EU’s definition of soil sealing as ‘permanent covering with impermeable layers of buildings, asphalt roads, parking lots and so on’ , there is approximately 110m2 of sealed soil per capita in the city. This compares with 117m2 per capita for Vitoria-Gasteiz and 150m2 per capita in Copenhagen.

Plans and Strategies Liverpool’s Core Strategy provides for the protection and enhancement of green infrastructure in relation to new development. This includes encouraging developments which incorporate sustainable features such as green roofing, sustainable urban drainage systems and opening of culverted water courses. Further to this, development is supported which encourages citizens to use local parks and open spaces, minimising travel usage. New development is also encouraged to include ‘green routes’ which encourage and facilitate sustainable travel and improve the quality of Liverpool’s existing green infrastructure. With development being concentrated on the urban cores, the Core Strategy also encourages the development of green infrastructure in the city centre, including use of green roofing and tree/shrub planting.

3

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/soil/sealing.htm

19

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Liverpool also has several high profile examples of where high quality urban design and Green/Blue Infrastructure have interfaced. This includes; l

l

Liverpool One: the latest major addition to the shopping area of the city centre was opened in 2008, consisting of 1.6million sq ft of retail space and 230,000 sq ft of restaurants, cafes and bars. Including a Green Flag standard park (built on the site of Chevasse Park) which is also, in essence a green roof – one of the largest of its kind.

Going further, all the water features used in the area are driven by grey water, reused from within Liverpool One. Stonebridge and Estuary Business Parks: Located in the Northern and Southern extremes of the city respectively, Stonebridge and Estuary business parks have incorporated Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDs). In particular Stonebridge has utilised reed beds, which have created flood storage mechanisms as well as increasing biodiversity and an improving water quality in the nearby River Alt.

Development plans that are in place will improve Liverpool’s green infrastructure, bringing it further into the heart of Liverpool’s economic strategy. This includes the Greenprint for Growth, which seeks to develop the North of the city into an investment ready space for future development. In doing so it will; l l l l

Create the Greenest City Park in the UK within 10 years Create new jobs and training opportunities Deliver 10 large projects and 1001 small projects Plant 10 new trees for each resident every 10 years

The recently published Strategic Regeneration Framework which sets out the vision for redevelopment of Liverpool city centre for the next 15 years also includes provisions for the improvement of green infrastructure through the opening up of public realm areas throughout the city, creating more ease of movement and improving perceptions of the city centre.

20

Section Three: Green Urban Areas Incorporating Sustainable Land Use

Traffic Light Score Proportion of areas within the inner city/on city boundaries The distribution across the city Size of areas Fragmentation Soil sealing Proportion of population living 300m from green space Percentage of green areas/water areas/industrial economic areas.

Residential areas/brownfields New developments (proportion of brownfield sites)

No Data

population density in built up areas Population density for new developments

No Data

Minimising the total area of derelict and contaminated land

No Data

increasing or sustaining population density while protecting green areas renovating urban land and renewing urban design Limiting urban sprawl through cooperation with neighbouring municipalities

No Data

Integrating current and future changes such as economic growth People’s quality of life and recreation Additional ecosystem services

No Data

Rehabilitation of brownfield sites

No Data

21

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Data Confidence Data has been provided by Mersey Forest, MEAS and Liverpool City Council. There is data outstanding, principally relating to urban development/densities, for which Liverpool City Council is the principal data holder.

Commentary The quality and quantity of Liverpool’s green space is one of its real strengths. Liverpool is highly competitive at a European level with regards to the amount of green space available to its citizens, albeit with some improvement required in how this space is distributed in the north of the city.

Equally there are excellent examples of where the urban and environmental landscapes have interfaced – e.g. Liverpool One and the Estuary Business Park. The GreenPrint for Growth, if realised, also presents an excellent opportunity for Liverpool to continue to lead in this regard, whilst simultaneously addressing the issues of green space distribution.

Despite this, until data gaps regarding how Liverpool is reducing and reusing its areas of brownfield land are available, a full commentary on Liverpool’s performance in this regard is not possible.

22

Section Four: Biodiversity

Section Four: Biodiversity The Data Biodiversity Action Plans (BAP) set targets for the maintenance, restoration and expansion of locally occurring UK Priority Habitats, including through the delivery of green infrastructure (GI) projects. Liverpool has clearly identified habitat and species priorities (2008) which have now been integrated into the Ecological Framework.

The Liverpool City Region falls into two Biodiversity Action Plan areas: l l

North Merseyside (Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens) Cheshire (Wirral, Halton and Warrington)

Within this, key habitat priorities include: l

l

l

Increasing Lowland deciduous woodland from 166ha prior to the Mersey Forest commencement in the early 1990s. Protection and management of three Ancient SemiNatural Woodlands and protection of woodlands through Local Nature Reserves or Local Wildlife Site designations; Protection and management of Lowland Wood-Pasture and Parkland e.g. Croxteth and Calderstones Parks, Sefton Park, Speke Hall, Calderstones Park veteran trees (Allerton Oak); Urban Trees, Liverpool has an estimated 12,300 park and street trees and 2550 privatelyowned trees are covered by Tree Preservation Orders

The Liverpool City Region Green Infrastructure partnership has worked over the last 3 years to develop a framework for the City Region. In doing so they have recorded that: l l l l l

80% of the area is Green or Blue Infrastructure; 16,000 businesses in GI sector in the City Region; £700m/yr GVA for the economy; GI provides some fundamental services for our economy and way of life – worth up to £100bn; The three largest GI components are agricultural land (21%), private domestic gardens (12%) and coastal habitats (12%);

23

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

l

l

The GI Framework (2013) identifies grassland, heath land, moorland or scrub as a major GI typology in the City Region. This is predominantly grassland and is likely to include some agriculture land; and Woodland cover at 5.27% is below the national average (8.4%), however there has been significant woodland cover increase over the past fifteen years with over 5 million new trees planted.

Plans and Strategies The institutional framework and environmental delivery priorities are changing within Liverpool and the LCR following formal Government recognition of the Local Nature Partnership (LNP) of which Liverpool is a key member. Furthermore both the Ecological and GI Frameworks are in early implementation phases. This provides the City Region with a very strong framework for coordinated action for biodiversity.

The LNP has identified a new set of priorities for action which will ensure that outputs will be ecologically coherent. The LNP is developing guiding principles to further integrate natural environment priorities into strategic planning and decision taking. Plans for the future include: l l l l l

Implementation of both Ecological Framework and GI Framework; Co-ordinated programme of priority projects to benefit from and influence the 2014-2020 European Funding Programme for Growth and Rural Development; Wider engagement and communications; Co-ordinated programme of action of green spaces including public parks; Support to the City Region Deal including River Mersey Task Force and Regulatory Pilot including improvements to baseline monitoring of European Sites and supporting habitats.

The emerging LCR Ecological Framework is being used as part of the Local Plan evidence base by all six districts within the City Region. Based on Lawton principles of ecosystem services and connectivity, the Ecological Framework it is being developed to enable employment and housing needs of the City Region to be met whilst also delivering greater resilience and connectivity between habitats and designated sites. The next stages of its development will include more detailed mapping of opportunities for biodiversity enhancement and improvement habitat management. Implementation will also ensure that Liverpool meets is duties under the Natural Environment White Paper 2010 and National Planning Policy Framework.

24

Section Four: Biodiversity

Traffic Light Score Details of the most recent action plan Details of targets achieved or not Plans to meet/revise targets

Data Confidence Data for biodiversity is reported with a high degree of confidence, reflecting the submissions made by MEAS, Mersey Forest and Liverpool City Council.

Commentary Liverpool and the wider City Region’s performance with regards to biodiversity is excellent and should be considered as a central pillar of the city’s environmental credentials. However, care must be taken that progress is maintained moving forward.

25

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Section Five: Quality of Local Ambient Air The Data In the period 2007 and 2012 Liverpool City Council has had four Air Quality monitoring stations in operation. They are located as follows: l l l l

Islington: Particulate Matter <10 micron (PM10), Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) Old Haymarket : Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) Queens Drive Walton: Particulate Matter <10 micron (PM10), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) Speke: PM10, PM2.5, Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2).

The number of days in which the EU limit values for PM10 was exceeded was low. Although no clear trend emerges from any of the stations, the numbers are low and bear comparison with other similar European Green Capital winners such as Hamburg.

Again, the overall number of days in which the EU limits for ozone were exceeded appears to be low, with the Islington station reporting 0 days exceeded in 2010. However, while Liverpool does compare favourably with past European Green Capital winners, the figures compare on the higher side.

The data for all the sites indicates no real trend in the concentration of NO2, however comparison with other European Green Capital Winners indicates that the numbers are slightly higher for Liverpool.

Data provided by the city’s sole PM2.5 station indicates that levels have remained stable since monitoring began in 2009.

Plans and Strategies Liverpool City Council, in keeping with other Local Authorities in England & Wales, has undertaken reviews and assessments of air quality across the city since 1999.

In 2003 two Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) were declared by Liverpool City Council (LCC): l l

26

AQMA1 – Liverpool City Centre AQMA2 – Liverpool M62 / Rocket Junction

Section Five: Quality of Local Ambient Air

The selections were based on a failure within these two areas in meeting the annual average nitrogen dioxide (NO2) objective of 40Îźg mP-3 and subsequent forecasts of public exposure toNO2.

The actions that were included in the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) were based on consultation between LCC and a variety of key stakeholders inside and outside of the Council including members of the public. The final version of the AQAP was submitted to, and approved by Defra, in 2005. Given the impact of transport on local air quality the AQAP was fully integrated into the Local Transport Plan.

A range of twenty three measures to reduce pollution concentrations was developed, contained in the following six packages: l l l l l l

Reduction of vehicle emissions; Traffic management; Alternative transport modes; Development planning; Dissemination of information; and Working with and lobbying other agencies and central government.

Key actions identified in the Action Plan were intended to reduce traffic related emissions by 15% in the City Centre and to reduce traffic related emissions by almost 10% at specified locations within the previously designated AQMAs. Actions in the AQAP included the following: l l l l l l l l l l l

Bus Quality improvements Bus Lane enforcement Bus Routing/Scheduling improvements Park and Ride Schemes Better Freight Management Walking & Cycling initiatives Travel Plans implementation City Centre Management System (CCMS) Increased use of intelligent transport systems (SCOOT) Engine idling reductions Increased Air Quality considerations through Planned Development

27

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

In 2008, referencing the need for improvement across the city, Liverpool City Council declared a city-wide AQAP. Information to the general public has been made available via the Liverpool City Council website with additional links being included within the AQAP. The City Council web pages on air quality show air quality data in real time at four monitoring locations within the city. In addition to this links to external air quality information through the UK Government have also been made available

Traffic Light Score PM10 Ozone NO2, PM10, PM2.5 Existence and Implementation of an Air Quality Management Plan Local measures taken and their effect Information provided to the public Plans to meet/revise targets Data Confidence Data for Air Quality is reported with a high degree of confidence, owing to complete figures being provided by Liverpool City Council Officers.

Commentary Poor air quality in Liverpool emanates from a number of sources, including domestic and industrial uses. However the majority of the air pollution, especially relating to NO2 is associated with transport sources in particular; buses, heavy goods vehicles and taxi fleet.

Efforts from across the city, including moves to improve the quality of the bus fleet will assist in improving air quality levels, particularly in the city centre. However, more can be done to ensure that rather that loosely comparing to other cities, Liverpoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s air quality begins to consistently demonstrate high standards.

28

Section Six: Quality of the Acoustic Environment

Section Six: Quality of the Acoustic Environment The Data When considering noise generated by road traffic, 96.4% of Liverpool’s population are exposed to day time noise values above 55 decibels (db), with 84.6% of the population being exposed to noise levels above 50db at night. This makes Liverpool the worst performing of all the Core Cities for day time noise levels, and only Manchester performs worse for night time levels.

Liverpool’s performance in terms of noise generated rail is average. The city has the 3rd highest population (of the 7 core cities) exposed to 55-59 db and 50-55 db during the day and night respectively, before falling to 5th once 65 db are reached for daytime figures and 55-60 db for night-time figures.

Liverpool’s industrial noise level performance is good. While its ranking (consistently 4th amongst core cities for both day and night time figures) indicates only average performance, the figures suggest that it is in line with the better performing cities.

Plans and Strategies At present, there is no statutory requirement for local authorities to produce, or maintain, an overall strategy for the reduction of, and prevention of exposure to, heightened noise levels.

Nonetheless, Liverpool City Council has taken a lead in the improving the quality of their acoustic environment. One such example is the City Council’s ‘Night Noise Team’ which has been in place since 2007. They were awarded thek Noise Abatement Society’s prestigious John Connell Award for innovation. Much of the team’s work focuses on two wards: Riverside and City Centre. Although representing only 6% of the city’s total wards, in 2011 they accounted for 26% of all noise related complaints in the city, owing in large part to the high concentration of bars/nightclubs and being the principal site of Liverpool’s night-time economy.

The City Council has appointed a ‘City Centre Licensed Premises Coordinator” to act as a focal point between licensees, their local community and its representative groups, and internal partners such as Environmental Street Nuisance, Planning, Licensing and the City Centre Management team. This included proactively visiting 203 of the City’s 260 bars. As a result of this work the Night Noise Team has reported both a reduction in burden coupled with a marked decrease in the number of recorded noise incidents. By way of comparison, in the period June ’10-’11 there were 151 recorded incidents, which in the period June ’11-’12 there were 74 incidents representing a 51% drop.

29

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Traffic Light Score Population exposed to >55db (Day) Population exposed to >45db (Night) Details of targets achieved or not Plans to meet/revise targets

Data Confidence The non-statutory nature of noise measurement and reduction in the UK makes it difficult to report data with the same high degree of confidence as other sections. However, data is available for all areas thanks to work undertaken by Defra.

Commentary The fact that the measurement of noise pollution measurement is non-statutory makes it difficult to make a meaningful assessment of Liverpoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance particularly since, given the backdrop of cuts noise is not seen as a high priority.

Nonetheless, Liverpool appears to perform well against UK competitor city rivals, with the exception of road transport, where the city sits at the lower end of the scale. Liverpool City Council has also been presented with awards for the work of its Night Noise team, focusing on the city centre, indicating that despite not being a high priority, the city has some good stories to tell.

30

Section Seven: Waste Production and Management

Section Seven: Waste Production and Management The Data The data shows a sustained decline in household waste arisings across the city region from a total of 821,785 tonnes in 2007/08 to 713,710 in 2011/12. This trend is reflected in Liverpool’s collected waste arisings which have dropped from 191,202 to 183,807 tonnes over the same period, despite a spike in arisings in 2010/11.

There has been a steady increase in recycling performance across the city region from 29% in 2007/8 to 37% in 2011/12, but with a recent slower rate of increase. This is reflected in Liverpool’s performance which has increased from 22% to 26% through this period, but with a levelling off of performance over the last 4 years. However, Liverpool’s performance has improved significantly over the last 10 years, with recycling performance as low as 1.9% in 2002/3.

Landfilling of household waste has steadily declined across the city region from 584,170 tonnes in 2007/8 to 448,754 in 2011/12. As part of this trend, Liverpool’s collected household waste sent to landfill has also reduced from 148,911 to 135,657 tonnes over the same period.

Plans and Strategies In 2012, MRWA and the 5 Waste Collection Authorities (WCAs) in Merseyside, including Liverpool, agreed a new Joint Recycling and Waste Management Strategy (JRWMS). Halton have a separate but aligned strategy. The new JRWMS, called ‘Resources Merseyside’, sets high level aims and objectives for moving waste management up the waste hierarchy with a much greater focus on waste prevention and towards greater resource efficiency, taking carbon reduction, economic growth and wider sustainability issues into account.

Key resource management driven aims include: l l l l l

Reducing the carbon impacts of waste management Maximise sustainable economic activity associated with waste management Reduce the ecological footprint of waste management activities Promote the use of renewable energy, and Promote resource efficiency.

31

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

The 2005 Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy (JMWMS) for Merseyside was developed in a context of year on year increases in waste arisings and set targets of reducing waste growth to 2% per annum by 2010 and 0% by 2020. The 2008 update of the Strategy set a more challenging 2010 target of 0.4% growth. However, actual performance figures for Liverpool, Merseyside and the City Region have all shown actual reductions in waste arisings over the last 5 years and through the target year, rather than just a reduction in the rate of growth. Similar reductions in arisings can be observed in other waste streams (Commercial & Industrial, Construction & Demolition) in the City Region.

Central Government introduced statutory recycling performance standards for 3 separate years (2003/4, 05/06 and 07/08) in order to push recycling performance upwards as part of the UK response to the challenge of achieving the requirements of the EU Landfill Directive. The figures show that both Liverpool and the wider sub-region struggled initially to meet the targets with Liverpool starting from a very low recycling performance of 4% in 2003/4. The targets stimulated the progressive improvement of recycling services and investment in larger scale infrastructure, in particular Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs). The first Merseyside MRF came on-stream in time to support achievement of the 2007/8 target at both Liverpool and City Region levels. Over the 5 year statutory target period Liverpoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recycling performance improved by over 5 times.

The 2008 Joint Merseyside Waste Management Strategy (JMWMS) included a 2010 target to reduce landfilling to 52% of Merseyside waste arisings. This was a challenging target considering the fact that that recycling rates were still below 30%. Although landfilling rates were continuing to decline, the target was missed with just over 60% of waste still being sent to landfill. Local Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA) targets for landfilling reduced to 60% in 2011/12 taking into account the lack of energy recovery capacity for residual waste diversion from landfill. Landfilling rates reduced to 61% that year. MRWA is currently procuring a Resource Recovery Contract which should lead to significant diversion from landfill post 2015.

The JRWMS includes new and revised targets including: l Reduce waste arisings by 8% by 2030 l Achieve a 50% recycling rate by 2020 l Reduce landfill to 10% of waste arisings by 2020 and 2% by 2030 l Demonstrate continuous improvement in the reduction of carbon emissions from the municipal waste service and review every 5 years l Demonstrate continuous improvement in reducing the ecological footprint of the municipal waste service.

32

Section Seven: Waste Production and Management

Traffic Light Score Waste per capita Total/biodegradable sent to landfill % Recycled Reduction of waste produced amount of waste sent to landfills Measures which have promoted awareness raising Plans to meet/revise

Data Confidence Data for Waste Production and Management is reported with a high degree of confidence, reflecting the submissions made by Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority.

Commentary Liverpoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current recycling rate is one of the main areas in which the city is currently underperforming. Sitting last amongst competitor cities, and beaten by European Green Capital Winners at the time of their bid, Liverpool has some distance left to travel in this regard.

Moving forward, MRWA have ambitions places to improve performance. This indicates that not only will waste prevention and recycling rates improve, but also land-filling will substantially decrease. The onus is now on Liverpool and the other members of the Merseyside and Halton Waste Partnership to realise this strategy and continue to improve on one of the city's historically weaker areas of performance within the context of improvements in performance across the wider city region.

33

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Section Eight: Water Consumption The Data In their 2009 Water Resources Management Plan, United Utilities estimate that 621,000 homes, or 21% of the 2.94million households they serve in the North West, will be subject to domestic metering. This is expected to rise to 60% by 2035 by metering all new households (estimated to be 800,000 across the North West and the addition of over 700,000 households becoming part of the free metering scheme. These figures are poor given that Hamburg, Vitoria and Nantes have all have almost 100% of urban water supply subject to metering.

United Utilities estimate that around 87% of non-domestic properties currently have water metering in place.

In 2006 United Utilities estimated that the water consumption per capita per day was 139 litres. This was estimated to fall to 133 litres by 2014 and to 129 litres by 2035.

This is higher than the 110 litres in Hamburg, but significantly lower than Vitoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 248 litres (albeit for a warmer climate).

The water leakage for the Integrated Water Resource Management Zone (of which Liverpool is a part, along with Manchester and much of the urbanised North West) was subject to 442.4 Ml/d of leakage in 2006/07, which was expected to drop slightly to 441.9 Ml/d. Between 1992/93 and 2007/08 United Utilities has reduced water leakage by over half, from 960Ml/d to 462 Ml/d respectively. Much of this work has been to achieve targets set out by OFWAT, the UK water industry regulator.

Water can be abstracted directly from surface and ground water sources for public and industrial use. A return to more sustainable abstractions is being managed by the Environment Agency, who hold the responsible for issuing licences for the abstracting of water (>20m3/day). There are currently 21 licensed abstractions within Liverpool, all bar one are from the underlying groundwater resource.

In terms of water quality, there are 47 waterbodies classified under the Water Framework Directive in Liverpool City Region, including: l l l l

34

42 rivers and artificial waterbodies; One coastal waterbody (the Mersey Mouth); Four transitional waterbodies (Mersey, Alt, Ribble and Dee) 78% of waterbodies are classed as moderate for water quality, 11% poor, 9% good and 2% bad.

Section Eight: Water Consumption

75% of waterbodies in Liverpool City Region are classed as heavily modified or artificial. (Under WFD, waterbodies designated as heavily modified or artificial ‘achieve good ecological ‘potential’ rather than ‘status’).

Plans and Strategies The first North West River Basin Management Plan set out a number of measures to be completed by 2015. Some of these measures are North West and nationwide ‘generic’ measures but others are water body specific. There are 237 measures that apply to water bodies in LCR and 137 have been completed to date, with the remaining to be completed over the next two years. A number of projects have also been undertaken, including the ‘’Merseyside Diffuse Pollution Project’, which has focused on tackling pollution from towns, cities and transport in 12 WFD river sub-catchments.

Many of the water quality issues in Liverpool City Region are currently being identified as part of the planning process for the next river Basin Plan. Those identified to-date can be attributed to pollution from urban areas and transport, physical modifications and pollution from waste water. These issues are likely to be exacerbated as the population of LCR is expected to grow by around 20,500 people and number of households expected to increase by approximately 41,000 by 2027.

The Lower Mersey & Alt Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy sets out how the Environment Agency will manage water resource and provides information on water availability for further abstraction. The strategy reflects that groundwater levels within the Lower Mersey catchment have shown signs of recovery over the last twenty years. However, the historic saline intrusion issues close to the Mersey Estuary are still a concern, particularly in light of the Water Framework Directive that requires a programme of measures to reverse trends of increasing salinity. Therefore, there is a strong presumption against any new consumptive abstraction close to the estuary that may exacerbate existing problems.

35

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Traffic Light Score Urban Water supply subject to metering Water consumption per capita Water loss in pipelines Compliance with EU water framework directive Leak management Network Rehabilitation Non-domestic Metering Byelaw implementation in relation to efficiency in water use

No Data

Efforts to use the tariff system to improve water supply Awareness raising campaigns Plans to meet/revise

Data Confidence With much of the data taken from plans produced by United Utilities, but relating only to the North West, data can only be reported with a limited degree of confidence. This can be strengthened by deepening the involvement of United Utilities in the partnership process moving forward.

Commentary Water consumption remains a quirk of the nature of governance in the UK. With minimal citylevel control, there is a limit to the amount that Liverpool City Council can do in this regard.

Broadly, Liverpool (as part of the North West Catchment area) performs well on water consumption. However, the level of water metering is poor. Even if United Utilitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; strategy for water metering is realised (leaving the city with 60% metering by 2040), Liverpool will still remain 40% behind European cities which often have 100% metering coverage.

A rise in groundwater levels has caused problems in some parts of the City, with the underground rail system within Central Liverpool now requiring active dewatering of groundwater undertaken

by Network Rail to ensure the rail network is not adversely affected by rising groundwater. This risk will continue to be monitored and it will be important to strike a balance between saline intrusion and the need to protect the public from the risk of groundwater flooding.

36

Section Nine: Waste Water Management

Section Nine: Waste Water Management The Data 14% of properties in Liverpool City Region are at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea or surface water. The main threat comes from surface water flooding, with 12% of properties in the City Region at risk of flooding in a 1 in 200 year scenario. Liverpool and Sefton have the most number of properties at risk of surface water flooding.

There are over 4,000 properties at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea in Liverpool, and a further 11,500 at risk in the wider City Region. The main sources of river flooding include: l l l l

Sankey Brook, affecting St Helens and Rainford; Netherley Brook, affecting areas in Knowsley and Halton; River Birket and Fender, affecting Birkenhead and Wallasey; Ditton Brook, affecting Widnes and Prescot.

There are a total of waste four water treatment works (WWTWs) located in the Liverpool area.

This includes the Sandon Dock site, which is the largest in the area with a Dry Weather Flow (DWF) of 234 Ml/d. All four of the sites offer a full biological treatment, before discharging into water courses feeding into the Mersey Estuary. The same four WWTWs also provide various levels of sludge processing and treatment, with the majority being recycled to land upon completion of the treatment process. Across the City Region, United Utilities also extract energy from their WWTWs. Most notably, this includes 13.5gw from the Sandon Dock site in 2012/13.

Liverpool’s record on industrial pollution in the last ten years is good (see figure 9.X). There has not been a pollution incident recorded since 2010 and, of the 24 incidents recorded since 2001 only 2 incidents were classed as category 1 (Major impact) which, with the exception of Manchester made it the best performing Core City. The majority of Liverpool’s ‘significant’ pollution incidents were land based, while 14 and 16 incidents were found to have had no impact on air and water respectively. Besides Manchester, Liverpool is the best performing Core City in terms of overall pollution incidents, with only a tenth of the number of incidents reported

by Leeds and a fifth of those reported by Sheffield respectively (the two cities with the highest pollution incidents).

37

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Improvements in the quality of water treatment and waste water infrastructure also have a positive impact on bathing waters designated under the Bathing Waters Directive and Revised Bathing Waters directive. Bathing waters have improved considerably over the last 20 years, with no failures since 2005 (the wet weather experienced in 2005 impacted on results). Wet weather in 2012 reduced the standards of four bathing waters in Liverpool City Region when compared to 2011, but overall the trend is positive.

Plans and Strategies The Environment Agency reports to OFWAT on the environmental performance of the water industry. The only non-compliance with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) was at Sandon Dock, otherwise known as Liverpool Waste Water Treatment Works. This works is currently undergoing a ÂŁ200m extension which will allow treatment of 11,000 litres of waste water per second, improving compliance with UWWTD and Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR). The outfall pipe will also be moved, allowing greater dilution and compliance with the Habitats Directive.

Improvements to treatment are usually suggested as part of United Utilities Asset Management Plan (AMP). There are 33 AMP5 improvements due to be delivered by United Utilities by 2015, although schemes can be moved onto the next AMP phase.

Liverpool City Region is covered by two Catchment Flood Management Plans. These cover relatively large areas, to reflect the catchment nature of water management, and set out policies for managing flood risk from rivers and the sea. In broad terms, the policies in the plans reflect that flood risk in the City region is already managed where needed, but some areas along the coast may need further action taken to ensure future protection.

Liverpool, together with Sefton, has been identified as part of a significant flood risk area under the Flood Risk Regulations; this means there are more than 30,000 properties at risk in a contiguous. Under the aforementioned legislation the authorities will produce flood hazard maps in 2013 and Flood Risk Management plans in 2015. Both areas have also produced Surface Water Management Plans and are also undertaking a number of studies and schemes with partners to alleviate flood risk from surface water.

38

Section Nine: Waste Water Management

In 2011, Lord Heseltine and Sir Terry Leahy published their report ‘Rebalancing Liverpool: Policy or Slogan’. Commissioned by the LEP, the report focused on the opportunities for growth in the city region over the next two decades. The report praised the progress of the clean-up work carried out on the river, providing the basis for a potential economic resurgence. However, it noted that the EU requires Member States to aim to bring all inland and coastal water to ‘Good Ecological Status’ by 2015 and that only 27% of water bodies in England and Wales currently achieve this - and the Mersey is not one of them. To remedy this, the Heseltine report proposes that all concerned aim to make the river Mersey the world’s cleanest and most ecologically diverse river in an urban setting by 2045.

In early 2013, ENWORKS began developing an ESTA project aimed at developing further understanding of the water technology research, innovation and industrial capacity across Liverpool City Region. As this continues, this will identify improvements in performance, as well as suggesting appropriate funding streams and projects to realise them.

Traffic Light Score Access to Service

No Data

Flood Occurrences and Management Economic Sustainability

No Data

Infrastructures (Treatment Capacity, Treatment Level) Environmental Sustainability (energy efficiency, sludge treatment) Integration into water management in general closing the cycle

No Data

Details of targets achieved or not Plans to meet/revise targets

Data Confidence Although data has been provided by the Environment Agency and United Utilities, there are still some outstanding data gaps, particularly relating to the waste water treatment provision. Thus, while the data we have can be reported with high confidence, there are gaps which, at present, make it difficult to present a complete picture.

39

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Commentary Liverpool and the wider Mersey Catchment area perform well on incidents of flooding and pollution. The aim should be to continue this progress.

However, the real jewel in the crown of Liverpoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s environmental credentials lies in the River Mersey and its clean up. Once heavily polluted and unsuitable for most wildlife, the river is now home to numerous species and supports a host of habitats. This effort, over 25 years, to clean up the river should form one of Liverpoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main stories in how to deal with an industrial past in the best possible way. Indeed, in this regard Liverpool can truly stand as a global exemplar.

Liverpool should also note the Heseltine-Leahy report, which recommends that the City continue to support work to clean up the river in order to meet even higher EU standards, thus strengthening the case of the Mersey as an exemplar for the UK and abroad. A task force has been set up to take this forward and report to Government on progress.

40

Section Ten: Eco-Innovation and Sustainable Employment

Section Ten: Eco-Innovation and Sustainable Employment The Data There are currently 400 businesses in the Energy & Environmental Technologies sector, employing 8700 people and worth £1bn annually to the Liverpool City Region (LCR) economy.

In 2005, the city’s energy use was 10,300GWh of which 19GWh came from renewable or waste resources. Since April 2010, a total of 1.92MW of renewable energy generation has been installed in 570 separate installations and using a variety of technologies. These are in addition to larger-scale installations such as the 11MW onshore wind farm in the city docklands (with plans to install a further 19MW) and eight existing CHP plants, the largest of which generates 10MWe of electricity and 37MWth of process steam.

In 2012 Liverpool Community College and the Mersey Maritime Group formed a partnership with Peel Ports Mersey (the Liverpool port authority) to establish a new Low Carbon/Superport University Technical College delivering technical education to 14-19 year olds. Liverpool Community College is the low carbon skills hub for the north-west region and has established an Environmental and Sustainable Centre of Excellence. The City of Liverpool works in partnership with the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce to encourage business leaders to act as ‘Green Champions’. The Enworks program has supported more than 2,000 local businesses introduce environmental technologies and actions which have helped to create or safeguard 600 jobs and more than £27m of sales in assisted businesses. Across the region it has provided training and skills development to more than 3,600 people in ways that help support sustainable employment.

There are 133,130 vehicles registered in Liverpool of which 0.36% are either electric, hybrid or new fuel technology powered.

Liverpool has supported social businesses since the early 1990s, including the establishment of the Liverpool School for Social Entrepreneurs which ran an ‘environmental entrepreneurs’ program in 2008. Leading social businesses include the FRC Group’s ‘Bulky Bob’s’ that collects, reuses and recycles bulky household waste while providing employment and training opportunities for people from long term unemployment. In 2011 Bulky Bob’s diverted 2500 tonnes of waste from landfill. The Elixir Group recycles uPvc from the building trade while employing and training ex-offenders and substance abusers, and in 2010 recycled 6,000 tonnes of waste.

41

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Plans and Strategies The primary Strategy for Low Carbon economic developlement is the LEP Low Carbon Economy Action Plan. The Plan unites public and private partners and the city’s knowledge base around innovation-and jobs-based growth. Targets for growth include: l Offshore and Onshore Wind – Liverpool is home to a UK-designated Centre for Offshore Renewable Energy (with 13.6MW already installed onshore) and base for Irish Sea windfarms with a generating capacity of 4,200MW and potential to create 3,000 jobs. l Micro-Generation – Liverpool has ambitious plans for the creation of 4,070 jobs through energy-from waste, district heating networks and other micro-generation projects, supported by partnership agreements with educational institutions and private sector-led consortia and pathfinder businesses. There have already been 1,200 solar pv installations (for instance) with a generating capacity of 4MW. The broad range of identified activity, the adjoining timescales and costs is outlined in the table below: Activities

Estimated delivery date

Estimated cost (if known)

Economic benefits to 2015

Round 2 and Round 3 Irish Sea offshore wind projects (Dong/RWE/Centrica)

2012-2026

£18bn

3,000 jobs

Significant scale roll-out of microgeneration technologies (PV/wind)

2012

£100m

1,480 jobs

Port based biomass power stations and Energy from Waste plants

2018

£600m

940 jobs

Develop nuclear supply chain activities and nuclear inspection and audit

2015

£50m

1,040 jobs

Mersey Estuary Tidal Energy Power plant

2020

£3bn

£260 jobs

Smart Grid roll-out into communities and private wire networks

2015

£300m

£1,200 jobs

Develop a technically secure and commercially viable heat network

2020

TBC

450 jobs

Develop sustainable supply chain to support low emissions vehicles production

2020

TBC

700 jobs

Support the development of low carbon building stock through supply chain activity

2020

£3bn

2,230 jobs

Source: LEP Low Carbon Economy Action Plan

42

Section Ten: Eco-Innovation and Sustainable Employment

The ambition of the Low Carbon Economy Action Plan is to add 12,000 new jobs in the low carbon sector by 2015, a rate of 900+ jobs per year. If achieved, this total would form forming 3.5% of Liverpool’s workforce.

North Liverpool will be the site of a pilot smart district and green community initiative developing low carbon solutions to the social and environmental problems of the area. The Strategic Regeneration Framework for North Liverpool has provided the foundation for this ambition but will be re-worked to make North Liverpool a green business and technologies zone in partnership with educational institutions. At the heart of North Liverpool will be a local energy district providing locally-produced energy both for existing housing and premises and as a stimulus to new development and regeneration through the offer of a secure energy future.

This will create energy-generating capacity of 12MWe to 20MWe under community ownership and control.

In 2014 Liverpool will host an International Festival of Business, attracting investors and businesses to the city. As part of this, ’Low Carbon’ will feature as one of the thematic strands of the event – highlighting that the low carbon economy is central to Liverpool’s economic future.

Liverpool can point to a wealth of social enterprises and community led schemes which are pioneering work on self-sufficiency and energy performance. One such example is the L8 Living Sustainably project. Beating 200 applicants to win £900,000 of lottery funding, the scheme aims to make a deprived part of Liverpool more energy- and food-secure through a communityled partnership which will also support housing retrofit programs in an area of extreme fuel poverty.

43

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Traffic Light Score Material Security Environmentally friendly technologies Social innovation Jobs created in green sectors Share of energy from renewables Hybrid or fully electric cars Details of targets achieved or not Plans to meet/revise targets

Data Confidence Data has been provided by Liverpool Vision, in the first instance, with further contributions from the LEP and Liverpool City Council. However, significant gaps remain in this section, particularly relating to Liverpool’s current performance and the existing strength of its low carbon economy.

This makes it difficult to present a full and accurate picture of how Liverpool’s work in this regard is being achieved, or otherwise. This will need to be remedied.

Commentary Direct comparisons with other cities on eco-innovation are difficult to make. This is made harder by the fact that like most green economies, Liverpool’s is in its infancy. However, with the designation of the Centre for Offshore Renewable Energy (CORE) (west coast), the University Technical College for Super-Port and Wind, as well as the hosting of the 2014 international Festival of Business amongst others, it appears that Liverpool is making steps in the right track in this regard. However, moving forward, the city must seek to maintain this momentum and realise all of its emerging strategies. If it does not, it risks being left behind on a major economic growth area.

Beyond the economics, one of Liverpool’s strengths lies in the quality of its social enterprise and innovation. The city can proudly point to a number of organisations, operating at a variety of scales, which are undertaking excellent examples of eco-innovation both in conjunction with, and independent of, the City. We should seek to celebrate these organisations and, wherever possible, support them as much as possible.

44

Section Eleven: Environmental Management of the Local Authority

Section Eleven: Environmental Management of the Local Authority The Data Liverpool City Council has been accredited with ISO14001 status since 2008. There are a number of council-affiliated businesses in the city that have attained the relevant ISO14001 accreditations including: l l l l l l

Civic Halls (St Georges Hall and Liverpool Town Hall) Print Facilities Liverpool Direct Limited Culture Liverpool ACC Liverpool Enterprise Liverpool

Liverpool City Council and many major institutions across the city region are part of DECC’s mandatory CRC (Carbon Reduction Commitment) energy efficiency scheme. Of all those participating, Liverpool City Council is ranked 109th nationally out of over 2100 institutions, although Sefton Council and Wirral Council, amongst others, are ranked last. Liverpool is also host to one of the institutions ranked first: National Museums Liverpool.

Liverpool City Council has ensured that its own activities are conducted in an environmentally sound manner across several areas. This includes: l l l l l l

A commitment to ensuring that the paper used by the council in its printing is 100% recycled.

Mandatory duplex (two-sided printing) as default on City Council Printers.

Use of ‘Night-watchman’ computing systems to automatically shut down computers that are idling, and thus minimise energy consumption.

A move towards electronic invoicing.

Unwanted office furniture is reused in the community for continued use.

The city’s Christmas lights have been replaced with LED lighting to reduce energy consumption

45

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

The City Council has installed smart meters throughout its estate, allowing access to 24/7 realtime data, which in turn can help to reduce both waste and costs. This has resulted in £250k pa in utility rebates. All council buildings and traffic lights are supplied with 100% green electricity. .

The City Council currently (January 2013) operates a fleet of 248 vehicles, of which 11 (4%) can be classed as low carbon (i.e. Electric or Hybrid). Of the 248 vehicles on the fleet, 67 are cars.

33 of those cars (49%) are under 130g/km of CO2; the Government threshold for classifying low carbon cars.

Plans and Strategies Sustainable procurement within Liverpool City Council is operated under two key principles. The first is that all stated outcomes must be realistic, implementable and deliverable so as to effectively marshal its resources. The second is the importance that stated outcomes must be measurable, so that performance can be monitored, adjusted and expanded.

In this light, alongside existing strategies and delivery vehicles, there are proposals to instigate new measures to increase the sustainable consumption and improve the environmental management of the local authority. This includes; l

l l

Stationary/office supply stock optimisation: A moratorium on stationary purchases in order to utilise existing stock, especially in instances of excess supply. Once this period is complete, stock can be re-ordered and managed in a way that reduces costs and reflects sustainable usage.

A move to expand the default ‘duplex’ printer setting to one of ‘two sides per page’. This will result in 4 sides being printed per piece of paper.

‘Grey’ paper (i.e. recycled to a higher standard and without bleach) will become standard across Council print facilities.

In 2009/10 the City Council was selected to participate in the DfT Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme which was created to provide grants to councils that could demonstrate a commitment to reducing and managing carbon from vehicles. The council was invited to participate due to its operation of electric/LPG cars and vans over a period of 10 years. The council received a grant to meet the marginal costs of acquiring 11 ultra low carbon vehicles over a 3-year period. The City Council has recently joined the Energy Saving Trust's (EST) Motorvate scheme which will assist to compare initiatives with other councils and monitor CO2.

The corporate Driver Handbook relating to risks and driving guidance also contains a section on clean driving to ensure that Council staff are aware of the impact that driving has on health and

46

Section Eleven: Environmental Management of the Local Authority

the environment. In 2010 the council arranged for 250 staff to receive "Smarter Driver" training through the EST, during which staff were briefed on how to improve driving in a more environmental friendly manner.

There is also a growing commitment towards increasing the sustainability of procurement with regards to services, not just products. To this end, the Council is attempting to create a local supply directory whereby locally run businesses are able to apply for council tenders, increasing local employment levels whilst simultaneously improving environmental performance.

Traffic Light Score Municipal departments with ISO14001/EMAS Sustainable procurement Details of targets achieved or not Plans to meet/revise targets

Data Confidence Liverpool City Council is the principal data provider for this section. Progress in this regard can be reported with a high degree of confidence. However, if taking a partnership view, input from other Green City Partnership actors would add to the strength of data.

Commentary The aim of this section is to establish whether the bid city is ‘fit for purpose’ to host the European Green Capital award by considering how it leads by example.

In short, the city has some way to go here. There are some excellent examples of work being undertaken by the city, often by dedicated individuals. This includes the environmental management of some of the city’s older buildings including the 300 year old town hall. Yet this area, more than most, is a victim of budgetary tightening. Some good practice is being allowed to lapse due to lack of financial support. In some cases, good practice continues without official designations, but this is difficult to monitor and even harder to showcase.

If the City wants to show that it is serious about the ‘green agenda’ then it should seek to place these issues at the heart of its thinking moving forward. This includes a commitment to sustainable procurement and the management of its building stock.

47

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Section Twelve: Energy Performance The Data The Data Since 2005, energy consumption and CO2 emissions in Liverpool have reduced significantly.

Energy consumption has reduced 15% from 9,984 GWh (2005) to 8,613 GWh (2010), and a total of 461 kt CO2e have been saved, at a rate of 92 kt CO2e per year. This equates to a 17% reduction in CO2e by 2010 and indicates that carbon savings are being achieved at a higher rate than the 42 kt CO2e per year Liverpool needs to make in order to meet the EU minimum target by 2020.

At present, less than 1% of Liverpool’s total energy consumption is from renewable energy sources, although this figure is not unusual for a UK city or city region. In the Liverpool City Region and its hinterland (i.e., Warrington) there are 21 electricity generators accredited under the Renewables Obligation. They have a total generating capacity of 2,127 MW. However, none of this installed and operational capacity is located in Liverpool. Heat generating plants with a capacity greater than 20MW output generally participate in the EU-ETS. For Liverpool some of these sites include gas CHP plants, including E.On’s Port of Liverpool CHP (30 MWe) and Eli Lilly’s CHP at Speke (10 MWe) and the University of Liverpool. In addition there are 589 microrenewable installations within Liverpool with a generating capacity totalling 2.1 MW. As of December 2012, they all have feed-in Tariff accreditation. The vast majority of these installations are domestic PV. In addition, the DECC CHP Focus database identifies two CHP plant installed and operational in Liverpool with a generating capacity of 262 kWe. Liverpool City Council currently operates 29 buildings which have a Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) rating, which monitors the energy efficiency rating of the building. The most energy efficient buildings are classed as ‘A’ on a descending scale. The Breakdown of those buildings is as follows:

Rating

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

N/A

Number

0

3

6

8

6

2

2

2

The city council’s buildings are primarily clustered in the C/D/E categories, with 3 buildings holding B status, including the 250 year old, Grade I listed St George’s Hall, one of Liverpool’s heritage and architectural centrepieces. In the next round of appraisals, St George’s Hall is anticipated to rise to an ‘A’ standard, making it one of Liverpool’s leading buildings in this regard.

48

Section Twelve: Energy Performance

Plans and Strategies The main mechanism for delivering the activity needed is the Liverpool SEAP. The SEAP defines the activities and measures set up to achieve the 20% reduction target, together with time frames and assigned responsibilities. The Liverpool SEAP builds on the Liverpool City Region SEAP and sets out a wide programme of supply and demand side low carbon energy projects.

The City Region aims to meet, and where possible exceed the 20:20:20 target through a strategic approach that implements local actions that will be delivered together with national actions to decarbonise the UK energy system. The SEAP covers the domestic, transport, commercial and industrial sectors and provides a policy and programme framework for the City.

The adoption of the Liverpool City Region SEAP together with initiatives such as Liverpool Smart City and Liverpool’s Covenant of Mayors signatory status provide the city with the policy basis and momentum to develop a cross cutting, long-term strategy that delivers economic growth and carbon reduction. This also recognizes the importance that Liverpool creates a position as an early adopter of green energy. In partnership with the City Region it will develop an effective delivery model based on true public-private partnership working, knowledge transfer, smart procurement, commercial awareness and sustainable outcomes.

Key City Region strategies that influence Liverpool include the Low Carbon Economy Action Plan, Merseyside Local Transport Plan, the Joint Recycling and Waste Management Strategy for Merseyside, the Liverpool City Region Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP), Low Carbon Liverpool’s 'Building the Low Carbon Economy on Merseyside’, and the evolving Liverpool Smart City strategy. Also, there are a wide range of public, private and third sector stakeholders actively pursuing and delivering low carbon projects across the city, all with different drivers and objectives that will ultimately deliver outputs that should result in a Low Carbon Economy being achieved in Liverpool. But at the moment they are not coordinated under one common vision.

49

An Environmental Audit of Liverpool

Traffic Light Score Energy Consumption and performance of Municipal buildings Development and Goals for Renewable energy share Strategy for renewable V non-renewable mix Integration and performance of renewable energy technology in municipal buildings and homes development of compatible integrated systems Increasing the energy performance of buildings maximising the use of renewable energy in municipal buildings and homes

No Data

Measures to improve overall energy demand performance Plans to meet/revise

Data Confidence Data for Energy Performance has been principally provided by ARUP, with additional input from Liverpool City Council. Although much of this data can be reported with a high degree of confidence, there remain gaps relating to municipal housing that must be addressed in the near future.

Commentary Much like eco-innovation, energy performance remains in its infancy. Thus, while the city has some good strategies in place, the key is now that they be realised. Only by fulfilling the potential outlined in strategies such as the SEAP, will the City remain a credible performer in a future green economy.

This will also deliver massive cross-benefits into other sections, particularly the contribution to climate change. Better energy performance will see Liverpoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emissions reduce, but should also focus on the quality of housing, delivering the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residents from fuel poverty at the same time.

50