Oliver Coppard responds to South Yorkshire Assembly’s recommendations
The mayor has responded to the South Yorkshire Assembly’s recommendations and pledged to get things done following a backlash over the publication of the report.
At an event today in Sheffield, South Yorkshire’s mayor, Oliver Coppard, has announced his response to recommendations made by the pioneering Citizens’ Assembly on how to tackle climate change in the region and create a thriving region.
The Assembly was launched in September 2023 with 30,000 residents of South Yorkshire, chosen at random, receiving letters inviting them to join the process.
At the end, the Assembly, made up of 100 people from across South Yorkshire, put together a list of recommendations back in December 2023 on a number of issues, including public spaces, travel infrastructure, sustainability and accessibility, health and more.
Following the event, Oliver Coppard told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that one of his promises was to do politics differently and this is one of the steps in proving that to be true.
He said: “We have brought together 100 people, representatives of the different types of people that live in South Yorkshire who then came up with 14 recommendations and today we have responded to those recommendations and talked about what we’re going to do to make those recommendations a reality for everyone who lives here.”
He added a lot of work is being done – and a lot of it is being directly either championed, changed or funded by Mr Coppard.
Mr Coppard said they are moving “at pace” in some areas, such as creating integrated transport infrastructure with e-bikes, the trams or bus franchising.
As widely reported in the local media, the list of recommendations were ready to publish by the Assembly members in December 2023 but then for more than a year not much happened; this is something that created frustration among the communities and those taking part in the process.
Mr Coppard said he “completely accepted” that some people wanted to publish the recommendations sooner.
However, he said: “I was more interested in, as ever, doing this properly and right so that we’ve got everything right when we launch it.
“To be fair, there was an election, a new government (came into power), I clearly had to run for an election again, the way I didn’t necessarily expect.
“So it has taken a little bit longer but at the same time we got to a good place where those 14 recommendations now have a plan behind at least some of them.”
He told the LDRS there was going to be an annual report so the process could be followed and marked along the way.
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) announced that amongst the new funding being made by the is an additional £403,000 for training in green skills for people who attend a Skills Bootcamp, and £118,000 for Green Estate to create an Advanced Urban Resilience Centre.
As one of the Assembly’s recommendations was support for initiatives to explore the benefits of the circular economy, the local authority says the new funding for an Advanced Urban Resilience Centre aims to find solutions that will allow people and places to become more green and resilient.
The list of the recommendations is as follows:
1. Retrofit and plan public spaces to prioritise pedestrian usage and accessibility for all.
2. Develop a comprehensive green action plan for businesses of all sizes that would focus reward for green initiatives, support green skills and employees and promoting greener practice (e.g. recycling, plastic waste management etc).
3. Integrated travel infrastructure for e-bikes, scooters, and pedestrians with mini-hubs throughout urban areas for pick up and drop off of these transport systems.
4. Set up community hubs for growing, distributing, and sharing food that is sustainable and accessible for everyone.
5. Reopen the airport for future economic viability and sustainability and make it a leader in green aviation.
6. Bring the South Yorkshire transport network into full public control to improve reliability, affordability, and accessibility.
7. Upgrade local neighbourhoods to include retail, health, education and entertainment facilities, and employment opportunities.
8. To challenge the Mayor to deliver 1.4 million trees and even exceed this target.
9. Training courses and apprenticeships (short and long term) in South Yorkshire should meet the needs of South Yorkshire, providing skilling, re-skilling, and cross-skilling for those getting into work, those already in work and most affected by the emergence of green jobs.
10. Fund a South Yorkshire food education programme (for schools and adult education) to help us understand where our food comes from, nutrition, choice, and impact on environment.
11. Create a solar scheme for all without means testing with commercial solar fields and/or roof creating community energy through power banks.
12. Fund and enforce a gold standard of quality for new building developments.
13. Establish community hubs that provide repair, recycling and loaning facilities.
14. Change school curriculum to be designed with more practical involvement in green living skills.
SYMCA responded to all these in detail here: https://www.southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk/about-the-mayor_citizens-assembly