President update 1st August - latest news from ADEPT
The biggest and most exciting ADEPT news this month is of course the launch of Live Labs 2! We have been working closely with the Department for Transport to bring the finer details of the programme together. We hope that ADEPT members have been spreading the word and that you are all considering your applications! More information below.
Live Labs 2
ADEPT Live Labs 2: Decarbonisation of Local Roads in the UK is ADEPT’s new DfT-funded £30million programme to develop innovation across highways infrastructure and assets. Unlike Live Labs 1, this is a three year programme open to applications from across the UK. Once again, we are looking for ambitious local-authority led partnerships with the private sector, SMEs and academia that will trial new approaches to decarbonisation across the construction, operations, maintenance, and decommissioning phases of the local roads’ life cycle. All the information you need is in the ADEPT Live Labs 2: Decarbonisation of Local Roads in the UK prospectus. For more information, please email [email protected]. You can also read the press release.
Blueprint Coalition
ADEPT is an integral member of the Blueprint Coalition, a group of local government, environmental, and research organisations. This month the Coalition have published an updated summary document to their original Blueprint document and the Blueprint Coalition Position on Levelling Up. The Coalition set out how failing to embed climate and nature recovery into the levelling up agenda is not only a missed opportunity, but also compromises the health, wellbeing, pride of place, education, housing, transport and skills core missions. Read the press release for more information. The Coalition has also provided written evidence to the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill Committee with the same key messages.
ADEPT working with government
This week, we will be issuing a survey on inflation, supply chain issues and labour shortages on behalf of DfT. This will be a regular survey and we would appreciate your support in providing this vital information.
Working with Defra, ADEPT and the Association of Local Government Ecologists (ALGE) have published a Survey of local planning authorities and their ability to deliver biodiversity net gain in England. The Environment Board recently welcomed Defra to a meeting, where they provided an update on the development of the Third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) and on Nature Skills from the Green Finance & Green Recovery Division. The Board also welcomed the Office for Environmental Protection who provided an update on the Taking Stock report. This month we have also published the ADEPT response to Defra’s Consultation on preventing charges for DIY waste at household waste recycling centres.
Other news
Hannah and myself have been meeting with our corporate partners. Our partners are a valuable part of ADEPT so hearing from them how they thing we are developing and what they would like to see is always useful. We have also had our annual meeting with the President of LEDNet and had a really productive meeting with the new Chair of the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation.
The Excellence in Place Leadership Programme (EiPL), which this year has been focused on the levelling up agenda, has just published its summary on session 3 - Establishing collaborative partnerships are key to successfully delivering levelling up. James Crosbie, Assistant Director of Planning, Transport & Public Protection, Reading Borough Council provides the accompanying blog. The EiPL team will also be running the next Lunch & Learn Session on 23rd September. Find out more about The Levelling Up Challenge – transforming the tensions between productivity, prosperity and people across the UK here.
In a departure from our normal Climate Change blog this month, we have a piece from Dean Sargeant, Director - Neighbourhood & Enforcement Services, Telford & Wrekin Council, which has just been named MJ Council of the Year 2022.
For those of you about to embark on summer leave, I hope you have a well earnt break!
As ever you can find out more about ADEPT’s latest news, publications and the work of our boards and groups on the website: https://www.adeptnet.org.uk.