By the Energy Reduction Manager (Michael Potter).

Water Refilling and Fountain

Michael Potter, Energy Manager provided Members with an update on energy reduction which and stated with regards to water refilling and fountains, the Energy Manager had been in contact with a refilling organisation that were running a nationwide scheme (www.refill.org.uk); Refill.org.uk explained the Council could set up its own sites and use their app but the Council could increase water consumption due to the scheme. The Chairman stated at the previous meeting, Laxmi had mentioned installing a water fountain on the High Street in Maidenhead but, it needed to be a fountain that could refill a bottle as well as drink straight from. She suggested the Energy Manager look into that to see what could be provided and also, encourage businesses to allow customers and passers-by to refill their bottles at their establishments. She was sure that a lot of businesses were already doing so but, the more that offered to do it, the better. Councillor Tong suggested asking businesses to sign up to a scheme where they could place a sticker in their windows letting the public know they could refill their bottles there. She added one water fountain in the Town was great but, getting businesses to put a sign in their window was more cost effective.

The Energy Manager explained to Members that there was a public toilet with a drinking tap in the Town Centre of Maidenhead. There were also a lot of cafes in the Borough he could talk to so that customers could fill up their bottles. The Chairman commented that was a good place to start and requested feedback from the Energy Manager on how successful the scheme was and how many businesses had signed up.

The Energy Manager stated the feeling was not to install a fountain in the High Street in Maidenhead due to cost of installation and maintenance. It was suggested to have it installed somewhere indoors if there was to be one. However, if businesses on the High Street were allowing people to refill in their establishments, that negated the need for a fountain at all. Councillor Yong suggested asking Laxmi for help as she had offered to help with ideas at the last meeting. She could approach establishments and ask if they were interested in joining the scheme. The Chairman stated Steph James, the Maidenhead Town Manager should be approached and asked to join in on getting businesses to agree to the scheme.

v  Action – The Energy Manager to speak to Steph James, Town Manager to ask her to help engage businesses to sign up to a bottle refilling scheme for members of the public.

Energy

Members noted the details of the energy data on page 15 of the agenda pack, paragraph 11.1. between April and December 2017, there was an 18.5% reduction in energy against the baseline for corporate sites; including lighting, it was a 25% reduction. The target was a 15% reduction so the Council was on track.

Councillor Yong wanted to know why the Tinkers Lane Depot used so much more gas than other sites. The Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships replied it was an old building with poor insulation and there had been an increase in the number of people that worked at the site since the closure of York House. The Energy Manager stated there had been a reduction of 19% on boilers in the Town Hall following the upgrade in the BMS.

Street Lighting

Members noted the details of the energy reductions since the switch over to LED bulbs which was listed on page 24 of the agenda pack. The Energy Manager highlighted that from April 2017 to January 2018, there had been a reduction of energy use of 20%. That reduction would continue to increase as the LED switch over programme continued.

Energy and Water Storage

The Energy Manager had produced a proposed action plan and he requested comments and feedback. The Chairman stated she would circulate the action plan for comments and set a deadline of 31 March 2018 to receive feedback from Panel Members.

The Energy Manager stated there was a new energy and water baseline and he was looking to include Optalis and AfC buildings in that baseline as they were still part of the Borough’s contract and the Council still looked after their buildings. However, the leisure centres were excluded from the baseline.

v  Action – The Energy Manager to send the Chairman his proposed Energy and Water Reduction Action Plan to be circulated to the Panel for comments and feedback.

Tap volumiser trial

The Energy Manager confirmed volumisers had been installed on the ground floor of the Town Hall and they had been monitored since they had been installed four weeks previously. There were two weeks where water usage had reduced and had save approximately £250. If that trend continued, it the volumisers would only take three years to pay back. However, there were two weeks where there was an even higher usage of water than before the volumisers were installed but, he could not work out why. The Head of Communities, Enforcement & Partnerships confirmed that during that two week period there had been an event in the Desborough Theatre for those two weeks.

The Energy Manager said that a couple of taps needed to be replaced in order to fit the volumisers and he was looking at getting that done as soon as possible. The Energy Manager confirmed that no staff had noticed the change over to the volumisers although the taps were using a fifth of water compared to the taps without volumisers fitted.

Work Planned

An internal consultation on the Energy and Water Strategy was due to take place and the Energy Manager was looking at increasing the number of water volumisers across Council buildings.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That:

i.              The Sustainability Panel noted the report, the progress made and commented on the proposed work plan over the next period as detailed in paragraph 11.21 of the report.

ii.            The Sustainability Panel noted the proposed annual Energy and Water Strategy Action Plan and provided comments.

iii.           The Sustainability Panel approved the inclusion of Optalis and Achieving for Children leased Council buildings in the energy baselin.