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West Midlands Greener Together Citizens’ Panel 2022-2024

West Midlands Greener Together Citizens’ Panel 2022-2024

Why a citizens’ panel?

In June 2019, the WMCA declared a climate emergency and set a target for the West Midlands to have ‘net zero’ carbon emissions each year by 2041.

5 key areas of work were established to achieve this target;

  • Nature
  • Buildings
  • Energy
  • Transport
  • Circular and Green Economy

Air quality, Behaviour Change and Climate Adaptation have recently been added as priorities to help us achieve net zero and a greener, fairer and healthier West Midlands. In 2022, the WMCA recognised we needed participatory and deliberative processes to allow citizens to influence this area as the decisions made will affect the region for years to come. We sent out 9,000 letters asking people to register their interest in being part of this Panel, and 30 of you were chosen to reflect the diversity of the West Midlands population.

How have you influenced our work?

Air Quality

In June 2023, we met to discuss regional air quality, a new area of work for the WMCA.

You helped to shape how we deliver air quality interventions by developing 13 guiding principles, which will be used to guide future air quality work. These have been included and mentioned throughout the West Midlands Combined Authority Air Quality Framework and its subsequent Implementation Plan.

Greener Together Citizens’ Panel

The Greener Together Citizens’ Panel has also developed several guiding principles for our air quality project implementation, and we are committed to working with these and the Panel hereon in. These are:

Cost and Responsibility: Air quality measures should be...

  • Brave and bold.
  • Clear and transparent in their purpose and, where they generate income, how this will be spent.
  • Placing the burden of change on the broadest shoulders, ensuring that specific groups are not disadvantaged by:
    • Higher costs and protecting the most vulnerable.
  • Good value for money for councils so that council tax bills don’t increase as a result.
  • Putting public benefit before corporate interests and avoiding monopolies being created.

Engagement, education, and awareness: Air quality measures should be...

  • Done with, not to, people; involving a range of citizens and areas in the design process.
  • Explained clearly to the public, including why they are necessary and what impacts they are designed to have.
  • Making people aware of changes taking place and with due consideration for accessibility, alternative provision, and any support that may be needed.

Implementation: Air quality measures should be...

  • Putting new services in place before removing old ones.
  • Achievable, sustainable, measurable, and long-term.
  • Taking into account how impacts will be felt by neighbouring areas.
  • Data-driven and evidence-based, learning where possible from other countries and other parts of the UK.
  • Using incentivisation rather than punishment where possible and enabling people to change their behaviour in positive ways.

Retrofit

In September 2023, we focused on energy efficiency measures and funding for retrofitting homes. You heard from our Energy Capital team on their projects, and your involvement influenced the following:

Net Zero Neighbourhood (NZN) Project

The NZN Project aims to help citizens live in healthier, more sustainable homes and communities. By considering which approaches you would like retrofit projects to take, you helped to:

  • Cement thinking that Local Authorities need to be project leads, with community organisations supporting delivery.
  • Investigate different ways of delivering NZN, as we were surprised that community-led retrofit was not favoured.
  • Shape Sandwell’s NZN citizen engagement, where a local community organisation is training volunteers to champion the project while it remains Council-led.
  • Help shape a new project investigating the link between existing community retrofit groups and devolved funding opportunities.

Devolution of Funding

The Panel has provided useful evidence to support retrofit interventions, including:

  • Feedback emphasizing the value of a strong Local Authority role in bringing forward projects. We are now seeking to give LAs greater flexibility to do this, promoting a place-based approach (as opposed to focusing on individual households).
  • Highlighting that the availability of reliable advice (or lack thereof) is a barrier to taking action. We are now exploring how to build advice capacity across the region through devolved funding from government.

Climate Adaptation

We spent four meetings in 2024 discussing climate adaptation in depth to support our growing work in this area. The outputs from these sessions have been used for the following:

  • DEFRA Engagement:
    We had a meeting with the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), where they found our engagement with the Panel to be impressive. They are keen to support adaptation action in communities:

    • Reflections were shared to demonstrate the need for coordinated and resourced adaptation that involves and engages communities but does not leave the burden of cost and maintenance to them.
    • WMCA used your comments to evidence the need for government bodies and arm’s length bodies to lead the way, ensuring the onus is not on individuals who might have limited power over their local areas and properties.

  • Community Adaptation Projects:

    • Your project pitches on adaptation measures you would like to see in your community will be used in ongoing engagement with community groups seeking funding from WMCA for adaptation.

  • Climate Risk Communication:

    • Your comments around communicating climate risks are informing our mapping work and a new adaptation literacy e-learning module being developed for local authorities.

  • Transport Funding Review:

    • Your feedback has helped the transport team prioritise and invest in transport, shaping conversations with the Mayor over the next few years.
    • This also supports the case that we need to embed climate adaptation from the start in our projects.

Transport

Bus Franchising

In September 2024, you were introduced to a bus franchising model that could potentially be adopted in the region. Your work in this area has helped to shape:

  • Our consultation to the public on bus franchising:
    • You have helped the engagement team to understand what the main messages need to be and what methods of communication should be used to engage citizens with the consultation.
    • You helped the engagement team justify the need for engaging materials, such as pictures and animations, to communicate the messaging clearly and effectively.

Local Transport Plan

In November 2024, the Local Transport Plan was the area of focus as the WMCA prepares to update the Plan, which sets out policies to promote safe, integrated, efficient, and economic transport within our region. Your involvement will help to:

  • Shape our thinking on what behaviours people are willing to change to avoid, shift, and improve transport options.
  • Provide an understanding of what measures people would be willing to make and whether enforcing a shift in travel behaviours is or isn’t acceptable.

Staying Engaged

There are many ways for you to continue to be engaged with the WMCA and to be involved more locally.

WMCA Online Research Community

You can register to become part of this community, who receive online surveys from the WMCA to help shape and provide evidence for our work.

Sign up to the community here:
https://mytfwmcommunity.co.uk/#signup

Engage with Your Local Authority

Birmingham City Council

  • Be Heard
    For all consultations and to sign up for updates:
    www.birminghambeheard.org.uk

  • People for Public Service Forum
    Open to members of the public to take part in events with council officers who are seeking to make more informed decisions. Search for this online to get involved.

  • Climate Change Newsletter
    Sign up to receive the newsletter for council-related climate change news and updates:
    www.birmingham.gov.uk/newsletter-signup

Wolverhampton City Council

Walsall Council

Sandwell Council

Dudley Council

Solihull Council

Coventry City Council

Local Community Projects

These local community projects have been funded through the WMCA and are available for you to be involved with:

Dudley

  • Aspire4u CIC
    Reclaimed an abandoned garden near to the centre of Dudley by establishing a gardening group.

  • Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust
    Creating new walking routes and improving wildlife habitats through the Black Country Geo Park.

  • EKHO CIC
    Created a wheelchair-accessible wellbeing garden and a community sharing facility offering access to gardening, crafting, and sustainability resources.

Solihull

  • Castle Bromwich Hall and Gardens Trust
    Delivering activities such as repair cafes, home food growing drop-in days, and foraging and cooking sessions.

Birmingham

  • The Active Wellbeing Society
    Share Shacks allow local people to borrow equipment and fix broken items such as electrical equipment and clothing.

  • Birmingham Settlement
    Developed a 3-acre site at Edgbaston Reservoir into a natural, safe, and welcoming community green therapeutic space.

  • Norton Hall Children and Family
    Creating a new allotment site in Ward End Park.

Sandwell

  • Make Good Arts
    Provides sewing machines and resources in community venues to help local people repair, share, and remake clothing.

  • Smethwick Community Garden
    A community garden space offering regular activities for the community.

Wolverhampton

  • Wildside Activity Centre
    Runs hands-on activities in its natural learning environment to teach school-age children about the natural world.

  • The Reuse Hub
    The region’s first reuse hub, taking surplus materials from construction sites and others to sell to the community at discounted costs, diverting items away from landfill.

  • All Saints’ Action Network
    Opened a Repair Café at its community hub for all to visit.

Walsall

  • Canal and River Trust
    Improving the natural environment with communities around sections of waterways in Birmingham, Walsall, and Wolverhampton.

  • Caldmore Environmental Education Centre
    Hosting gardening, conservation, climate change, and environmental sustainability workshops and events.

Coventry

  • Severn Rivers Trust
    Coventry Rivers Citizen Science is engaging 1,000 people through events in a project focusing on river health along the River Sowe.

  • Carriers of Hope
    Supporting people experiencing poverty by reusing unwanted items that would otherwise go to landfill.

  • Holyhead Road Allotments
    Running climate adaptation workshops for local gardeners.

Thank You

We thank all of you for taking part in the Greener Together Citizens’ Panel. Your continued enthusiasm, commitment, and contributions within each Panel meeting have been invaluable in shaping our learning and thinking when undertaking climate-related work.