The regional assessment provides an overview of the main issues associated with public and voluntary services from climate change in the Yorkshire and Humber region over the next 50 years.  

Social housing is considered within a separate sub-section, although closely linked to public assets. Waste, parkland management, cemeteries and crematoria and library service are considered together, under public and voluntary services.

The sub-regional assessment provides an overview of the main issues associated with public and voluntary services under climate change in the North Yorkshire sub-region over the next 50 years. 

Description

Education and Schools
There are approximately 2,340 local authority education establishments within the region, including pre-school, primary, secondary and post-16 education. Independent, (some) grammar schools and universities are not considered here, since they are not provided for by the public sector. However many of the impacts and adaptation measures considered will clearly apply.

In the case of the Government’s proposals for Eco-towns (Rossington in South Yorkshire and the Leeds City Region in West Yorkshire) and other new settlements, it is likely that new schools will be provided. Additionally, the Governments ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme aims to rebuild, remodel or upgrade nearly every secondary school in England. Schools in Bradford, Leeds and Sheffield in West and South Yorkshire have already benefited from the programme, in a move from ‘patch-and-mend’ spending to more strategic investment, incorporating sustainable design and adaptation.

Most schools and colleges are mid-twentieth century and feature brick or concrete construction with flat roofs. Schools have often tended to be maintained through a ‘patch-and-mend’ approach, due to budget restrictions and prioritisation.

Emergency Services
The region is policed by four Police Forces that are contiguous with the four sub-regions. The North Yorkshire Police Force and West Yorkshire Police Force have singular headquarters, whereas Humberside Police Force and South Yorkshire Police Force have replaced singular headquarters with basic command units. These correspond to the unitary authorities within the sub-regions. Police stations with custody facilities are generally located in the larger towns and cities of the region. 

There are 143 fire stations and other associated premises, throughout the region, administrated through four services, namely North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, Humberside Fire and Rescue; South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) covers the whole of South, West and North Yorkshire, and part of the Humber (East Riding). The Humber sub-region is also served by the East Midlands Ambulance Service. Sixty-one YAS ambulance stations service the region. Emergency call and response are controlled from two main communication centres, in Wakefield; and York. The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is a charity that supplements the Yorkshire Ambulance Service and serves the entire region with two air ambulances based at Leeds-Bradford International Airport and Sheffield City Heliport.

The North Yorkshire and Humber sub-regions are also serviced by HM Coastguard bases at Bridlington (North Yorkshire), Cleethorpes and Louth (Humber). Back up response and cliff rescue teams are also based at Scarborough, Burniston and Filey, and helicopter response is supplied from the RAF bases of Leconfield (East Riding) and Boulmer (Northumberland).

Military
Major military bases include the RAF early warning bases at RAF Menwith Hill and RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire (both co-located with the US Air Force). There are also two coastal firing range and ordnance demolition facilities located in Rolston and Cowdon in Humber sub-region.

Catterick Garrison, the largest British Army base in the world, is located in West Yorkshire. The Garrison holds 12,000 military and civilian personnel and is expected to grow to over 25,000 by 2020. There is also an army foundation college in Harrogate and a number of Territorial Army units in the region.

Emergency Planning
The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 requires sub-regional local resilience forums, overseen by Regional Resilience Units within the Government Office. Each sub-region has a local resilience forum which comprises executive officers from the emergency services, health agencies, Environment Agency and local authorities. The forums prepare and deliver plans to deal with emergencies and business continuity. Additionally, climate induced risks are often listed within a risk register, maintained by Local Authorities.

Public Assets
Council offices and public buildings include administrative centres for the one and two tier local government systems in the region. These include County Hall in North Yorkshire and various Town Halls and Civic Centres. 

There are central government offices such as the Government Office for the Yorkshire and Humber and Yorkshire and Humber Assembly building, the Department of Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Job Centres, Defra Buildings, Pesticides Safety Directorate in York, and offices of Natural England and Environment Agency.

There are also 14 HM prisons within the region, including two high security, two contracted, two female, seven male and one juvenile, spread throughout the sub-regions.

Social Housing
Although reasonably varied in nature, from blocks of housing and flats generally found in cities, to brick and stone semi-detached housing and rendered terraces, the social housing stock generally dates from the mid-twentieth century. It is renewed and refurbished as required in response to condition, social problems, and environment concerns (e.g. reducing carbon dioxide emissions).

Within the region some local authorities retain and manage their own social housing stock, while others have opted to part-manage, or to sign over all management to third-party organisations. In 2006, Sheffield in South Yorkshire was one of 38 Councils in England to receive a Decent Homes Scheme grant to improve existing Housing Association homes and build new social accommodation.

Rossington in the South Yorkshire sub-region and Leeds City Region in the West Yorkshire sub-region are proposed locations for ‘Eco-towns’. If delivered, each will include delivery of 30-50% social housing.

Public and Voluntary Services
Voluntary and community services are estimated to employ approximately 4% of the population in the region, contributing to a similar proportion of the economy.

Through local councils, each sub-region is responsible for waste and recyclable collection. North Yorkshire County Council and each of the Unitary Councils in West Yorkshire, Humber and South Yorkshire are Waste Disposal Authorities. In 2003, the region was identified as the worst performing in the UK against a range of waste indicators. As a result of the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly’s Regional Waste Strategy, the region now ranks fifth in recycling rates. The new Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) will support the delivery of new waste facilities/infrastructure. To reduce reliance on landfill, facilities are required in sufficient numbers and in appropriate locations. These sites will represent a decentralisation of infrastructure and an increase in the number of sites that serve a number of purposes (e.g. ‘bring sites’, composting sites, mechanical biological treatment sites and energy from waste plants). It will also develop a more localised approach to waste management.

There are 380 libraries within the region, equally spread between smaller towns and larger cities. 

There is an extensive network of parks and gardens managed both by local authorities and voluntary services in the region. Verges, hedges, formal garden, public parks and playing fields and roadside trees also need to be maintained both by the local authorities and by voluntary organisations.

In the North Yorkshire sub-region, the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the North York Moors National Park are protected as National Parks and managed by the National Park Authorities.

There are 226 cemeteries in the region (including closed churchyards maintained by the local authorities), not including private and parish churchyards. Twenty-four crematoria serve the region.

Places of Worship
Places of worship within the region include churches, mosques and other faith centres. Church of England churches are generally of older construction. The larger churches, cathedrals and grand mosques are associated with large urban areas.

Historically and nationally important cathedrals are present in the region, such as the Minsters of York, Beverley, Rotherham and Doncaster, and Wakefield Cathedral. There are also a number of historic ruins covered by preservation orders.

 

Impacts

Over-arching impacts to public and voluntary assets
Over-arching impacts apply to assets in all sub-sectors of the region, and within each sub-region.

Bitumen and felt roofs are prone to damage during extreme weather temperatures. They absorb and radiate heat (due to their low albedo), increasing the temperature inside buildings and affecting the outside microclimate. In buildings with these and other roofing types, increases in average and extreme summer temperatures will result in warmer indoor temperatures. Combined with inadequate ventilation this could render indoors uncomfortable for working and learning conditions. Indoor temperature affects factors including thermal comfort, perceived air quality, sick building syndrome symptoms and pupil / staff performance. Research indicates that performance decreases with temperatures rising above 23-24°C (at 30°C performance is reduced by around 10%). The optimum temperature is 22°C.

The Trades Union movement is proposing a temperature threshold of around 27°C to 28°C as a safe limit for working inside all buildings. This could mean that existing buildings require the retro-fitting of air conditioning and / or mechanical ventilation and that new buildings will have air conditioning and ventilation fitted as standard. Such a response would increase demand on the electrical supply network of buildings and costs will affect budgets also. Reliance on mechanical cooling powered by fossil fuel-derived energy will also further exacerbate climate change.

The projected increased rainfall during winter (and in intense rainfall episodes throughout the year) will be a risk to buildings due to the possibility of water ingress. This will be a problem for roofs, especially for those in a poor state of repair and for flat-roofed buildings which are a common feature of educational and public buildings. Coupled with increased wind, rain can be driven into weaknesses in the building (such as cracks) and exacerbate the problem.

During an extreme (flash) rainfall event, the guttering and drainage of buildings may be undersized to cope with the amount of water. This is a particular problem for buildings with internal guttering, where adaptation measures such as resizing of down-pipes is complicated. Buildings with flat roofs may have a greater risk due to ponding.

Water ingress into buildings can cause fungal attack on timbers, such as joists, or make existing fungus more aggressive. Wet rot may occur when timbers become saturated, and dry rot occurs in moist timbers or where wet timbers are not dried sufficiently. A rise of damp and fungal spores in buildings will have a negative impact on indoor air quality and can adversely affect individuals’ health, particularly worsening existing respiratory illnesses.

Ground-level or sub-surface drainage may also be undersized for the expected increases in flash rainfall, with pooling and local flooding of paved, bitumen or concrete surfaces, landscaping and playing fields. In some extreme cases, flooding of school outdoor premises and / or access roads, could lead to loss of work and school time. Wider impacts may include increasing and more frequent clean-up costs. 

A decrease of 49-89 per cent in winter snowfall and a reduction of up to 50 per cent frost days has been projected across the region, that will result in fewer days lost to business and school closures. This, combined with an increase in average daily temperatures of up to 1.5°C in winter, could lead to more comfortable indoor temperatures in the autumn and winter seasons. 

Education and Schools
Wider impacts for education and schools may include an increased need for alternative care arrangements, increasing and more frequent clean-up costs, and loss of outdoor and physical education time for pupils.

Emergency Services
During the summer months, there is likely to be increased ambulance emergency response from the effects of drought and heat stress.

Literature suggests that in the UK, for a 1°C increase in summer temperatures, correspond to an increase in the number of outdoor fires of between 24,000 and 40,000 per year (an increase of 17-28 per cent) for England and Wales and, for a 2°C increase, between 47,000 and 79,000 (an increase of 34-56 per cent). A higher fraction of the workload of rural Fire and Rescue Services are secondary fires, and therefore it is likely that the rural services will see the largest proportional increase in incidents. Rural services rely heavily on retained Firefighters. Budgets and personnel requirements may increase as a result of greater required effort, together with impacts on their primary jobs and therefore staff recruitment and retention.

Heat stress during fire fighting in higher temperatures may increase and could impact staff resourcing and rota systems.

It has been estimated that the number of people at high risk of flooding in the UK could more than double by the 2080s. It is likely that all the emergency services will become increasingly stretched in dealing with associated response and rescue operations.

In addition, any flooding of emergency service command, co-ordination and operation centres, access roads and electricity stations (and sub-stations) will affect the ability of the emergency services to respond to an emergency. Conversely, reductions in ice and snow may lead to fewer road accidents, and a reduced need for emergency service response.

Direct impacts on the Fire and Rescue Service will include:

• Increase in number and severity of grassland, moorland, heathland and forest fires throughout late spring, summer and early autumn seasons;
• An increased incidence of primary fires;
• Water shortages throughout the same period for training and fire fighting;
• Increase in river, surface and coastal flooding will require search and rescue from urban centres and buildings, pumping and clean-up;
• Potential flooding of police, fire and ambulance stations, call centres and Headquarters;
• Flooding of power stations / sub stations and resulting power cuts to police, fire stations; and
• Increased incidence of storms involving high winds and heavy rain could lead to increased incidence of rescue from fallen trees, building collapse etc. Ongoing weather conditions can also hamper rescue by affecting transport infrastructure and also endangering rescuers’ lives.

Military
National security and civil defence depend on a number of systems, each with weather and climate vulnerabilities. Climate-related disasters and events may also put greater demands on the Armed Forces in giving humanitarian assistance, both at home and abroad.

Radio antennae and therefore communications could be affected by higher winds and extreme weather. Rising sea levels and possible storm surges will affect ports and coastal training areas.

The extra workload on the emergency services of attending potentially up to fifty per cent more incidents will impact on the military through a greater number of requests for planning and response assistance.

Emergency Planning
The increased number of extreme weather events, including groundwater and fluvial flooding, storms, and drought and summer fires, is likely to significantly increase costs and demand for emergency services. The extra workload of attending potentially up to fifty per cent more incidents will stretch resources.

Public Assets
Impacts set out in ‘over-arching’ impacts to assets apply here.

Social Housing
Yorkshire and Humber has the second highest proportion of non-decent housing stock in England (38%) and also has the second highest proportion of people experiencing fuel poverty.

Much of Yorkshire and Humber’s social housing stock will be vulnerable to changes in structural (e.g. subsidence) and environmental forces (increased intensity of rainfall). The vulnerability of social housing stock to climatic change will very much depend on its state of repair.

While fuel poverty may decline during winter months, summer heat waves will make homes less comfortable, particularly for the elderly and vulnerable. Natural ventilation in existing social housing stock is unlikely to provide sufficient comfort and therefore there is likely to be an increased demand for air conditioning, leading to an increase in energy use and costs, and associated atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions.

More frequent and severe flooding may expose homes and their occupants to greater risks and increased flooding has impacts on requirements for temporary accommodation and reoccupation with associated expense.

Public and Voluntary Services
While fuel poverty may decline during winter months, higher summer temperatures, increased indoor dampness and flooded homes, may increase demand on elderly and vulnerable people’s services.

Climate change could have an impact on the future development and operation of waste management facilities and infrastructure and operation of existing sites.

Due to increased temperature, there may need to be an increased number of collections for mixed waste containing putrescibles and segregated biodegradable waste due to increased rate of decomposition and resultant odour and insect infestations. Warmer temperatures could also affect degradation rates, composting, anaerobic digestion, and lead to increased levels of vermin and flies. There could also be implications for the amount of landfill gas generated, length of active gassing phase, site settlement, closure and site completion. In terms of composting, there will be an increased risk of combustion.

There could be increased health risks to workers from increased exposure to UV radiation, where greater outside working is adopted, and increased pathogen and vermin activity as well as reduced worker comfort, with negative impacts on productivity, from increased indoor and outdoor temperatures.

An increase in flooding incidences could lead to increased disruption to transport (road, rail, water-based) infrastructure and collection of waste, which could also affect some on-site facilities, such as weighbridges and gas and leachate collection systems.  A higher moisture content of waste may also create a need for amended treatment processes, particularly in energy-from-waste plants. Wetter winters and increased flash rainfall will see an increased risk of flooding to landfills and sites from groundwater, surface water, tidal and sea sources, together with increased leachate production from heavy rain and/or changes to hydrology; and/or reduced water availability and increased strength of leachate due to reduction of dilution (landfills).

Increased wind and storminess could also give rise to increased dispersal of particulates and incidence of bioaerosols. There is also likely to be increased site impact from odour, vermin, dust and litter, and a greater risk of transmission of disease through water borne and food poisoning type ailments, due to increased pathogen activity and bioaerosol releases and flies.

Parkland and vegetation management will present a range of challenges and opportunities.

It is likely that there will be a requirement for increased path and verge maintenance and grass cutting, due to the longer growing seasons and increased growth of plants and weeds. This will impact the budget for parkland and vegetation management.  Increased maintenance could also see an increased desire to use chemicals in management, which could increase pollution of watercourses and see increased resistance by pests.

The forecast of a longer growing season may well demand year-round mowing and lawn care, raising maintenance costs in large gardens and across the public realm.

Additionally, higher temperatures combined with decreased summer rainfall will cause plant stress. Some species (e.g. beech) are very sensitive to drought. Tree health will also be largely impacted by the ongoing and long term effects of flooding and waterlogging, for example, trees can cope with wet winters, but extreme flood events in summer can lead to higher rates of tree mortality. Soils will face water-logging in increasingly wet winters, and drought in summer, calling for careful water management.

There will also be an increased risk of fires in parks, spreading more rapidly in summer months due to the tinder dry vegetation.

Warmer, wetter winter weather will increase the susceptibility of plants to diseases, particularly water-transmitted diseases. Alien species, pollen and seeds of weeds and pests can be distributed through flooding incidents. 

New pests such as the rosemary beetle, berberis sawfly and the lily beetle are now established in Britain, expanding in distribution from the south east and extending north, spreading more widely due to a warmer climate. Other pests that are normally dormant in winter may remain active and so damage vulnerable plants earlier in the year. Warmer temperatures will also shorten the reproductive cycles of some pests, leading to increased populations.

The severity of pest and disease attacks in general is likely to increase as they are likely to become more virulent. However, the impacts of climate change on plants in gardens will be less than on those in the natural environment because of the attention they receive in cultivation

Lower summer rainfall and higher temperatures may need consideration in design and management of public open spaces, particularly regarding planting of suitable drought-tolerant species, water features, shading and grass cutting operations.

Changing weather patterns could impact upon the region’s cemeteries, which operate under tight schedules, leading to delays at highly sensitive times. Examples include periods of heavy rainfall or flooding causing the blocking of access roads or the saturation of soils making grave digging troublesome.

Death rates are currently at about 50% of the crematoriums capacity during the summer months so increases in deaths due to increases severe summer temperatures and heat waves are not envisaged to cause a capacity problem at this stage.

Places of Worship
The chronic effects of rainfall and temperature on building structures and indoor air quality that are considered for Education and Schools also apply to Places of Worship.

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| North Yorkshire | West Yorkshire | Humber | South Yorkshire |

 

Description

Education and Schools
North Yorkshire County Council supports 396 education establishments, including Nursery, Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, Pupil Referral Units, Special Schools, Hospital Teaching Units and Outdoor Education Units.

There are a large number of rural schools where students have to be transported to school either by friends, family or by the school or public transport system. 

Emergency Services
The main emergency services in North Yorkshire are North Yorkshire Police, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.

The North Yorkshire Police Force has about 31 police stations throughout the sub-region. The Yorkshire Ambulance Service covers North Yorkshire. North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue has about 39 stations throughout the sub-region.

HM Coastguard is also a key emergency service for the sub-region, with North Yorkshire HM Coastguard Centre based at Bridlington.

Military
There is a strong military presence in North Yorkshire, with the co-siting of RAF and US Air Force at RAF Menwith Hill and RAF Fylingdales. Catterick Garrison is the largest British Army base in the world, and is currently 12,000 strong, although is expected to grow to over 25,000 by 2020. There is also an army foundation college in Harrogate and a number of Territorial Army units throughout the sub-region.

Emergency Planning
The North Yorkshire Resilience Forum prepares and delivers plans to deal with emergencies and business continuity across the county, administered through County Hall (Northallerton). It is the central mechanism for responding to acute climate change (weather-related) impacts. North Yorkshire is also home to the Civil Service Emergency Planning College, located at Easingwold.

Public and Assets
The sub-region of North Yorkshire is composed of North Yorkshire County Council, City of York Council, Craven District Council, Harrogate Borough Council, Richmondshire District Council, Hambleton District Council, Scarborough Borough Council, Selby District Council, and Ryedale District Council (ie North Yorkshire County together with the City of York).

There are five HM prisons located in North Yorkshire: Northallerton (Male); Wetherby (Juvenile); Wealston (Male); Askham Grange (Female) and Full Sutton (high security).

Social Housing
The local authorities forming the North Yorkshire sub region are responsible for social housing. Ownership and management of the social housing stock differs between local authorities, where it is either owned and managed by local authorities, or transferred to housing associations.

Public and Voluntary Services
In addition to the main council offices, public buildings and public services are inter-dispersed throughout the sub-region. North Yorkshire County Council is a Waste Disposal Authority. There are 42 libraries within the sub-region, which are equally spread between smaller towns and larger cities.  There is an extensive network of parks and gardens managed both by local authorities. Verges, hedges and roadside trees are managed by local authorities and by voluntary organisations.

The Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors are protected as National Parks and are managed by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and the North York Moors National Park Authority, respectively.

Cemeteries are managed at the local district authority or parish Council level. There are five crematoria in the sub-region and at least 21 publicly-managed cemeteries.

Places of Worship
Places of worship within the sub-region include churches, mosques and other faith centres. The most regionally historic and cultural places of worship include Bolton Abbey, York Minster and Whitby Abbey, and are associated with urban areas. Additionally, there are smaller churches in the villages and towns.

 

Impacts

Over-arching impacts to public and voluntary assets

The general over-arching impacts to assets set out in the regional impacts assessment apply to all sub-sectors in the North Yorkshire sub-region.

Education and Schools
Wider impacts for education and schools may include an increased need for alternative care arrangements, increasing and more frequent clean-up costs, and loss of outdoor and physical education time for pupils.

Emergency Services
During the summer months, there is likely to be increased ambulance emergency response due to the effects of drought and heat stress.

A higher fraction of the workload of rural Fire and Rescue Services are secondary fires, and therefore it is likely that the rural Fire and Rescue Services will see the largest proportional increase in incidents.

Because North Yorkshire has two National Parks containing moorland, heightened summer temperatures and dryer soil conditions could spark a noticeable increase in secondary, leading to primary, fires and an increased strain on the Fire and Rescue Service. Rural Fire and Rescue Services rely heavily on retained Firefighters. Budgets and personnel requirements may increase as a result of greater required effort, together with impacts on their primary jobs and therefore staff recruitment and retention.

Heat stress during fire fighting in higher temperatures may increase and could impact on staff resourcing and rota systems, in an attempt to prevent heat stress and exhaustion.

Military
The extra workload on the emergency services of attending potentially up to fifty per cent more incidents (forest, heath land fires and flooding) will impact on the military through a greater number of requests for planning and response assistance.

Radio antennae and therefore communications could be affected by higher winds and extreme weather.

Emergency Planning
The increased number of extreme weather events, including groundwater and fluvial flooding, storms, and drought and summer fires, is likely to significantly increase costs and demand for emergency services. The extra workload of attending potentially up to fifty per cent more incidents will stretch the resources.

The location of the Catterick Army garrison in North Yorkshire could provide a using contingency of resource for emergency planning operation and emergency services, particularly in aid of any increase in secondary and primary fires stemming from either of North Yorkshire’s National Parks.

Public Assets
Impacts set out in ‘over-arching’ impacts to assets apply here.

Social Housing
Much of North Yorkshire’s social housing stock is pre-1980s, many of which will be vulnerable to changes in structural (e.g. subsidence) and environmental forces (e.g. increased intensity of rainfall) due to climate change. For coastal areas of the North Yorkshire sub-region, coastal inundation and loss of homes and infrastructure to the coast could be a long term problem, with flooding of low lying land occurring on a regular basis by 2025 in particular areas. This could lead to local refugees from areas that may become uninhabitable or unviable to protect.

While fuel poverty may decline during winter months, summer heat waves will make homes less comfortable, particularly for the elderly and vulnerable.

More frequent and severe flooding may expose homes and their occupants to greater risks and increased flooding has impacts on requirements for temporary accommodation and reoccupation with associated expense.

Public and Voluntary Services
While fuel poverty may decline during winter months, higher summer temperatures, increased indoor dampness and flooded homes, may increase demand on elderly and vulnerable people’s services.

Due to increased temperature, there may need to be an increased number of collections for mixed waste containing putrescibles and segregated biodegradable waste due to increased rate of decomposition and resultant odour and insect infestations.

There could be increased health risks to workers from increased sunshine and exposure to UV radiation and increased pathogen and vermin activity as well as reduced worker comfort, with negative impacts on productivity, from increased indoor and outdoor temperatures.

An increase in flooding incidences could lead to increased disruption to transport (road, rail, water-based) infrastructure and collection of waste, which could also affect some on-site facilities, such as weighbridges and gas and leachate collection systems.  Wetter winters and increased flash rainfall will see an increased risk of flooding to landfills and sites from groundwater, surface water, tidal and sea sources, together with increased leachate production from heavy rain and/or changes to hydrology; and/or reduced water availability and increased strength of leachate due to reduced dilution (landfills).

Increased wind and storminess could also give rise to increased dispersal of particulates and incidence of bioaerosols.

It is likely that there will be a requirement for increased path and verge maintenance and grass cutting, due to the longer growing seasons and increased growth of plants and weeds. This will impact the budget for parkland and vegetation management.  Increased maintenance could also see an increased desire to use pesticides in agriculture and in garden management. This could lead to increased pollution of watercourses and increased resistance by pests.

The forecast of a longer growing season may well demand year-round mowing and lawn care, raising maintenance costs. Additionally, higher temperatures combined with decreased summer rainfall will cause plant stress. Tree health will also be largely impacted by the ongoing and long term effects of flooding and Waterlogging. Soils will face water-logging in increasingly wet winters, and drought in summer, calling for careful water management.

There will also be an increased risk of fires in parks, spreading more rapidly in summer months due to the tinder dry vegetation.

Warmer, wetter winter weather will increase the susceptibility of plants to diseases, particularly water-transmitted diseases. Alien species, pollen and seeds of weeds and pests can be distributed through flooding incidents. Other pests that are normally dormant in winter may remain active and so damage vulnerable plants earlier in the year. Warmer temperatures will also shorten the reproductive cycles of some pests, leading to increased populations.

Lower summer rainfall and higher temperatures may need consideration in design and management of public open spaces, particularly regarding planting of suitable drought-tolerant species, water features, shading and grass cutting operations.

Changing weather patterns could impact upon the region’s cemeteries, which operate under tight schedules, leading to delays at highly sensitive times. Examples include periods of heavy rainfall or flooding causing the blocking of access roads or the saturation of soils making grave digging troublesome.

Places of Worship
The chronic effects of rainfall and temperature on building structures and indoor air quality that are considered for over-arching impacts also apply to Places of Worship.

 

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Description

Education and Schools
Together, the five local authorities composing the sub-region support 906 education establishments, including Nursery, Primary Schools, Middle Schools, Secondary Schools, Pupil Referral Units and Special Schools and Academies.

There are a large number of urban schools compared to rural schools, where students are transported to school either the school or public transport system, or by friends or family. 

Emergency Services
The three main emergency services for the sub-region are the West Yorkshire Police Force, the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue – with about 48 stations through-out the sub-region. An air ambulance operates from Leeds Bradford International Airport

Emergency Planning
The West Yorkshire Resilience Forum prepares and delivers plans to deal with emergencies and business continuity across the sub-region.

Military
There are no military barracks or bases of significant size in the sub-region, although Territorial Army units are located throughout it.

Public Assets
The sub-district of West Yorkshire has five local government districts - Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield - where each is responsible for its own services.

There are three HM prisons in West Yorkshire: Wakefield (high security); New Hall (Female) and Leeds (Male). 

Social Housing
All Councils in West Yorkshire retain their own social housing, but are managed by Housing Associations. Leeds City Region has been selected for a proposed Eco-town by the Government.

Public Services
In addition to the main council offices, public buildings and public services are inter-dispersed throughout the sub-region. There are 166 libraries within the sub-region, which are equally spread between smaller towns and larger cities.

Each Unitary Authority within West Yorkshire is a Waste Collection and Disposal Authority.

There are a number of public parks and open spaces within the sub-region. Each Council has the responsibility for cutting grassed areas, including roadside verges, formal gardens, ornamental lawns, war memorials, public parks and playing fields.

The local authorities in the sub-region manage a total of 81 cemeteries and 11 crematoria.

Places of Worship
There are a number of churches, grand mosques and other places of worship in the main urban centres of each local authority. There are also a number of smaller churches and places of worship in the villages and towns which are predominantly of older masonry construction. 

 

Impacts

Over-arching impacts to public and voluntary assets
The general over-arching impacts to assets set out in the regional impacts assessment apply to all sub-sectors in the West Yorkshire sub-region.

Education and Schools
Wider impacts for education and schools may include an increased need for alternative care arrangements, increasing and more frequent clean-up costs, and loss of outdoor and physical education time for pupils.

Emergency Services
During the summer months, there is likely to be increased ambulance emergency response from the effects of drought and heat stress.

A higher fraction of the workload of rural Fire and Rescue Services are secondary fires, and therefore it is likely that the rural Fire and Rescue Services will see the largest proportional increase in incidents. Rural Fire and Rescue Services rely heavily on retained Firefighters. Budgets and personnel requirements may increase as a result of greater required effort, together with impacts on their primary jobs and therefore staff recruitment and retention.

Heat stress during fire fighting in higher temperatures may increase and could impact on staff resourcing and rota systems, in an attempt to prevent heat stress and exhaustion.

Military
The extra workload on the emergency services of attending potentially up to fifty per cent more incidents will impact on the military through a greater number of requests for planning and response assistance.

Emergency Planning
The increased number of extreme weather events, including groundwater and fluvial flooding, storms, and drought and summer fires, is likely to significantly increase costs and demand for emergency services. The extra workload of attending potentially up to fifty per cent more incidents will stretch the resources.

Public Assets
Impacts set out in ‘over-arching’ impacts to assets apply here.

Social Housing
Much of West Yorkshire’s social housing stock is pre-1980s, many of which will be vulnerable to changes in structural (e.g. subsidence) and environmental forces (e.g. increased intensity of rainfall) due to climate change. While fuel poverty may decline during winter months, summer heat waves will make homes less comfortable, particularly for the elderly and vulnerable.

More frequent and severe flooding may expose homes and their occupants to greater risks and increased flooding has impacts on requirements for temporary accommodation and reoccupation with associated expense.

Public and Voluntary Services
While fuel poverty may decline during winter months, higher summer temperatures, increased indoor dampness and flooded homes, may increase demand on elderly and vulnerable people’s services.

Due to increased temperature, there may need to be an increased number of collections for mixed waste containing putrescibles and segregated biodegradable waste. Warmer temperatures could also affect degradation rates, composting, anaerobic digestion, and lead to increased levels of vermin and flies, having implications on the amount of landfill gas generated, length of active gassing phase, site settlement, closure and site completion. In terms of composting, there will be an increased risk of combustion.

An increase in flooding incidences could lead to increased disruption to transport (road, rail, water-based) infrastructure and collection of waste, which could also affect some on-site facilities, such as weighbridges and gas and leachate collection systems.  A higher moisture content of waste may also create a need for amended treatment processes, particularly in energy-from-waste plants. Wetter winters and increased flash rainfall will see an increased risk of flooding to landfills and sites from groundwater and surface water, together with increased leachate production from heavy rain and/or changes to hydrology; and/or reduced water availability and increased strength of leachate due to reduced dilution (landfills).

It is likely that there will be a requirement for increased path and verge maintenance and grass cutting, due to the longer growing seasons and increased growth of plants and weeds. This will impact the budget for parkland and vegetation management.  Increased maintenance could also see an increased desire to use pesticides in agriculture and in garden management. This could lead to increased pollution of watercourses and increased resistance by pests.

The forecast of a longer growing season may well demand year-round mowing and lawn care, raising maintenance costs in large gardens and across the public realm.

Additionally, higher temperatures combined with decreased summer rainfall will cause plant stress. Tree health will also be largely impacted by the ongoing and long term effects of flooding and Waterlogging. Soils will face water-logging in increasingly wet winters, and drought in summer, calling for careful water management.

There will also be an increased risk of fires in parks, spreading more rapidly in summer months due to the tinder dry vegetation.

Warmer, wetter winter weather will increase the susceptibility of plants to diseases, particularly water-transmitted diseases. Alien species, pollen and seeds of weeds and pests can be distributed through flooding incidents. Other pests that are normally dormant in winter may remain active and so damage vulnerable plants earlier in the year. Warmer temperatures will also shorten the reproductive cycles of some pests, leading to increased populations. The severity of pest and disease attacks in general is likely to increase as they are likely to become more virulent.

Lower summer rainfall and higher temperatures may need consideration in design and management of public open spaces, particularly regarding planting of suitable drought-tolerant species, water features, shading and grass cutting operations.

Places of Worship

The chronic effects of rainfall and temperature on building structures and indoor air quality that are considered under over-arching impacts, also apply to Places of Worship.

 

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Description

Education and Schools
Together, the four Unitary Authorities composing the Humber sub-region support 412 education establishments, including Nursery, Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, Pupil Referral Units and Special Schools.

There are a large number of rural schools compared to urban schools, where students have to be transported to school either by friends, family or by the school or public transport system. 

Emergency Services
The main emergency services in the Humber are Humberside Police Force, Yorkshire Ambulance Service (East Riding) and East Midlands Ambulance Service and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue. Humberside Police Force is administered through four Basic Command Units (BCU).

The Humber HM Coastguard stations are based in Cleethorpes and Louth, with back up response and cliff rescue teams also at Scarborough, Burniston and Filey. Sea King helicopter response is supplied from the RAF bases of Leconfield (East Riding of Yorkshire).

Military
There are no military barracks or bases of significant size in the Humber sub-region, although Territorial Army units are present through the sub-region. The MoD Defence School of Transport, a coastal firing range (Rolston) and ordnance demolition facility (Cowdon) are also based here.

Emergency Planning
The Humber Local Resilience Forum prepares and delivers plans to deal with emergencies and business continuity across the sub-region. Together, Humberside Police Force and Humberside Fire and Rescue have a joint-arrangement, forming the 'Humber Emergency Planning Service', which undertakes the statutory duties on-behalf of the four local authorities.

Public Assets
The sub-region of the Humber is composed of the local authorities East Riding of Yorkshire, City of Kingston upon Hull, North Lincolnshire and East Lincolnshire Districts. Each is responsible for its own estate and services.

There are four HM prisons located in the Humber: Wolds (contracted); Everthorpe (Male); Hull (Male) and Lindholme (male).

Social Housing
The local authorities forming the Humber sub-region are responsible for social housing. Ownership and management of the social housing stock differs between local authorities, where it is either owned and managed by local authorities, or transferred to housing associations.

Public and Voluntary Services
In addition to the main council offices, public buildings and public services are inter-dispersed throughout the sub-region. Each of the Unitary Authorities making up the Humber sub-region is a Waste Collection and Waste Disposal Authority.

There are 83 libraries (including travelling libraries) within the sub-region, which are equally spread between smaller towns and larger cities.

There are an extensive network of parks and open spaces gardens managed by local authorities, as well as verges, hedges and roadside trees that are maintained both by local authorities and by voluntary organisations.

The local authorities in the Humber sub-region each manage a number of council-owned cemeteries and closed churchyards and crematoria. A total of 51 cemeteries and four crematoria are present in the Humber sub-region.

Places of Worship
Places of worship within the sub-region include churches, mosques and other faith centres. The most regionally historic and cultural places of worship are Beverley Minster, Howden Minster and Thornton Abbey.

 

Impacts

Over-arching impacts to public and voluntary assets
The general over-arching impacts to assets set out in the regional impacts assessment apply to all sub-sectors in the Humber sub-region.

Education and Schools
Wider impacts for education and schools may include an increased need for alternative care arrangements, increasing and more frequent clean-up costs, and loss of outdoor and physical education time for pupils.

Emergency Services
During the summer months, there is likely to be increased ambulance emergency response from the effects of drought and heat stress.

A higher fraction of the workload of rural Fire and Rescue Services are secondary fires, and therefore it is likely that the rural Fire and Rescue Services will see the largest proportional increase in incidents. Rural Fire and Rescue Services rely heavily on retained Firefighters. Budgets and personnel requirements may increase as a result of greater required effort, together with impacts on their primary jobs and therefore staff recruitment and retention.

Heat stress during fire fighting in higher temperatures may increase and could impact on staff resourcing and rota systems, in an attempt to prevent heat stress and exhaustion.

Military
In terms of the facilities at Rolston and Cowden in the Humber sub-region, coastal erosion and future of the existing sea defences could have an impact on the facilities and may have consider relocation in the long-term. Radio antennae and therefore communications could be affected by higher winds and extreme weather.

The extra workload on the emergency services of attending potentially up to fifty per cent more incidents will impact on the military through a greater number of requests for planning and response assistance.

Emergency Planning
The increased number of extreme weather events, including groundwater and fluvial flooding, storms, and drought and summer fires, is likely to significantly increase costs and demand for emergency services. The extra workload of attending potentially up to fifty per cent more incidents will stretch the resources.

Public Assets
Impacts set out in ‘over-arching’ impacts to assets apply here.

Social Housing
Much of Humber’s social housing stock is pre-1980s, many of which will be vulnerable to changes in structural (e.g. subsidence) and environmental forces (e.g. increased intensity of rainfall) due to climate change. The vulnerability of social housing stock to climatic change will very much depend on its state of repair.

For coastal areas of the Humber sub-region, coastal inundation and loss of homes and infrastructure to the coast could be a long term problem, with flooding of low lying land occurring on a regular basis by 2025 in particular areas. This could lead to local refugees from areas that may become uninhabitable or unviable to protect. While fuel poverty may decline during winter months, summer heat waves will make homes less comfortable, particularly for the elderly and vulnerable.

More frequent and severe flooding may expose homes and their occupants to greater risks and increased flooding has impacts on requirements for temporary accommodation and reoccupation with associated expense.

Public and Voluntary Services
While fuel poverty may decline during winter months, higher summer temperatures, increased indoor dampness and flooded homes, may increase demand on elderly and vulnerable people’s services.

Due to increased temperature, there may need to be an increased number of collections for mixed waste containing putrescibles and segregated biodegradable waste. Warmer temperatures could also affect degradation rates, composting, anaerobic digestion, and lead to increased levels of vermin and flies, having implications on the amount of landfill gas generated, length of active gassing phase, site settlement, closure and site completion. In terms of composting, there will be an increased risk of combustion.

There could be increased health risks to workers from increased sunshine and exposure to UV radiation and increased pathogen and vermin activity as well as reduced worker comfort, with negative impacts on productivity, from increased indoor and outdoor temperatures.

An increase in flooding incidences could lead to increased disruption to transport (road, rail, water-based) infrastructure and collection of waste, which could also affect some on-site facilities, such as weighbridges and gas and leachate collection systems.  Wetter winters and increased flash rainfall will see an increased risk of flooding to landfills and sites from groundwater, surface water, tidal and sea sources, together with increased leachate production from heavy rain and/or changes to hydrology; and/or reduced water availability and increased strength of leachate due to reduced dilution (landfills).

It is likely that there will be a requirement for increased path and verge maintenance and grass cutting, due to the longer growing seasons and increased growth of plants and weeds. This will impact the budget for parkland and vegetation management.  Increased maintenance could also see an increased desire to use pesticides in agriculture and in garden management. This could lead to increased pollution of watercourses and increased resistance by pests.

The forecast of a longer growing season may well demand year-round mowing and lawn care, raising maintenance costs in large gardens and across the public realm.

Additionally, higher temperatures combined with decreased summer rainfall will cause plant stress. Tree health will also be largely impacted by the ongoing and long term effects of flooding and waterlogging. Soils will face water-logging in increasingly wet winters, and drought in summer, calling for careful water management.

There will also be an increased risk of fires in parks, spreading more rapidly in summer months due to the tinder dry vegetation.

Warmer, wetter winter weather will increase the susceptibility of plants to diseases, particularly water-transmitted diseases. Alien species, pollen and seeds of weeds and pests can be distributed through flooding incidents. Other pests that are normally dormant in winter may remain active and so damage vulnerable plants earlier in the year. Warmer temperatures will also shorten the reproductive cycles of some pests, leading to increased populations. The severity of pest and disease attacks in general is likely to increase as they are likely to become more virulent.

Lower summer rainfall and higher temperatures may need consideration in design and management of public open spaces, particularly regarding planting of suitable drought-tolerant species, water features, shading and grass cutting operations.

Places of Worship
The chronic effects of rainfall and temperature on building structures and indoor air quality that are considered under over-arching impacts, also apply to Places of Worship.

 

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Description

Education and Schools
Together, the four local authorities composing the South Yorkshire sub-region support 536 education establishments, including Nursery, Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, Pupil Referral Units and Special Schools and Academies.

There are a large number of urban schools compared to rural schools, where students are transported to school either the school or public transport system, by friends or family.

Emergency Services
The three main emergency services for the sub-region are South Yorkshire Police Force, Yorkshire Ambulance Service, and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

One of the two air ambulances that service the region operates from Sheffield City Heliport. The South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service has about 23 stations throughout the sub-region.

Emergency Planning
The South Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum prepares and delivers plans to deal with emergencies and business continuity across the sub-region.

Military
There are a number of Territorial Army Units of various sizes, ages and condition. 

Public Assets
The sub-district of South Yorkshire is composed of four local authorities: City of Sheffield, and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham. Each is responsible for its own estates and services.

There are two HM prisons in South Yorkshire: Doncaster (contracted) and Moorland (Male).

Social Housing
Local authorities each have responsibility for social housing stock, although management is split between local authority and housing associations. Social housing stock is generally of mid-twentieth century in age. The nature of housing is reasonably varied, from blocks of housing and flats generally found in cities, to the brick and stone semi-detached housing and rendered terraces that can be found throughout the region.

Public and Voluntary Services
In addition to the main council offices, public buildings and public services are inter-dispersed throughout the sub-region. There are 87 libraries (including travelling libraries) within the sub-region.

Each of the Unitary Authorities within the sub-region is a Waste Collection and Disposal Authority.

There is an extensive network of public parks and open spaces managed by local authorities, as well as an extensive network of verges, hedges and roadside trees that are maintained both by local authorities and by voluntary organisations.

The local authorities in the sub-region manage a total of 73 cemeteries and four crematoria are within the sub-region.

Places of Worship
Places of worship within the sub-region include churches, mosques and other faith centres. The most regionally historic and cultural places of worship are Rother Minster and Doncaster Minster.

 

Impacts

Over-arching impacts to public and voluntary assets
The general over-arching impacts to assets set out in the regional impacts assessment apply to all sub-sectors in the South Yorkshire sub-region. 

Education and Schools
Wider impacts for education and schools may include an increased need for alternative care arrangements, increasing and more frequent clean-up costs, and loss of outdoor and physical education time for pupils.

Emergency Services
During the summer months, there is likely to be increased ambulance emergency response from the effects of drought and heat stress. The Yorkshire Air Ambulance operating out of Sheffield City Heliport could come under significant pressure during heightened temperature in summer months.

A higher fraction of the workload of rural Fire and Rescue Services are secondary fires, and therefore it is likely that the rural Fire and Rescue Services will see the largest proportional increase in incidents. Rural Fire and Rescue Services rely heavily on retained Firefighters. Budgets and personnel requirements may increase as a result of greater required effort, together with impacts on their primary jobs and therefore staff recruitment and retention.

Heat stress during fire fighting in higher temperatures may increase and action to combat this could impact on staff resourcing and rota systems.

Military
The extra workload on the emergency services of attending potentially up to fifty per cent more incidents will impact on the military through a greater number of requests for planning and response assistance.

Emergency Planning
The increased number of extreme weather events, including groundwater and fluvial flooding, storms, and drought and summer fires, is likely to significantly increase costs and demand for emergency services. The extra workload of attending potentially up to fifty per cent more incidents will stretch the resources.

Public Assets
Impacts set out in ‘over-arching’ impacts to assets apply here.

Social Housing
Much of South Yorkshire’s social housing stock is pre-1980s, many of which will be vulnerable to changes in structural (e.g. subsidence) and environmental forces (e.g. increased intensity of rainfall) due to climate change.

While fuel poverty may decline during winter months, summer heat waves will make homes less comfortable, particularly for the elderly and vulnerable.

More frequent and severe flooding may expose homes and their occupants to greater risks and increased flooding has impacts on requirements for temporary accommodation and reoccupation with associated expense.

Public and Voluntary Services
While fuel poverty may decline during winter months, higher summer temperatures, increased indoor dampness and flooded homes, may increase demand on elderly and vulnerable people’s services.

Due to increased temperature, there may need to be an increased number of collections for mixed waste containing putrescibles and segregated biodegradable waste. Warmer temperatures could also affect degradation rates, composting, anaerobic digestion, and lead to increased levels of vermin and flies, having implications on the amount of landfill gas generated, length of active gassing phase, site settlement, closure and site completion. In terms of composting, there will be an increased risk of combustion.

There could be increased health risks to workers from increased sunshine and exposure to UV radiation and increased pathogen and vermin activity as well as reduced worker comfort, with negative impacts on productivity, from increased indoor and outdoor temperatures.

An increase in flooding incidences could lead to increased disruption to transport (road, rail, water-based) infrastructure and collection of waste, which could also affect some on-site facilities, such as weighbridges and gas and leachate collection systems.  Wetter winters and increased flash rainfall will see an increased risk of flooding to landfills and sites from groundwater and surface water, together with increased leachate production from heavy rain and/or changes to hydrology; and/or reduced water availability and increased strength of leachate due to reduction of dilution (landfills).

It is likely that there will be a requirement for increased path and verge maintenance and grass cutting, due to the longer growing seasons and increased growth of plants and weeds. This will impact the budget for parkland and vegetation management.  Increased maintenance could also see an increased desire to use pesticides in agriculture and in garden management. This could lead to increased pollution of watercourses and potentially to increased resistance by pests.

The forecast of a longer growing season may well demand year-round mowing and lawn care, raising maintenance costs in large gardens and across the public realm.

Additionally, higher temperatures combined with decreased summer rainfall will cause plant stress. Tree health will also be largely impacted by the ongoing and long term effects of flooding and Waterlogging. Soils will face water-logging in increasingly wet winters, and drought in summer, calling for careful water management.

There will also be an increased risk of fires in parks, spreading more rapidly in summer months due to the tinder dry vegetation.

Warmer, wetter winter weather will increase the susceptibility of plants to diseases, particularly water-transmitted diseases. Alien species, pollen and seeds of weeds and pests can be distributed through flooding incidents. Other pests that are normally dormant in winter may remain active and so damage vulnerable plants earlier in the year. Warmer temperatures will also shorten the reproductive cycles of some pests, leading to increased populations. The severity of pest and disease attacks in general is likely to increase as they are likely to become more virulent.

Lower summer rainfall and higher temperatures may need consideration in design and management of public open spaces, particularly regarding planting of suitable drought-tolerant species, water features, shading and grass cutting operations.

Places of Worship
The chronic effects of rainfall and temperature on building structures and indoor air quality that are considered under over-arching impacts, also apply to Places of Worship.

 

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