Brent Council is set to implement new measures to combat the growing threat of extreme heat across the borough. The council meeting on Monday 14 September 2026 saw councillors agree on a motion calling for practical actions to enhance resilience to rising temperatures.
Councillor Mary Mitchell, representing the Green Party, highlighted the increasing temperatures and their disproportionate impact on vulnerable residents, stating, Rising heat in Brent is fundamentally about inequality.
The motion, which was carried after being amended by the Liberal Democrats, proposes improvements to public spaces, schools, workplaces, and housing, alongside expanding greening and shade initiatives. It also calls for clearer guidance on the impacts of data centres and overheating risks.
Specific actions mentioned in the debate include expanding tree planting initiatives and a Greener Gardens Campaign
to encourage residents to create greener gardens and discourage hard surfacing. The Liberal Democrat amendment also proposed learning from New Home Council's work on keeping social housing cooler and bringing forward suitable retrofit measures for the most vulnerable homes. Councillor Jake Rubin, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Employment & Climate Action, highlighted the council's existing work on tree planting and energy efficiency, mentioning that the council had planted or funded more than four and a half thousand trees and had a commitment to plant another 3,000 trees. The amendment also suggested expanding trees for Brent, helping neighbourhoods with the lowest tree equity scores become more resilient to extreme heat.
Councillor Rubin also stated that a climate action forum would be set up around October. The first meeting would discuss what the forum might look like for the years ahead, and importantly, would include a really big workshop on our climate strategy to take us from from now to 2030.
The expected outcome is to develop the climate strategy up to 2030 with resident participation.
Engagement sessions on the climate strategy are also planned, including a session for all councillors, an online consultation, a climate roadshow across five Brent Connects areas, a schools climate summit on October 7th, a dedicated youth engagement session, and engagement with trade union staff and faith groups. The specific topics covered in these sessions will be related to the climate strategy and developing it with resident participation.
The motion also called for securing clearer guidance on the impacts of data centres and overheating risks. Councillor Kelley Hager, speaking in the debate, highlighted concerns around the cumulative impact of data centres, referencing research that found AI data centres can create a data centre heat island
with warming effects detected up to 10 kilometres away, potentially increasing temperatures by up to 9.1 degrees Celsius in some locations. While the motion was carried, implying that guidance development would proceed, specific details on who is responsible for dissemination were not provided.
The Conservative amendment emphasised the need for practical, proportionate measures with real value for residents, focusing on costed action plans and community sponsorship.
While the amendment highlighted the importance of considering costs and what can realistically be implemented, specific estimated costs for the proposed measures were not detailed in the meeting information. The amendment also suggested community or business sponsorship as a sensible way to bring more people into improving their local area, implying a potential funding stream.
The motion, as amended, was carried, signalling a proactive approach by Brent Council to address the challenges posed by extreme heat.
