The tougher, better guidelines for planning give councils a new blueprint, reflecting the latest targets and ensuring councils put combating climate change at the heart of future development
John Healey, housing and planning minister
The consultation on a Planning Policy Statement: Planning for a Low Carbon Future in a Changing Climate seeks views on combining and updating existing planning policy on renewable energy and climate change.
It aims to ensure that councils map the demand and potential provision for low carbon and renewable energy in order to contribute towards the government's 2020 target of sourcing 15% of energy from renewable sources.
The proposals require councils to undertake heat mapping and prepare a strategy for delivering decentralised energy, including assessing their area for opportunities for “greater integration of waste management with the provision of decentralised energy.”
Also identified as desirable are district heating networks that could “supply more than an individual building” and are based on renewable energy from waste, surplus heat and biomass, or which could be economically converted to such sources in the future.
In addition, the consultation document requires proposed new developments to support sustainable waste management by providing space for recycling and composting – reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and potentially decreasing the costs of waste treatment and disposal.
Housing and planning minister, John Healey, said that the overhauled planning policies would act as a “new green planning rulebook.”
“We know we need greener, renewable energy if we are to meet our ambitious low carbon targets. We also know that the ways and means for people to access this energy needs to be quicker and easier.
“The tougher, better guidelines for planning give councils a new blueprint, reflecting the latest targets and ensuring councils put combating climate change at the heart of future development – ultimately saving people money on their bills and reducing emissions.”
CHPA
The Combined Heat and Power Association (CHPA) welcomed the idea of councils mapping heat demand in their area and investigating possible sources of supply of low and zero-carbon heat.
Ian Manders, deputy director of the CHPA, said that they would encourage district heating schemes based on waste outside the UK's larger cities.
“Virtually every major city in the UK is already investigating the creation or extension of viable district heating networks, but the new Planning Policy Statement means that the smaller cities and towns now need to start to do so.
“It is a tremendous opportunity to provide low and zero-carbon heat and cooling for new and existing buildings.”
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