SC(3) CR-Plan 20
Sustainability Committee
Inquiry into Carbon Reduction in Wales: Carbon Reduction via Planning
Response from Environment Agency Wales
Summary of Recommendations
1. All strategies and plans should be assessed for their impact on carbon emissions and the cost of carbon factored into cost benefit assessments. The assessment should be modelled where possible and savings quantified.
2. We recommend that a high priority be given by the Welsh Assembly Government to finalising and issuing the climate change Ministerial Interim Planning Policy Statement (MIPPS) and the Climate Change Technical Advice Note (TAN). As both Planning and Building Regulations have key roles to play in ensuring that future development meets the required standards, both the MIPPS, and the proposed TAN, need to clearly identify their respective roles.
3. We welcome the adoption of the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) and BREEAM in Wales. We agree that CSH Code Level 3 and the BREEAM 'very good’ standards, as advocated in the draft climate change MIPPS, provide a good starting point, but believe there could be firmer proposals, including timescales, for enhancement of these standards. As the minimum standards currently being proposed may not deliver zero carbon an additional 10% reduction in CO2 emissions over and above that achieved through the use of the Code for Sustainable Homes or BREEAM would be beneficial.
4. It is essential that a clear definition of the Welsh Assembly Government’s interpretation of 'zero carbon development’ is included within Planning Policy Wales.
5. We recommend that appropriate enforcement is in place to ensure that any development is constructed and operated in accordance with the approved plans.
6. We recommend that Welsh Assembly Government should consider identifying a competent authority to take an overview on carbon management in Wales within the planning context. The report produced by AEA Energy and Environment identified that significant carbon could be retained by controlling urban development and some renewables may also have significant impact on carbon storage (e.g. development of wind farms on upland peat soils).
7. We recommend that Local Planning Authorities (LPA's) have the relevant technical expertise to assess information submitted and the necessary cost benefit analysis tools and decision making frameworks to make sustainable decisions.
8. For applications that involve mircogeneration we recommend that all relevant information is available to applicants and that the approval process is made as transparent and speedy as possible.
Where we have regulatory interest, such as hydropower, ground source heat pumps and biomass boilers, we will work with local planning authorities to promote these aims.
9. It is important that biomass boilers reach high standards for emissions. There are concerns for air quality associated with their possible expansion where permitted development rights may exist, and in some cases standards may not be enough. Under these conditions a planning permission process, similar to some agricultural proposals, could be considered whereby Local Planning Authorities require applications within designated areas to be submitted to them.
10. Welsh Assembly Government should consider using the spatial and local planning process to influence sites available for new power stations by ensuring that locations are viable for the use of heat generated and have land available for carbon capture and storage (CCS) if they are coal based.
11. Closer co-operation is needed between planning and Environment Agency permitting in major renewable applications to ensure minimum delay and clarity for applicants.
12. To assist the planning process, we support the identification of sites for renewable energy installations, both land based and in the marine environment, which have low environmental impacts. We are currently undertaking a review of hydropower and would be happy to extend this appraisal to other areas.
13. We support your recommendation that the Welsh Assembly Government review the use of WelTAG as a matter of urgency to ensure that carbon reduction is the main objective when assessing transport projects. The Emissions Sub group of the Climate Change Commission also supports this.
Introduction
Environment Agency Wales submitted a general paper covering aspects of carbon reduction in Wales which was presented to the Committee on 4 October 2007. This covered the background to Climate Change, key Environment Agency roles, indicators, emissions of green house gases in Wales and some comments on policy issues. On 28 January 2008 we also presented a sector-specific paper to the Committee on the Environment Agency’s role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions with respect to industry and our own carbon footprint and have submitted written evidence on Rural Land Use.
In providing this current evidence, we first place emissions associated with planning within the context of overall greenhouse gas emissions arising in Wales. We indicate our prime sources of data and highlight helpful documents. We then answer the specific questions that the Committee has raised, referring to the Environment Agency’s strategic interest in this subject area.
Setting the Context
Data presented in this paper have been quoted from the report prepared by AEA Energy and Environment in May 2008. This report identified various policy options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions available to the Welsh Assembly Government, and discussed "acceptability” and "feasibility” issues associated with each legislation.
The Development Planning system has an influence on residential and business sectors and also impacts the land use sector. There is also a possible impact on the power sector.
The residential sector in 2005 accounted for some 4.4 Mtonnes CO2 equivalent (just under 10% of the total green- house gas emissions in Wales) with consumption of electricity equating to around another 4.0Mtonnes (the actual emission of green house gases associated with residential activity is from the power stations providing the electricity). Reductions in domestic electricity consumption are potentially significant and should be assessed as they have a multiplication factor in terms of green-house gas savings.
Within the transport sector the key issue is sustainable development. The location of residential and commercial development can have a huge impact on the movement of people and goods and the consequent emissions of greenhouse gases. Transport accounted for 6.8Mtonnes CO2 in 2005 - 13.5% of the total Green-house gas emissions in Wales.
AEA have identified the savings associated with key policies within the residential and transport sectors. Within the top 20 options they identified the following may be influenced by development planning:
Measure |
Abatement potential 2025(Mtonnes CO2(e) |
|---|---|
Carbon Capture and storage |
3.0 |
Biomass Boilers |
1.4 |
Increase in renewable microgeneration |
0.62 |
Building regulations to require 25% less carbon in refurbished commercial buildings |
0.44 |
Building standards- 100% reduction in CO2 emissions from 2006 standards in new housing from 2010 |
0.35 |
While the planning system can help deliver some of these options, in many cases other policy issues will need to work alongside to achieve the outcome. Carbon Capture and storage, for example, will need land to be identified within the planning process but the requirement for such treatment will come through other routes.
Environment Agency Role
The Environment Agency is a statutory consultee in the Town and Country Planning procedures and its principal aim is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development.
Most of the consultation responses provided by the Environment Agency, in respect of Climate Change issues at the development control level, are associated with adaptation issues, for example, in providing local planning authorities and developers with expert technical advice, where development is being considered in flood risk areas.
We do, however, comment on major developments such as power stations, major renewable energy projects and energy intensive industries; although some of these fall outside the direct remit of the Welsh Assembly Government. This is to promote co-ordination between planning and permitting and to influence the location and design of development through the planning system.
We consider that Combined Heat and Power should be a requirement for new power generators where possible and that the appropriate location for renewable energy schemes and biocrops is essential. We also support the minimisation of waste by the promotion of site waste management plans.
We believe that all plans and strategies should be assessed for their carbon implications and have been active in promoting such models as REAP.
Response to the Specific Questions Raised
Question 1. What particular actions do you think the Welsh Assembly Government should be taking to ensure that the land use planning system in Wales encourages greater progress towards the achievement of carbon reduction targets?
For developments, it is important that a clear definition of the Welsh Assembly Government’s interpretation of 'zero carbon development’ is included within Planning Policy Wales.
We have recently commented upon the second Welsh Assembly Government consultation on the climate change Ministerial Interim Planning Policy Statement (MIPPS). This, when finalised, will introduce the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) and BREEAM into the Welsh planning system i.e. the CSH will introduce minimum standards for CO2 emissions and water consumption. This is a significant positive change, which we welcome.
We consider that CSH Code Level 3 and the BREEAM 'very good’ standards are a good starting point, but we believe there should be firmer proposals, including timescales, for enhancement of this standard. This would not only reflect the Welsh Assembly Government’s position regarding housing funded by Social Housing Grant but move development in Wales towards zero carbon. We believe that such a policy should apply to all development submitted after April 2009. The latest climate change science suggests a significant step change is needed. This may not be realised if left to market forces and a robust regulatory/ policy framework is therefore essential. We recognise that there may be exceptional circumstance where a development cannot meet the required standards. In such instances, an alternative approach to carbon reduction/ off-setting is required. However, it is essential that robust national guidance governs any such arrangements to prevent potential abuses of process, ensure consistent methodology, decision making, delivers efficient and sustainable off-setting mechanisms and is subject to appropriate monitoring and performance monitoring systems.
Lower Carbon should be made a priority in finalising all strategies and plans and should be modelled where possible. This should include the carbon inherent in provision of services such as water supply, sewerage and heating. The Environment Agency has some experience in the use of REAP and would contribute to this process where appropriate.
The UK Green Building Council is establishing a task force on a Code for Sustainable Buildings. We recommend that the Welsh Assembly Government is party to the development of this Code which could then be adopted for Wales.
Within the land use sector significant carbon could be retained by controlling urban development. Some renewables may also have significant impact on carbon storage (e.g. development of wind farms on upland peat soils). Such planning might be better controlled if a Welsh body was charged with taking the overview on carbon management and had a statutory requirement to comment on impacts of proposed development. The Welsh Assembly Government should consider identifying a competent authority to undertake this role.
Question 2:
What particular actions do you think the local Planning Authorities in Wales should be taking to ensure that the land use planning system in Wales encourages greater progress towards the achievement of carbon reduction targets?
The planning system has a key role in helping to address climate change, particularly when looking at location, design, layout and accessibility, but it is not the sole delivery mechanism. Building Regulations also play a key role. Both systems need to work closer together and clear guidance needs to be provided to ensure that each plays its role. This is an issue for the Welsh Assembly Government. We understand that Building Regulation powers have not yet been devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government and this must be a priority to ensure the success of this approach.
The MIPPS, and proposed TAN, on Climate Change, both need to clearly identify for LPA’s and developers what is proper for the planning system to address and what is for Building Regulations. The MIPPS should provide the high level principle, identifying that they each have their role to play, and the proposed TAN, the detail including what planning instrument can be used, for example including using development location, site master-planning, building orientation, access and design statements, planning conditions etc to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to climate change over the lifetime of the development.
Irrespective of the method used, i.e. planning conditions or building regulations, there must be an effective monitoring and enforcement system in place to ensure that the predicted savings are physically achieved.
We welcome the use of design statements but would recommend that they are accompanied by a statement addressing the operation and ongoing support of the development to ensure that the buildings are actually used in the way that the designers envisage. Otherwise, there is the possibility that the benefits won't be realised.
We are very supportive of the use of site waste management plans to reduce waste inherent in construction and the associated green-house gas emissions.
It is essential that the LPA's have access to the relevant expertise to deal with and assess the acceptability of the information provided by developers relating to carbon reduction and general sustainability. This will also include economic assessment of benefits.
The Local Development Plan, through the provision of supplementary planning guidance, should be used to set out higher standards and requirements. The emphasis of any policy should be that developers will be required to achieve the best possible standards on any site and use the Design Statement, not only to show how that will be achieved but also to justify to the LPA where those standards cannot be met. For the LPA to achieve this they would need to present evidence why they are requiring such standards and so Welsh Assembly Government policy support would be useful (this is really detail for inclusion in the TAN).
Local Development Plans should also provide an indication of their overall effect on carbon emissions which should be assessed by models where possible.
Question 3
What are your views on the Assembly Government’ revised proposals for planning for climate change. Do they go far enough in implementing the previous recommendations of the Committee?
(See answers to 1&2 above)
Question 4
What changes in the planning system are needed to ensure that low carbon technologies are introduced more extensively into residential properties in Wales?
We consider that an additional 10% reduction in CO2 emissions over and above that achieved through the introduction of the Code for Sustainable Homes, 'level 3’ or BREEAM, 'very good’ would be beneficial. It is essential that developers and local planning authorities are provided with absolute clarity over what savings are required i.e. those to be made from energy supply and those from energy efficiency of the development itself.
Decentralised renewables could also be part of the solution. Off-site renewables could, in many cases, be a cheaper and a more sustainable energy generating option than on-site options. Any Welsh Assembly Government policy should aim to deliver a reduction in the carbon cost of energy supply. We would suggest that it be more appropriate to leave the mechanism for achieving the efficiency to the developer but ensure that the options considered by the developer have been subject of sustainability appraisal. Design and Access statements could be used as a mechanism for developers to provide this information. Design statements should also be accompanied by an 'operating and ongoing support statement’ to ensure that the building is actually used in the way that the designers envisage. Otherwise the benefits won't be realised.
It is also necessary for the planning system to work well with other regulatory controls. Where we have regulatory interest- such as hydropower, ground source heat pumps and biomass boilers, we will work with planners to help ensure that all information is available to applicants and that the process is made as transparent as possible.
Question 5
What needs to be done to ensure better co-ordination between land use planning and transport planning?
The Environment Agency agrees with the committee’s view that the Welsh Transport Planning and Appraisal Guidance (WelTAG) militates against sustainable modes of transport. Carbon reduction is just one of the 22 factors taken into consideration when assessing a transport scheme. There is currently no weighting to favour schemes that reduce carbon - it is given equal consideration as criteria relating to heritage and soil for example.
We support your recommendation that the Welsh Assembly Government review the use of WelTAG as a matter of urgency to ensure that carbon reduction is the main objective when assessing projects. The Emissions Sub group of the Climate Change Commission also believes this needs to be done as a matter of urgency.
Question 6
Does the Welsh Assembly Governments new transport strategy, 'One Wales: Connecting the Nation’ give sufficient emphasis to this issue?
As noted in question 5, we consider that the CO2 emissions associated with any strategy or plan should be the key factor in its determination.
Question 7
What are your views on the current and proposed planning regimes for the consideration of large scale energy projects in Wales?
From our current information, Section 36 will remain the major decision process for large energy projects. We also expect that Local Planning Authorities may still retain powers as statutory consultees to object. Should this happen, a planning inquiry will be held.
The key issue may then be the grounds for objection- which in turn will be dependent on Welsh Assembly Government Planning Policy and advice. If Welsh Assembly Government Policy includes a renewable heat obligation or a requirement to promote district heating, the planning system may be able to exert an influence on sites for new development. A similar outcome may be possible through Spatial Planning- by identification of sites for new energy generation within areas that need heating- i.e. close to residential or industrial areas.
Question 8
What changes to Technical Advice Note 8 (Planning and Renewable Energy) would you wish to see?
In respect of carbon off-setting, the TAN should provide the robust national guidance which will be used to govern such arrangements in order to prevent potential abuses of process, ensure consistent methodology, decision making, delivers efficient and sustainable off-setting mechanisms and set out what an appropriate monitoring and performance monitoring system entails.
We would also like to see a review of possible sites for on-shore wind- to include urban sites (such as the generation at Bristol Docks). Preferred sites for offshore wind and tide could also be part of the TAN and the Environment Agency would be happy to be part of that process where required.
One particular concern is the possibility of air quality failures from wood- burning stoves and boilers. While a high standard of emission control within these installations should suffice in most situations, there may be sites where the topology and meteorological conditions combine to cause problems. Where air quality issues are identified it may be necessary for installation of boilers which requires notification to the planning authority in a similar way to the requirement for some agricultural developments.
The TAN could also consider the use of renewable energy targets for Local Authorities. This may be a further incentive to councils to expedite appropriate planning applications.
In addition to issues raised in this consultation, the TAN will also need to address other issues raised as part of the 2006 consultation exercise, for example, flood risk, water resources, biodiversity, transport, air quality and land for carbon capture and storage.
Environment Agency Wales
January 2009
