SC(3) CR-Plan 13

Sustainability Committee

Inquiry into Carbon Reduction in Wales: Carbon Reduction via Planning

Response from The Energy Saving Trust

This is the submission of the Energy Saving Trust to the National Assembly for Wales Sustainability Committee’s Call for Evidence for their Carbon Reduction Inquiry, specifically regarding the Land-Use Planning System. We welcome the opportunity to provide evidence but please note that this response does not necessarily represent the view of Energy Saving Trust members.

The Energy Saving Trust was established as part of the Government’s action plan in response to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, which addressed worldwide concerns on sustainable development issues. We are the UK’s leading organisation working through partnerships towards the sustainable and efficient use of energy by households, communities and the road transport sector and one of the key delivery agents for the Government’s climate change objectives.

Summary of key points

• The Assembly Government should ensure consistency in planning policy across Wales - we support the approach in the revised Planning for Climate Change proposals to apply national planning policy which comes into force on a given date across Wales

• Climate responsive development targets should be set in terms of carbon dioxide reduction, rather than renewable energy generation

• Developments at strategic sites should be required to meet higher energy standards

• The Assembly Government and Local Planning Authorities should work together to ensure planners and planning committee members have sufficient training and access to technical expertise

• Local Planning Authorities should consider local renewable energy resources and ensure developments take advantage of them where possible

• Assembly Government policy should direct Local Planning Authorities to encourage community scale renewable energy provision

• Permitted development rights should urgently be provided for accredited technologies and installers of domestic scale microgeneration

• Permitted development rights should also be considered for community distributed energy generation projects of an appropriate scale

• The Assembly Government should ensure national planning policies (including Technical Advice Note 18: Transport) are being implemented by Local Planning Authorities

• The Assembly Government should ensure that transport planners act on the commitments made in the Wales Transport Strategy

Answers to specific questions posed by the Committee are provided below. Actions for the Assembly Government in order to ensure that the land use planning system in Wales encourages greater progress towards the achievement of carbon reduction targets

The Assembly Government should implement the final version of the Planning for Climate Change proposals as soon as possible to provide clarity and ensure consistency of standards across Wales. It should also urgently implement Permitted Development rights for domestic microgeneration, and look to providing Permitted Development Rights for community distributed energy generation projects at an appropriate scale.

Our views on what revised national planning policy should encompass are provided in answer to the Committee’s questions below.

The Assembly Government, in partnership with Local Planning Authorities, should provide appropriate training and technical support for planning officers and planning committee members.

Actions for Local Planning Authorities in Wales in order to ensure that the land use planning system in Wales encourages greater progress towards the achievement of carbon reduction targets

The Assembly Government’s role should be to set national minimum standards for development to ensure consistency across Wales.

The Assembly Government should require Local Planning Authorities to

• consider local opportunities to achieve higher energy standards at strategic sites

• consider the distribution of local renewable energy generation potential across the local authority, and ensure developments take advantage of the local resources

• ensure larger developments identify and evaluate opportunities for community scale distributed energy generation (including district heating)

• consider how waste heat resources can be utilised across the county

• ensure site layouts facilitate the use of the renewable energy (including passive solar) e.g. dwelling and site orientation

It is also essential that Local Planning Authorities ensure that their officers and councillors have sufficient knowledge of the benefits and limitations of low carbon housing design, refurbishment and small or community scale distributed energy.

The Assembly Government’s revised proposals for planning for climate change and the Sustainability Committees recommendations on planning to date

A summary of our response to the Assembly Government’s revised proposals for planning for climate change is included at Appendix 1. Our response focused on the proposals for housing as this is our area of expertise.

The Energy Saving Trust considers that carbon dioxide reduction standards, rather than specific renewable energy generation targets, should be set in order to ensure demand for energy is reduced as far as possible before the installation of microgeneration technologies is considered or required. This approach allows developers to implement the most cost-effective method of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, in line with the energy hierarchy.

The Energy Hierarchy

Reduce consumption

▼

Maximise energy efficiency

▼

Use renewable sources

▼

Use fossil fuels as efficiently as possible

The revised Planning for Climate Change proposals suggested that all developments of 10 or more properties should meet Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3. This is equivalent to a 25% reduction in predicted CO₂ emissions based on current building regulations.

The energy standards which form Part L of the Building Regulations are due to be improved by 25% in 2010 in line with the requirements of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The move towards higher standards post 2010 (and the zero carbon aspiration of the Assembly Government) could be supported by a requirement in planning policy that larger developments meet Code Level 4 standards from 2010 (a 44% reduction in estimated carbon dioxide standards based on current building regulations).

Requiring higher standards of the Code could help to stimulate the microgeneration industry in Wales, as microgeneration is usually required to meet Code Level 4

The Energy Saving Trust is broadly supportive of the Sustainability Committee’s recommendations which seek to lower the threshold at which standards would apply. Anecdotally, setting the threshold at 10 dwellings could exclude a large proportion of development in Wales, particularly rural Wales.

We suggested in our response to the Planning for Climate Change proposals that the Assembly Government investigates what proportion of new development falls below this threshold and, if it is considerable, explores lowering the threshold to ensure a significant proportion of new homes are covered by the new policy.

The Energy Saving Trust supports the Sustainability Committee’s recommendation and the proposal in the revised Planning for Climate Change consultation for Local Planning Authorities to assess strategic development sites to identify opportunities to require higher sustainable buildings standards (in order to realise opportunities at the local level for developments to accelerate the move towards the zero carbon aspiration). We suggest that developments at strategic sites could seek to realise a 70% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. This is an interim standard between Code Level 4 (44% reduction) and Code Level 5 (100% reduction) and is the suggested minimum reduction required before off-site energy solutions are considered in the CLG 'zero carbon definition’ consultation.

Changes to the planning system to ensure that low carbon technologies are introduced more extensively into residential properties in Wales

The Energy Saving Trust believes that low carbon technologies for residential properties should be given permitted development status as soon as possible. We supported the Assembly Government’s 2007 consultation on this matter. We believe that all technologies, including micro-wind turbines and ASHP, should become Permitted Development Rights for domestic microgeneration.

As an organisation dedicated to the proliferation of mass-market sustainable energy technologies such as microgeneration, we wish to ensure that these technologies are not discredited. This could occur if they were installed in inappropriate locations and/or do not deliver the hoped for energy performance, for example.  In order to avoid this happening, the Energy Saving Trust believes that the Permitted Development Rights should only apply to technologies and installers that have been fully accredited and meet noise control standards. This should be made clear to manufacturers.

There will be cases where local authorities wish to object to the installation of technologies, because they believe the benefits do not exceed the local impact. In these cases, and in order to avoid unreasonable "blanket rejections,” the burden of proof regarding the disbenefits should be on the local authority.

We also would also recommend that the Assembly Government considers extending the Permitted Development to community-scale renewable energy. Recent Energy Saving Trust research has highlighted the cost and carbon saving benefits of distributed energy generation at a community scale as opposed to on an individual scale¹. Capital outlay for householders acting as a community of 50 dwellings in a terraced setting can be reduced by between 18 and 41 per cent, depending on the technology considered.

As part of the research, we ran a workshop with key stakeholders to identify any barriers to community scale distributed energy. One of the main barriers was planning and permitting. Many community-based projects failed due to planning refusal or were abandoned or delayed due to the complexity and cost of the planning process. Workshop participants recommended that planning should at least be made easier for community projects and that planners had to be educated on renewables. Ideally, we would like to see community renewables projects, of an appropriate scale (to be determined by consultation), enabled under Permitted Development.

Better co-ordination between land-use planning and transport planning

The Energy Saving Trust believes that greater emphasis needs to be placed on measures to support consumer behaviour change and on the need for long term investment in low carbon vehicle infrastructure, public transport and planning measures to support a move away from car dependency. Land-use planning and transport planning can work together to provide safe, convenient and enjoyable alternative transport options to facilitate behaviour change.

Transport planning and land-use planning should follow the travel hierarchy outlined below, and resources and effort should be prioritised appropriately.

• Reduce the need to travel - land-use planning can ensure developments, including re-development, co-locate housing provision with other essential services.

• Walk or cycle - land-use and transport planning should ensure developments, including re-development, provide safe, convenient and enjoyable walking and cycling routes within and between developments and nearby facilities. Pedestrian and cyclist routes should be prioritised in transport planning, and form a larger part of transport investment. Walking and cycling routes should be provided as an integral part of all transport investment, as well as minimum standards for cycling parking.

• Public transport - land-use planning should ensure access to public transport and sufficient public transport provision. Public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure needs to be laid in advance to allow their use from the outset. Local development plans should be required to consider how public transport could be provided/improved as part of any major development or redevelopment. This should include safe, well lit and weatherproof bus and train stations and bus stops with good information provision.

• Drive or fly - good travel planning reduces the need for car parking spaces. Charging for parking spaces will reduce demand and revenues can be contributed to a low emission fund to provide low carbon facilities like electric re-charging infrastructure or cycling facilities.

Advice is already provided to Local Planning Authorities in this regard in Technical Advice Note 18: Transport. We strongly support this document and cannot overestimate how important the need for implementation of the travel hierarchy in land-use planning and transport planning is. It is essential that transport planners consider this as an integral part of all decisions made.

One Wales: Connecting the Nation (the Wales Transport Strategy) contains a commitment to ensure that decisions made on investment and land-use planning are consistent with cutting carbon equivalent emissions from transport. It is essential that this commitment is implemented and forms a key aspect of the National Transport Plan.

Consideration of what specific actions need to be taken to ensure better coordination between transport planners and land-use planners on a day to day basis would be more appropriate for land-use planning and transport planning professionals.

Current and proposed planning regimes for the consideration of large-scale energy projects in Wales

The Energy Saving Trust supports the Government’s broad energy policy and, in particular, the high priority for carbon emissions reductions and for investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy to deliver this.

The Energy Saving Trust does not have expertise on the complex economic and environmental issues associated with the development and use of nuclear power, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) or other large-scale generation technologies.

Changes that we would like to see to Technical Advice Note 8 (Planning and Renewable Energy)

The current Technical Advice Note (TAN) 8: Planning and Renewable Energy sets out the role of Local Planning Authorities in promoting and/or encouraging energy efficiency by design, community wind schemes, CHP systems, district heating, biomass heating, solar thermal and solar PV. It also states that Local Planning Authorities should consider the availability of renewable energy resources locally and develop suitable policies that promote their implementation (the Energy Saving Trust is part of the Assembly Government steering group which is overseeing the development of a Renewable Energy Toolkit to assist Local Planning Authorities in this regard).

TAN 8 is likely to need to be updated to reflect the proposed Sustainable Building Standards for larger developments. If the TAN is to be updated, the Energy Saving Trust suggest that it should have a stronger focus on the role of Local Planning Authorities in facilitating community distributed energy generation.

Other Technical Advice Notes (TANs) cover equally important aspects of the role of planning policy in reducing carbon dioxide emissions in Wales. 'TAN 12: Design’ addresses sustainable design, transport and movement, resource efficient layout and resource efficient buildings, and 'TAN 18: Transport’ explains the role of Local Planning Authorities in reducing demand for transport and promoting alternative transport options to the private car.

In addition, the Energy Saving Trust is currently assisting the Assembly Government with the production of a Technical Advice Note which will provide advice to Local Planning Authorities on the implementation of the proposed new Sustainable Building Standards for larger developments.

An update of Planning Policy Wales is proposed in revised Planning for Climate Change consultation. This is in order to set out the Assembly Government’s high level advice to Local Planning Authorities on climate responsive developments. It is essential that the revision also clarifies how the more detailed advice is set out across the four Technical Advice Notes (Design, Transport, Renewable Energy and the proposed Sustainable Building Standards TAN)

¹ Power in Numbers: The benefits and potential of distributed energy at the small community scale - A summary report for Wales. Energy Saving Trust, January 2009. Available at: www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/power-in-numbers

Appendix 1: Summary of Energy Saving Trust response to the Assembly Government’s revised proposals for planning for climate change

• The Energy Saving Trust fully supports the advancement of high energy standards for new buildings

• We support the adoption of Code Level 3 for all housing developments above 10 units or 1000m² combined floor space, in anticipation of the tightening of England and Wales building regulations to meet Code Level 3 CO₂ reductions in 2010. The adoption of the Code via planning policy brings additional benefits resulting from the consideration of the wider aspects of the Code for Sustainable Homes, for example, drying space, cycle storage, composting facilities etc

• We also support the adoption of minimum standards for commercial and non-domestic buildings as environmentally sustainable buildings in the public eye will help lead by example

• We would like to see these planning proposals set out in a clear strategy for new and existing low carbon housing in Wales. The strategy should outline how these proposals fit in with the zero carbon building aspiration and the devolution of building regulations.

• Whilst we support the Assembly’s ambition to stimulate the microgeneration market via a 'Merton plus’ style rule, we believe that CO₂ reduction standards should be set instead in order to encourage demand reduction before the installation of microgeneration technologies is considered or required.

• In particular, we believe that there should be minimum energy efficiency backstops to complement CO₂ reduction targets.

• If the Welsh Assembly Government wishes to set targets higher than Code Level 3, or to stimulate the micro-generation industry in Wales, we recommend that this should be achieved by requiring a higher standard of the Code e.g. Level 4

• However, there are relatively few Code Level 4 properties built in Wales or indeed in the rest of the UK to date. Therefore, if such standards were to be achieved there would need to be significant investment in training and skills in the construction industry in Wales, together with a comprehensive monitoring programme to assess the in-use energy performance and general liveability of the new home designs

• We support the utilisation of the Code as a means of ensuring planning officers without the appropriate technical knowledge do not have to assess the technical feasibility of energy related information being provided to them

• The Welsh Assembly Government must also consider how their powers can be used to improve the energy performance of existing buildings, for example, by pushing the UK government to include a requirement for consequential improvements in building energy performance in the 2010 building regulations, and pending the outcome of building regulations devolution, considering such a requirement for Welsh building regulations.

• The Energy Saving Trust has recently published a number of 'how to’ guides outlining how the energy standards of the Code for Sustainable Homes Levels 3, 4 and 5 can be met. These documents are available free to download on our website www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/housingbuildings. Technical advice is also available for building professionals via our technical advice hotline, and support for planners is available via our local authority support and Practical help programmes.

• Finally, we would like to complement the Planning Division on producing a consultation document which is very well written and easy to engage with. The document in concise and to the point, and it is easy to understand what is being proposed.