Part One: Spatial Strategy and Policies (Regulation 19)
Increasing efficiency and resilience
12.6. The Government have stated that all buildings need to be carbon net zero by 2050. Section 19 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (2004), Section 182 of the Planning Act (2008), the Planning and Energy Act (2008), and the NPPF all empower local planning authorities to enforce policies that seek to reduce carbon emissions from new homes.
12.7. The NPPF, in particular states, that plans should take a proactive approach to mitigating and adapting to climate change. As part of this, new development should be planned for in ways that can help to eliminate carbon emissions, such as through careful consideration of its location, orientation and design. The following Climate Change policies aim to ensure that future development address national energy and climate change objectives.
12.8. Policy DLP41 sets out how new development proposals will be required to demonstrate they are designed to maximise resistance and resilience to climate change through a range of design requirements.
Policy DLP41 Increasing Efficiency and Resilience Comment
- Development should be designed to mitigate climate change impacts and provide adaptations that will help communities and individuals to continue to avoid or mitigate adverse effects on human health. Proposals for development will need to demonstrate how they have been designed to maximise resistance and resilience to climate change through addressing the following requirements: -
- wherever feasible, new buildings will be orientated to maximise opportunities for both natural heating and ventilation and to reduce exposure to wind and other elements.
- development proposals that include and / or impact on transport infrastructure and / or which generate a significant number of person trips will need to meet the needs of all sections of the community by including a range of sustainable and low carbon transport modes as alternatives to private car use (see Policy DLP72.
- use of trees and other planting in landscaping schemes will be required throughout Dudley, to provide for the shading of amenity areas, buildings and streets, mitigate against poor air quality and help connect fragmented habitats and protect and support biodiversity networks.
- landscaping schemes should be designed using a mix of tree species and plants where appropriate and should also use species that are able to adapt to changing climate conditions (see Policies DLP33 and DLP34).
- all development will need to minimise the impact of surface water runoff through the design of proposed drainage systems, including where possible grey water recycling and rainwater collection, and the use of permeable surfaces. Schemes should also make provision for sustainable drainage infrastructure, which should be built into landscaping schemes / open space provision as appropriate (see Policies DLP45 and DLP46).
- development will be required to incorporate mitigation and resilience measures designed to reduce the risk of river, surface and other potential water flooding (see Policies DLP45 and DLP46).
- the conversion of non-domestic buildings to residential use will be expected to employ high environmental standards, incorporating improved thermal insulation, appropriate levels of natural ventilation and measures to improve water efficiency.
- proposals for increasing the energy efficiency and resilience to climate change of designated heritage assets will be supported only where this will not cause demonstrable harm to the historic fabric, character, setting or appearance of the asset.
Justification
12.9. Buildings, services, and infrastructure need to be able to cope with the impacts of climate change. Part of this will relate to ensuring that development is able to cope with more intense rainfall, the possibility of flooding, heat waves and droughts. The design of development therefore needs to address shading, insulation and ventilation, surface water runoff and storage and the use of appropriate tree planting and landscaping, to futureproof schemes against more extreme weather conditions.
12.10. Where possible and appropriate, the retrofitting of residential and other properties to achieve higher standards of energy and water efficiency will be encouraged and supported.
12.11. This policy should be read in conjunction with Policy DLP47, which covers the use of renewable and low carbon energy and energy-saving measures. It should also be read in conjunction with DLP39, which promotes good design including the management of water resources, and DLP44 and DLP45 which look in more detail at the control and mitigation of flooding and the provision of Sustainable urban Drainage Systems (SuDS).
12.12. DLP policies demonstrate that adaptation to and mitigation of climate change can be achieved across all forms of development. The PPG section on climate change[44] identifies examples of mitigating climate change such as:
- reducing the need to travel and providing for sustainable transport;
- requiring good design to enable the focus of travel to move away from the motor car to modes of "active travel" such as safe cycling and walking routes especially on new housing estates;
- providing opportunities for renewable and low-carbon energy technologies;
- providing opportunities for decentralised energy production and district heat networks; and
- promoting zero-carbon design approaches to reduce energy consumption in buildings, such as utilising passive solar design features.
Evidence
- Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (2004)
- Planning Act (2008)
- Planning and Energy Act (2008)
- UKCP18 Climate Change Projections Overland - Meteorological Office
- UK Climate Change Risk Assessment – Climate Change Committee
- CCC Sixth Carbon Budget[45]
- National Design Guidance
- West Midlands Combined Authority WM2041 Programme and Actions
- Historic England Energy Efficiency and Historic Buildings
- Dudley Council Climate Action Plan Phase One 2024-2027
Delivery
- Delivery will be secured through the development management processes, specifically through Planning and Design statements, energy plans and evidence accompanying planning applications.
- Planning conditions, CIL and Section 106 contributions.
[44] Planning Practice Guidance. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/climate-change
