What we do

However, in recent years the planning system has also been used to address climate change.  This has often been reflected in detailed design specifications for the performance of new developments.  This trend is becoming more pronounced as the policy agenda on climate change becomes ever-more pervasive and the planning system has been obliged to factor in more and more matters that more realistically fit into later stages of project design. 

Although paragraph 30 of the current PPS1 suggests that local planners should factor sustainability into account in making their decisions, the paragraph also says that policies should not replicate, cut across or detrimentally affect matters within the scope of other legislative requirements, such as those set out in building regulations for energy efficiency.  Killian Pretty (November 2008)[1] recognised that planning policy was increasingly being required to deliver more and more diverse objectives. 

[1] http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/government/en/1115315772911.html

This variance in requirements between local authorities is compounded by a significant lack of necessary expertise among local authority planning staff, many of whom are not best placed to make decisions on sustainability technologies, which are better left to building control. 

All too often, however, the interface between planning and building control is indistinct and the frequency of their interaction varies between local authorities: building control officers do not monitor planning permissions and planners are very often unaware of the technical requirements that are included in the building regulations for different types of building.

We believe that energy performance of buildings naturally belongs in building regulations, which set clear standards for the industry to follow. We would argue that the planning system should instead focus on its original purpose, which is to take a local perspective on energy and environmental impacts.