Campaign gets off to a flying start as Government commits to update planning policy on climate change

The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) has hailed today’s Renewable Energy Strategy as the Government responds to calls to ‘climate proof’ planning. The social justice and environmental charity especially welcomes the Government’s pledge to “update PPS1 and PPS22 so as to ensure they set a clear and challenging framework for delivering energy infrastructure and cutting carbon emissions consistent with national ambitions.”

TCPA Chief Executive Gideon Amos OBE said:
“Much of what is proposed in the Strategy depends upon good planning. While new legislation going forward under the Planning Act 2008 for the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) and a National Policy Statement (NPS) on renewable energy will help ensure major projects go forward, such as large scale wind farms (over 100 MW offshore or 50MW onshore), the TCPA believes that the challenge for planning should be to deliver more of our energy benignly and closer to the communities it serves. That is why we are working in partnership with Friends of the Earth and a range of cross sector coalition partners to call for a new planning policy statement on climate change to help ensure that local authorities play their part in tackling climate change and that renewable energy targets are met. The commitment in the Renewable Energy Strategy to consult on a new combined climate change PPS by the end of 2009 is a clear indication that the Government is listening to this important coalition and it is a powerful foundation for our work.”

Given the scale of the climate change challenge and the shift in acceptance that will be required to meet our renewable energy targets there is a clear need for updated national policy. This policy should reflect the latest climate science and provide clearer specific guidance as to the weight to be given to climate change in planning. This will demand action from local authorities and their planners at the regional, sub-regional and city scales as well as at the community and neighbourhood scale where some of the greatest opportunities exist.

Both the science and solutions that relate to climate change are moving at an unprecedented pace. The current planning policy framework on climate reflects the available thinking in 2007 before the Climate Change Act - it also pre-dates the UK’s commitment to producing 15% of total energy from renewables by 2020 and the challenging legally-binding "carbon budgets", which require a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 34% by 2020 and at least 80% by 2050. Therefore, the TCPA welcomes the Government’s emphasis on the importance of reforming the planning system to ensure delivery of these essential targets.

TCPA Energy Policy Manager Kate Henderson said:
“If we are serious about meeting these targets and the longer term objectives beyond 2020, then we have to accept what comes with this decision. Places will need to look, feel and operate differently. There will be more visible renewable technologies across the landscape such as onshore wind, and whilst planning is vital in helping resolve the implications of these, there is no getting away from the fact that there needs to be general acceptance for change. The TCPA believes that strong political commitment at the national, regional and local level is needed in order to drive change and reinforce the urgent need for action on climate change.”

Updated planning policy for climate change will need to be supported by the right regulatory regime that makes it simple for renewable suppliers to access the grid. Local engagement and consensus building will also be vitally important to delivery of our climate change objectives. It should be made clear that planning is not the only constraint.