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The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) and Friends of
the Earth have today welcomed the triple announcement by the
Housing Minister, John Healey MP, of the three new Planning Policy
Statements (PPS), £10 million funding towards helping local
authorities knowledge and expertise in planning for climate change
and the addition of two new names to the ‘second wave’
Eco-towns programme.
TCPA Chief Planner, Dr Hugh Ellis said:
“This is an historic moment. Planning can, and must,
address the critical need to reshape our society and economy into a
positive low carbon future. In the aftermath of the failure of
Copenhagen it is now crucial that we drive transformational change
by empowering communities to deal with their energy need. This
policy is one the most dramatic and significant steps forward in
the development of spatial planning. The profession has to step up
to the challenge of taking communities to a low carbon
future.”
Friends of the Earth’s Renewable Energy Campaigner Nick
Rau said:
“Tackling climate change must be at the core of the
planning system – and these reforms are a significant step
towards a low-carbon future.”
“Local authorities have a vital role to play in ensuring that UK carbon reduction targets are met by boosting green development and preventing carbon-hungry projects from being approved.”
TCPA Interim Chief Executive, Kate Henderson said:
“It is fantastic news that Government has listened to the
Planning and Climate Change Coalition, led by the TCPA and Friends
of the Earth, to create a new planning policy which will put
planning for climate change at the heart of decision-making. The
Government is right to expect that planning will continue to
provide for the development needs of all the community, contribute
to housing supply and economic growth as well as support social
justice.”
“We need urgent strategic action at the national and local level to combat this challenge and this new policy will help transform the system’s ability to deliver this. Building on the lessons from our European project on climate adaptation we are particularly pleased to see the emphasis on bringing forward adaptation options to improve community resilience to the real threats of climate change, paying specific attention to the impacts on the most vulnerable groups.”
“The TCPA is also delighted to see that the Coalition’s recommendation to boost training and skills for planners and elected members has been heard, with nearly £10 million being allocated to empower local authorities to approve more renewable energy projects and sustainable housing.”
The TCPA looks forward to working with all the major political parties in taking forward this critical agenda to ensure that the much needed transformational change to make our communities resilient to climate change takes place.
The Climate Change PPS, Planning for a Low Carbon Future in a Changing Climate, combines and updates the existing planning policy statements on climate change (PPS1 supplement) and renewable energy (PPS22). This document sets out how planning should mitigating climate change and adapting to its impacts.
