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Construction and Planning

1. Why is Construction and Planning important?

Domestic buildings account for 27% of all carbon emissions
Construction and demolition produces around 109 million tonnes of waste, half of which goes to landfill and 13 million tonnes of which are new materials that have been over-ordered
Construction and demolition waste accounts for one fifth of all recorded fly-tipping incidents
Government has recommended that 200,000 new homes pa are built in England until 2021
The areas on or around buildings can provide valuable habitat - 20% of the capitals surface area is made up of domestic gardens, which contain 70 % of the city's 5.5m trees
It costs around £800 per house to achieve a 25% improvement in the overall sustainability of that house (EA estimates) and save residents around £140 per annum in utility bills
The rising cost of energy, water and landfill mean that sustainable design and construction will become increasingly cost effective and therefore crucial in managing both occupier's and council budgets and maintaining affordable warmth for more vulnerable groups of residents
Higher standards of water efficiency can cut water use by around 40%
Building more sustainable homes (and offices and schools) helps to raise awareness of the environment and make sustainability an integral part of everybody's life
Planning more sustainable communities can help create a virtuous circle, where improvements made primarily for their environmental impact can bring about a number of beneficial consequences for the economic and social well-being of residents. This can help councils achieve a range of objectives on health, equality, social cohesion and safety.

2. How do authorities develop strategies to achieve more sustainable buildings?

National Policy and Guidance gives the overall direction for sustainable building policies and targets. The Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) sets out what is required in the Local Development Documents (LDF) with regard to sustainable building. The Core Strategy Development Plan Document gives the overall vision for sustainable building in the authority area, drawing on any strategies of the authority and other organisation with implications for the development of land. Supplementary Planning Documents and Development Plan Documents provide specific requirements on sustainable building and information on how to meet these.

A range of organisations are working to ensure construction and planning adopt high standards of sustainable design and construction that cover the whole building and site and the life cycle of the building. These include the Planning Officers Society, Planning Advisory Service, BRE, WRAP, TCPA, CABE, Countryside Agency, as well as government, environmental NGOs and individual developers and the construction industry.

3. Where can I find out more / links to further information

Visit the Greening Communities campaign pages on the LGA's website for more information on ideas for action, what we need from central government and background legislation. The LGA's Leading the Way Vision document gives more detail on issues relating to housing and planning, the local authority role and a long term vision for sustainable neighbourhoods
The Building Research Establishment (BRE), administers Eco-Homes and BREEAM building assessment techniques for improving the environmental performance of buildings
The Planning Officers Society (POS) promotes Local Government planning, advises the Government and the LGA on planning matters and related issues, acts as a centre of excellence, undertakes research and promotes best practice in planning matters
The Planning Advisory Service (PAS) supports local authority planning departments and promotes improvement and the sharing of good practice
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is working with CLG and BRE to produce regional sustainability checklists. Their One Million Sustainable Homes Campaign also includes useful information and reports.
CABE have produced a 'value' handbook, to help authorities promote good design in building. Visit their website for more information on this and other publications relevant to planning
Constructing Excellence is an organisation that includes industry, clients, government and the research community. Its aim is to improve performance in the built environment

4. Construction and Planning Networks

Planning Officers Society (POS)
Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH)

5. General News

Site Waste Management Plans

The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 included a requirement that all construction and demolition projects over the value of £250,000 should include a site waste management plan.

The Plans are due to come into force in early 2008 and are designed to help developers and contractors achieve better resource efficiency, limit the waste they produce and ensure all waste is managed, recovered and disposed of appropriately. The Plans promote efficient design and construction methods by requiring projects to forecast how much of each type of waste they will produce and to record how much will be reused or recycled. The Plans will also record who takes waste away from a site, waste carrier registration and final disposal or recovery site. The aim is to simplify the administration of waste documentation and close the market for illegal waste 'cowboys' who often fly-tip such waste.

Code for Sustainable Homes

This new Code was published by CLG in December 2006, alongside a draft Planning Policy Statement on Planning for Climate Change and draft policy on Zero Carbon Development.

The Code is an initiative by Government and Industry to actively promote the transformation of the building industry towards more sustainable practices, by requiring buildings that use:

Energy resources more efficiently
Water resources more efficiently
Material resources more efficiently
Practices and materials designed to safeguard occupants' health and well being

The principal objective of the ode is to become the single national standard for sustainable building that all sectors of the building industry will subscribe to and consumers demand. It will be mandatory for publicly funded homes and voluntary for private housing (but mandatory from April 2008). It does not yet apply to other types of buildings or existing buildings.

It aims to promote more sustainable building practices so that today's best practice becomes tomorrow's standard practice. It will do this by a 'sustainability rating system' of one to six stars, with six stars being a completely zero carbon home. It is planned to progress towards the zero carbon standard in stages so that this becomes the normal standard for all new homes by 2016.

The Code sets minimum standards of energy and water efficiency, together with suggested standards for a range of other measures on materials, waste, biodiversity etc. The Code is designed to ensure that new housing has less impact on the environment, with significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions and an improved adaptability to climate change.

The Code is designed to benefit consumers, housing providers and builders as well as the environment.

The Code's sustainability rating system encourages features such as more use of natural light and materials, more adaptable designs, on-site recycling and composting and ecological enhancements.

Assessment will be similar to current BRE EcoHomes. Builders will receive a certificate of the overall sustainability rating for the home and occupiers will be able to access useful information on the sustainability performance of the home.

Benefits for occupiers include lower running costs, a more pleasant living environment and the ability to exercise their choice of a more sustainable home and lifestyle
Benefits to local authorities and housing providers will include lower running costs that will help reduce fuel poverty; demonstrable sustainability features which can link to wider strategies to reduce the local environmental footprint; the potential to support local markets for environmental products and services
Benefits for builders include flexibility to meet the standards using a variety of measures; the appeal to a growing demand for more sustainable products and regulatory certainty that future building regulations will move towards these higher levels of sustainability

LGA position statement on Sustainable Building

The LGA's current Position Statement on Sustainable Building is available here.

6. Planning Policies for Sustainable Building

A report - Planning Policies for Sustainable Building - Guidance for Local Development Frameworks - contains suggested approaches and guidance to help all local authorities ensure their planning policies promote sustainable design and construction.

The report and guidance is the outcome of a joint project between the LGA, Planning Officers Society, Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), Planning Advisory Service (PAS), Sustainability Forum and the London Borough of Enfield. The partners worked with consultants to research current advice, identify excellent standards, review good practice and understand the drivers and barriers to implementing ambitious planning policy.

The result is a set of suggestions and guidance on sustainable design and construction, which the LGA and Planning Officers Society are now recommending to all authorities. The suggestions and guidance are designed to make the case to planners, as well as developers and future occupants, for setting higher standards on a range of issues, including carbon, water, materials, recycling, and biodiversity. These are intended to ensure that the impact of new buildings on the environment is minimised, both during construction and over their whole life cycle. The suggestions and guidance are designed to be easily disseminated and taken up by all authorities across the country. The guidance also includes recommendations on effective enforcement and monitoring of more demanding planning policies.

The report contains a number of case studies and links for further information. Additional related documents include the results of a survey of Heads of Planning on current practice, a Literature review of all current advice and guidance on sustainable design and construction and a skills matrix for the construction industry to enable it to achieve more sustainable buildings.

Please use Adobe Reader to view all links to PDF documents.

Case studies on this website

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