Draft London Plan Consultation – Sustainability

The New London Plan has been released for consultation. This includes updated policies for sustainability and energy targets for new developments.

The current Chapter 5 of London’s Response to Climate Change has been replaced by Chapter 9, Sustainable Infrastructure. Envision has undertaken a review of the draft Plan. The key points are as follows:

• There is a major focus on air quality within London, particularly for developments subject to EIA and those within Opportunity Areas. These should be air quality positive, with all developments air quality neutral.
• Zero carbon targets in place for residential developments has been extended to major non-residential to meet zero carbon by the date the plan is adopted.
• Mandatory on site CO₂ reduction of 35% over Part L remains in place, but the minimum improvement will increase over time to achieve the zero carbon ambition by 2050.
• At the ‘be lean’ stage, developments are expected to exceed building regulations standards by energy efficiency measures alone. Residential development should achieve a 10% improvement over Part L from energy efficiency measures alone, whilst non-residential should aim to achieve a 15% improvement over Part L.
• Changes to the carbon offset price at £1800 tonne will be reviewed.
• Introduction of energy and carbon monitoring requirements to ensure planning conditions are met, thus closing the performance gap of buildings. This will be achieved through Display Energy Certificates (DECs) and reporting actual emissions to the Mayor via an online portal.
• Additional contents for energy statements has been clarified, including addressing air quality risks, overheating, demand-side response and energy storage, details of monitoring, and future-proofing to achieve zero carbon by 2050.
• Mayor is due to publish a new Sustainable Design and Construction SPG, replacing the current 2014 version.

Other aspects of sustainability policy appear largely unchanged. Envision will release a more in-depth review of the draft London Plan policies within the coming weeks. If you would like to make representations on matters in relation to sustainability, please contact us.