Climate Change Adaption, a service perspective –

the role of Land Use Planning

Barry Wyatt, Strategic Head of Development services Stroud DC

Adaptation or Mitigation

• Mitigation – Actions to reduce CO2 emissions.

• Adaptation - Actions to respond to the inevitable consequences of climate change.

• Adaptation, Mitigation and Resilience

- Decentralised renewable energy

How Can Planning Influence Adaptation ?

• Reacting to development proposals via the Development Control process, refuse or grant permission but on policy grounds!

• Requiring specified standards or assessment criteria to be met.

• Proactively allocating land to promote specific uses, functions and structures.

• Protecting existing uses and structures

Challenges of the Local Development Framework LDF

• Core Strategy, LDDs, SPDs, DPDs

• Regional Spatial Strategy

• Inter boundary issues

• Skills and evidence base

• Policy Lag

Policy• Plethora of documents• Zero Carbon via the following CO2 reductions

targets:-

25% improvement in 2010CSH energy level 3

44% improvement in 2013CSH energy level 4

Zero carbon by 2016 CSH energy level 6

Climate Change Impacts • Rise in sea level

• Wetter winters

• Higher temperatures

• Dryer summers

• Warmer winters

• Increased frequency of extreme weather events

Rise In Sea Level and Wetter Winters

• Level 1 Strategic and local flood risk assessments informing the LDF and subsequent DPDs.

• Level 2 flood risk assessments • Surface Water Management Plans• Flood mitigation measures (SUDS and

beyond! Potential EA conflict)• Strategies for relocating the un-defendable,

and the socio economic impacts! • Perceived risks and insurance

Higher temperatures• Impact on living space environment - Layout and

location of developments to keep cool. • Increased energy demand for cooling – new designs,

energy assessments and renewable provision. (HIPs, EPCs, Changes to the Building Regulations)

• Agricultural change and landscape impact – protecting valuable landscapes and biodiversity (nature map and corridors)

• Pressures from recreation and tourism – enabling polices

Dryer summers• Soil shrinkage – structural problems

resulting in high redevelopment churn rates.

• Increased demand for water – decentralised supply to support new development at a site and community level.

Warmer winters

• Impact on biodiversity and the need for planning to respond – protection of sites from development, Impact assessments

• Impact on choice of building materials

Extreme Weather Events

• Disruption to transport – minimising the need to travel through the location of development.

• Disruption to services – decentralised provision of energy and water supplies.

• Flooding (river) – location of development and development type

• Flooding (surface) – SWMPs, attenuation and resilient drainage

Can We Deliver• Increased development costs and competing

planning objectives, need to balance with delivery (Para 32 PPS1)

• Renewables on or off site • Technical challenges• Skills and capacity gap• Capacity of the market to support Councils• Knowledge and understanding of both officers and

members• Is the market driving change?• New forms, following new functions

Planning and Building Control• Para 33 PPS1 (supplement) ‘Planning

authorities and those responsible for implementing the building regulations should work closely to ensure integrated and timely decisions under complimentary regimes.

• What future for Building Control • Approved Inspectors• Enforcement practicalities• New Focus on Building Regulations,

performance trading, whole house calcs

And finally…..