UK planning and environmental regulations are changing rapidly and becoming increasingly complex. Developments are long term projects, so it’s never been more important for developers to keep a keen eye on forthcoming changes, in order to anticipate and overcome any obstacles that may arise.
Brownfield first
With the Government strongly promoting, once again, the re-use of brownfield land this topic is back under the spotlight. However, there are a couple of key issues with the policy as it stands.
The NPPF states that planning policies and decisions should promote the “effective use of land”, making “as much use as possible of previously developed or ‘brownfield’ land”, but despite Campaign to Protect Rural England’s claim that there is enough brownfield land to meet the current housing demand, research has shown this is not the case.
The policy also does not provide for a reduction of contributions for CIL, Section 106 Agreements or biodiversity net gain when re-developing brownfield land which inevitably has contamination and previous issues that may be incompatible with residential development. This can cause viability issues when remediation of the land is costly.
Planning Politics
Over recent years, we have seen the rise of politics in planning. Whilst planning has always been political at a local level with local councillors campaigning for and against certain developments, we are now seeing this replicated by members of central government. Amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, the pulling of the Planning White Paper in 2021, and changes to the NPPF have all played a part in many local authorities delaying or removing local plans – all adding to the delay and uncertainty that the development sector faces.
Recently, the Secretary of State has called in and refused planning applications for much needed housing which have been recommended for approval by the Planning Inspector – meaning, by this point the schemes will have been thoroughly tested. This suggests there is some pressure from Government and backbench MPs to object to schemes in their constituencies which may be controversial.
And there’s still so much left to be finalised, not least the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which is slowly making its way through the parliamentary process. In May 2023 the Government announced that it was scrapping the ‘sunset clause’, meaning that all but c.600 Retained EU Laws (REULs) will be kept for now. This is a welcome decision in our opinion, avoiding multiple gaps in legislation that may have harmed the UK’s efforts on improving environmental protection.
ESG and the Route to Net Zero
Businesses continue to assess their net zero journeys and environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies to see how their targets can be met. This is now forming part of the planning application process, with local planning authorities scrutinising applications to ensure developments don’t cause councils to breach ESG strategies.
Net zero policies play an important role in an organisation’s ESG strategy with many setting targets to achieve net zero before 2050. In March 2023 the Government republished its Net Zero strategy in light of last year’s court case brought by ClientEarth, Friends of the Earth, Good Law Project and environmental campaigner Jo Wheatley, as well as Chris Skidmore’s review which said the original strategy was unlawful as it did not meet the legally binding target set by the Paris Agreement.
The new policy is currently being reviewed by environmental groups, so we wait to see if there will be further court action. What is already clear is the real need for businesses to get going on net zero or risk being left behind.
Setting the curve is clothing brand Patagonia, which announced in 2022 that “we’re making Earth our only shareholder”. The shift sees Patagonia moving away from making environmental commitments that simply support its brand values, and instead, delivering value to its main shareholder, and in doing so preserving the raw materials and supply chain that support the business. It remains to be seen if, and to what extent others will follow suit.
Renewable Energy and Energy Reduction
We have all seen our energy bills increase over recent years. The ability to deliver cheap and secure forms of renewable energy, whether on a small scale such as your own rooftop solar panels to large offshore windfarms, is critical to meeting Britain’s energy needs as well as reducing emissions to meet the net zero target by 2050.
Providing onsite renewable energy, as well as delivering buildings which are energy efficient, will be crucial for future proofing developments, especially those that are occupier led where the energy performance will be monitored.
The recently formed Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published ‘Powering Up Britain’ in March 2023. This document provides an outline for the delivery of alternative sources of energy to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels, how it will deliver carbon capture and storage solutions and therefore reach net zero by 2050.
As such, there is and will continue to be a requirement to address the energy demands of a development – whether that be housing, commercial or industrial.