New Build v Retrofit
The new build v retrofit debate has come to the fore in recent years, especially in light of the 2022 public inquiry into the plans to demolish and rebuild Marks and Spencer’s flagship store on Oxford Street. It has been said this course of action will release circa 40,000 tonnes of embodied carbon into the environment – which is largely down to the construction of the new building. There is much debate about whether this figure could be reduced by retrofitting the existing building, as well as whether this release will or should be factored into the company’s total operational emissions.
This is a topic which is gaining traction, and assessment of embodied carbon needs to be addressed early in the design process to ensure that questions about the pros and cons of rebuild v retrofit can be answered before the planning process begins.
Environmental Targets
The Environment Act 2021 brought into force targets in four key priority areas – air quality, biodiversity, water and waste. Biodiversity is further ahead than the other areas due to this being part of the planning process for a while, but we have now seen a raft of new consultations regarding the other targets as well as the 23-year Environmental Improvement Plan which provides the overarching strategy for the targets to meet.
Once the targets are set, additional measures will be required to ensure a development or operation does not fall foul of the new regulations. For example, in relation to air quality, one of the targets is to reduce PM2.5 levels in the air. This will require mitigation measures to be implemented for any development which will increase PM2.5 levels in an area which is already subject to high concentrations.
Currently the Government is consulting on changes to the Environmental Impact Assessment regime with a focus on Environmental Outcomes. This is very much a watching brief as to how Environmental Outcome Reports will differ from Environmental Impact Assessments in light of the consultation responses. This could be a fundamental change to how environmental harm is reported and mitigated.
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)
November 2023 heralds the end of the BNG transitional period. After that point, it will be mandatory for all developments to provide 10% biodiversity net gain, when compared to the pre-development site.
Whilst some preparatory work for the end of the transition period has started, including the recent release of updated guidance on conservation covenants, there’s still a lot to be done.
Solutions are being provided through Section 106 Agreements which affect both onsite and offsite mitigation works. Biodiversity credits and the use of existing land banks are also delivering much needed solutions in the run up to the regulations being released.
Neutrality Issues
It looks like there is finally good news for those developments affected by nitrate neutrality issues. The proposal put forward in the Nature Markets Framework will reinforce the emerging natural capital market with BNG, phosphate and nitrate neutrality, water neutrality and flood risk all included within its scope. The new framework also gives support for stacking schemes.
While this is welcome progress, it will take some time to be set up and, in the meantime, developers need to think creatively about the available solutions for unlocking developments. Nitrate and water issues are easier to rectify than phosphorous issues which require the creation of more wetland habitat, and the improvement of the treatment of wastewater. Both of these remedies take time which developers don’t have when pushing for the completion of projects.
The schemes will come as a huge relief to developers across the country, who are currently prevented from building out by Natural England’s nutrient neutrality advice. However, they will also require developers to think creatively about land management and sustainable drainage solutions, and to add more upfront design time and cost in order for their schemes to be approved.