CS22 Sustainable construction

The NPPF requires local planning authorities to ensure that development plans contribute to global sustainability by addressing the causes and potential impacts of climate change through policies which reduce energy use, reduce emissions and promote the development of renewable energy. It also requires local planning authorities to set out a clear and evidence-based local policy framework through which development proposals are to be assessed in terms of measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and resilience to changes in climate. Where local circumstances warrant higher standards of energy efficiency, LZC (low or zero carbon) energy and climate change resilience these will be clearly expressed and evidenced.

Woking Borough Council has commissioned a climate change, renewable, decentralised and low carbon energy study to provide evidence to justify its specific requirements on development in the Borough. Furthermore, the Council has the commitment and credentials to manage and facilitate the delivery of the Core Strategy to achieve these targets. The Council leads by example and in 2010 work was completed on ten new affordable family homes in the Borough which were built to a very high environmental standard to demonstrate that the targets can be achieved. The scheme was designed to blend with the traditional architectural style in the Borough but achieved Code for Sustainable Homes level five and is believed to be the first mainstream housing project to have been built to this level in the UK.

The approach is underpinned by the Council's Climate Change Strategy which was first adopted in 2002. This comprehensive strategy recognises the contribution that all council services can make towards climate change mitigation and adaptation and aligns with the target reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions set out in the UK Climate Change Act (of at least 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, both against a 1990 baseline). The strategy is divided into ten key themes, one of which is Planning and Regulation, recognising the significance this policy area can have in reducing local area emissions.

The Government has set the objective for all new houses to be zero carbon by 2016 and non-domestic buildings by 2019. A number of measures are proposed in order to meet these standards, combining significantly improved energy efficiency along with widespread deployment of renewable and low carbon energy supply systems. Stepped tightening of standards of energy efficiency is proposed through amendments to Part L of the Building Regulations. The initial revisions were introduced in October 2010, with further revision planned for 2013. Even with the definition of a "zero carbon home" being clarified in 2011 to only including "regulated" energy, that from heating, fixed lighting, hot water and building services and not covering the emissions related to "unregulated" energy use from cooking or from plug-in electrical appliances such as computers or televisions, a number of steps are going to be required to meet the zero carbon target.

Despite high standards for energy efficiency and widespread use of LZC energy, achieving zero carbon emissions through on-site measures alone may be prohibitively costly and may not be technically possible for all types of residential and non-domestic buildings. Therefore the proposals include measures termed `Allowable Solutions' to address the `residual' emissions through funding a range of off-site measures. Allowable Solutions for homes that have been discussed include increased levels of carbon compliance, exports of low carbon or renewable heat from the development to other developments, and investments in low and zero carbon community heat infrastructure. Allowable Solutions will be expected to mitigate the carbon emissions from a home for around 30 years after it is built. It is likely that a maximum price will be set by government for each tonne of residual emissions to be met by the development industry through Allowable Solutions. The Council will seek to ensure funding from Allowable Solutions arising from developments in the borough is used to support a programme of low and zero carbon measures within the local community in Woking Borough.

The hierarchy of steps for achieving zero carbon

CS22: Sustainable construction

New residential development on previously developed land will be required to meet the energy and Carbon Dioxide (CO²) and water components of the Code for Sustainable Homes level 3 (or any future national requirement) from now until 31 March 2013, the energy and CO² and water components of at least Code level 4 from 1 April 2013 and the energy and CO² and water components of Code level 5 from 1 April 2016. New residential development is encouraged to meet the full requirements of each Code level, with particular encouragement for the material and ecology elements. Where the scale, nature and location of a development would justify a higher Code level, the Council will negotiate with developers to achieve that because of the lower cost of developing such sites.

New residential development on greenfield sites will be required to meet the Code for Sustainable Homes level 5 (or any future national requirement) from now because of the relatively lower cost of developing such sites. The Council will consider a case based on evidence of viability if an applicant can demonstrate that the requirement for code level 5 cannot be met. This will be considered on a case by case basis.

New non-residential development of 1,000m² or more (gross) floorspace is required to comply with BREEAM very good standards (or any future national equivalent).

All new development should consider the integration of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) or other forms of low carbon district heating in the development. All new development in proximity of an existing or proposed CHP station or district heating network will be required to be connected to it unless it can be demonstrated that a better alternative for reducing carbon emissions from the development can be achieved. Details of the zones where connection will be required will be set out in an SPD and will be determined by factors such as the capacity of the existing CHP network, distance from it and physical constraints.

The evidence base¹⁵ sets out the locations in the Borough which have significant potential for CHP or other forms of low carbon district heating networks. Subject to technical feasibility and financial viability, all development within these zones will be required to be designed and constructed to enable connection to the future network.

Applications for developments with exceptionally high total energy consumption, such as large leisure facilities with a high heat demand or buildings with exceptionally high power/cooling loads (such as data centres), will be required to reduce the total carbon emissions from the development by 10% through the use of renewable energy measures on site.

Where it can be demonstrated that the standards set out in this policy cannot be met on site, permission will only be granted if the applicant makes provision for compensatory energy and CO² and water savings elsewhere in the Borough equivalent to the carbon savings which would have been made by applying this policy.

The Council will encourage proposals for residential extensions and non-residential developments of 1,000m² or less (gross) floorspace to incorporate energy and water efficiency measures.

The Council will develop and adopt its Allowable Solutions framework when legislated. The Council will seek to ensure funding from Allowable Solutions arising from developments in the borough is used to support a programme of low and zero carbon measures within the local community in Woking Borough.

The standards set out in the policy will be reviewed to reflect any future change in national standards and/or any equivalent standards that might be introduced.

Electric vehicle charging points

The Council is actively promoting electric vehicle charging points and has already provided a number of these in the Borough. These are of particular value when the electricity source is low carbon. Details of when new development will be expected to provide electric vehicle charging points or when a contribution towards public charging points will be required, will be set out in an SPD.

Design and construction

The design of all new developments will be required to take account of layout, landform, orientation and landscaping to maximise efficient use of energy and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The design of all new developments should facilitate the reduction of waste and the recycling and composting of the waste produced.

All developments should consider the use of sustainable construction techniques that promote the reuse and recycling of building materials. All development is encouraged to use responsible resourcing of materials and is encouraged to source materials locally. All new residential development is encouraged to meet the `materials' elements of the Code.

Checklist

All applications for new development should include a completed copy of the Council's climate neutral checklist (with the exception of very minor development such as minor exterior alterations).

Ecology and biodiversity

All development is encouraged to make biodiversity enhancements such as green roofs and bird and bat boxes. All new residential development is encouraged to meet the `ecology' elements of the Code.

The Minimum % Improvement in Dwelling Emission Rate over 2010 Target Emission Rate (TER) and Maximum Indoor Water Consumption in Litres/ Person/Day required in order to meet the equivalent Code for Sustainable Home Standards set out in the policy are set out in Table 5.

Reasoned justification

The way in which developments are regulated, planned and built and the way in which resources are used to do this can determine whether or not they are sustainable. By simply re-evaluating how and where we build things we can reduce emissions and help adapt to the effects that climate change will bring about. Factors such as location, layout and landscape are all important as well as the use of climate neutral technologies.

Local evidence shows that the infrastructure in the Borough and the stresses placed upon it justify going further than the minimum requirements set at a national level. This evidence includes an Economic Viability Assessment.

Construction methods used and standards of buildings can help to reduce these effects and the design of buildings can ensure they are able to adapt better to the changing climate. Buildings are responsible for almost half of the country's carbon emissions, half of our water consumption, about one third of landfill waste and one quarter of all raw materials used in the economy¹⁶.

All developments should consider the use of sustainable construction techniques that promote the reuse and recycling of building materials. This is to achieve more sustainable forms of development including the conservation of important mineral resources. This is considered particularly important given that Surrey is likely to become increasingly reliant on recycled aggregates and imported marine sharp sand and gravel towards the end of the plan period as land won resources capable of being worked within the county without breaching environmental constraints rapidly diminish.

The Code for Sustainable Homes (the Code) is the national standard for the sustainable design and construction of new homes. The Code is the Government's preferred system for measuring the performance of new homes. The Code aims to reduce carbon emissions and create homes that are more sustainable. The code has six levels with mandatory requirements at each regarding energy and water usage (see Table 5), surface water run-off and waste. It also covers the categories of pollution, health and well-being (which incorporates Lifetime Home Standards), management and ecology but with flexibility over which standards to choose to achieve a specific Code rating. The attainment of higher Code levels requires the incorporation of renewable energy production. In 2008 the Government set out their intention to bring in the energy efficiency improvement equivalent to the Code's energy standards through stepped changes to the Building Regulations as set out in Table 4 below. "Zero carbon" was defined in March 2011.

Table 4: Anticipated timetable of improvements to Part L of the Building Regulations and equivalent standards within the Code for Sustainable Homes

Date	2010	2013	2016
Energy efficiency improvement of the dwelling compared to 2006 Part L (Building Regulations)	25%	44%	Zero Carbon
Energy efficiency improvement of the dwelling compared to 2010 Part L (Building Regulations)	0%	25%	Zero carbon*
Equivalent standard within the Code for Sustainable Homes	Code level 3	Code level 4	Code level 6

Date

2010

2013

2016

Energy efficiency improvement of the dwelling compared to 2006

Part L (Building Regulations)

25%

44%

Zero Carbon

Energy efficiency improvement of the dwelling compared to 2010

Part L (Building Regulations)

25%

Zero carbon*

Equivalent standard within the Code for Sustainable Homes

Code level 3

Code level 4

Code level 6

Source rows 1 and 3: DCLG 2008: Greener homes for the future.

Source row 2: Code for Sustainable Homes Technical Guide (Nov 2010).

*Zero carbon was defined in the Government's Plan for Growth (March 2011) as including the carbon dioxide emissions from energy use that are covered by Building Regulations. This "regulated" energy includes those from heating, fixed lighting, hot water and building services. They do not cover the emissions related to "unregulated" energy use from cooking or from plug-in electrical appliances such as computers or televisions.

Table 5: Code levels for mandatory minimum standards in CO2 emissions

Code Level	Minimum % improvement in dwelling emission rate over 2010 target emission rate (TER)	Maximum indoor water consumption in litres/person/day
Level 1	0%	120
Level 2	0%	120
Level 3	0%	105
Level 4	25%	105
Level 5	100%	80
Level 6	Net Zero CO2 Emissions	80

Source: Code for Sustainable Homes Technical Guide (Nov 2010)

Despite its limited size and other physical constraints, there is a significantly greater level of existing renewable and low carbon energy in Woking than in many other boroughs of comparable, or indeed, larger size. The reasons behind this are set out in detail in the evidence base and can be summarised as:

a strong and early lead taken by the local authority through investing in decentralised energy since the1990s
well-established delivery partners, including one of the first Energy Services Companies (ESCO) in the UK
consistent and assertive use of planning powers and tools to secure investment in decentralised energy through new development for over five years.

Future Water, the Government's Water Strategy for England¹⁷ was published in February 2008 and sets out the Government's vision for the water sector by 2030. Future Water maps out how the above overarching target of reducing domestic water usage to 130 litres per person per day, can be achieved from a current estimate of 150 litres of water used by every person in Britain per day. Average water usage in Woking is estimated to be 170 litres per person per day. The Government introduced Building Regulations to improve the water efficiency of new homes from 6 April 2010¹⁸. This required a whole building standard of 125 litres per person per day.

The region's level of water stress combined with higher than average levels of water consumption in the Borough, the existing infrastructure in the town centre, and the scale of development required by the strategy justify sustainable construction requirements in advance of the proposed national programme. This policy will apply to all new development in the Borough. Special requirements will apply for Greenfield development because of the relatively lower cost of developing such sites.

The establishment of the Thameswey Group of companies by the Council in 1999, which includes two ESCos (Thameswey Energy Limited and Thameswey Central Milton Keynes Limited), has enabled the Council to progress its investment in decentralised energy infrastructure through a Special Purpose Vehicle. This has established a robust commercial business platform on which to base further expansion of energy infrastructure and diversify its customer base. The infrastructure available in the town centre and elsewhere in the Borough has made Woking Borough Council a name synonymous with tackling climate change, and has given the Council an almost unique position. Development in parts of the town centre can connect to an existing district heating network today and through Thameswey the practical infrastructure is already in place to supply, bill and service customers.

On sites where it has been proved to be unviable for developments to meet the standards set out in policy CS22 on-site, one way that applicants could achieve equivalent energy and water savings elsewhere in the Borough would be to make a financial contribution to the Council to enable it to help to find schemes that would make the savings. The Council will publish updates of energy and water schemes that will be eligible and the cost per tonne of carbon dioxide and per cubic metre of water saved.

Delivery Strategy

The Council will prepare and keep under review a Climate Change SPD which will provide detailed information regarding the implementation and delivery of this policy. Specifically, the SPD will include:

the zones within which all new development will be required to connect to a CHP station or district heating network
advice on the open book approach to viability assessments
details of the Allowable Solutions framework and the Council's carbon offset fund.

The Council's key partner in delivering the strategy is ESCo Thameswey Energy Limited which has enabled the Council to progress its investment in decentralised energy infrastructure through a Special Purpose Vehicle.

The Core Strategy has strong links with the Climate Change Strategy and each document supports the delivery of the other. The Council will work with community groups such as Local Agenda 21 to deliver both strategies.

Monitoring and Review

This policy will be measured against the following indicators and targets annually through the AMR.

% of new development achieving each Code standard.
Tonnes of CO² saved.
% of commercial development which is BREEAM good, very good or excellent (%s for each).

Key evidence base

Climate Change, Decentralised, Renewable and Low Carbon Evidence Base, produced by ecsc, 2010.

Woking Borough Council Climate Change Strategy, 2008.

¹⁵Climate Change and decentralised, Renewable and Low Carbon Energy Evidence Base, June 2010, ecsc

¹⁶Strategy for Sustainable Construction, HM Government, 2008

¹⁷Future Water, the Government's water Strategy for England, Defra, February 2008.

¹⁸Building (Amendment) Regulations 2009: New Part G in Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations and new minimum water efficiency requirements. The Amendment Regulations were due to come into force on 1 October 2009 but this was postponed to 6 April 2010 by circular 10/2009.