The City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee has approved new sustainability guidance for the built environment sector, which will be adopted within the coming weeks.
The new Planning for Sustainability Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), provides guidance on how developers should approach the City Corporation’s sustainability policies in their planning applications, including the design and construction of buildings. It provides constructive and City-specific advice, supporting planning applicants in achieving the best practice outcomes for their sites. It also contributes to the wider sustainability of the Square Mile and the City of London.
Developed and refined in consultation with the public, industry experts, and through insights gained from shaping the best-in-class sustainable building proposals that have come forward, the SDP is a critical step in supporting the Square Mile to achieve net zero by 2040. It aims to build climate resilience and champion sustainable growth.
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Five main sustainability themes are covered in the SPD, applicable to all development proposals within the City. They include:
Retrofit and reuse – Promotes the reuse of existing buildings and supports the City’s ‘Retrofit First’ approach.
Greenhouse Gas emissions and Energy Use – Includes measures to reduce whole-life cycle carbon and operational energy emissions.
Circular Economy – Encourages a shift from a linear to circular waste model in a building’s construction and operation to minimise waste through a building’s life cycle.
Climate Resilience – Sets out how developments should address flood risk management, water management, building and urban overheating, pest and disease control, and infrastructure resilience
Urban greening and Biodiversity – Sets out how to protect, conserve and enhance biodiversity, habitats, and green infrastructure in the Square Mile.
Key areas of change in response to consultation include guidance about the City Corporation’s ‘Retrofit First’ approach, and on the application of the NABERS UK target, a performance-based rating scheme that measures the energy consumption of a building. The target is 5 stars for new office developments and 4 stars for retrofitted office developments. In addition, another area of change will be introducing embodied carbon benchmarking, aligning to the Greater London Authority embodied carbon benchmarks.
If applications do not achieve the upfront embodied carbon benchmarks at the planning stage, developments will be expected to go above and beyond in their delivery of wider environmental sustainability benefits for the Square Mile. For example, this could include creating or extending local energy networks, supporting sustainable transport modes through significant public realm upgrades, implementing City climate resilient infrastructure such as ‘cool routes’, or providing skills and training opportunities in sustainable construction.
Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transport Committee, Shravan Joshi, said:
“The Committee’s approval of the Planning for Sustainability SPD is a major step forward for the City Corporation in pursuit of its decarbonisation goals. This new guidance provides transparency to the built environment sector, encouraging it to come with us on this journey, as we see continued confidence and demand for high quality, sustainable office space in the Square Mile.
“The City of London is home to some of the most sustainable commercial buildings on the planet and as it continues to be a hugely attractive place for office occupiers, we are setting the pace globally for sustainable design, with the delivery of the next generation of new and retrofit developments, to attract the best global talent, innovators and high growth businesses.”
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