Climate Change Archives - Planning Design Ltd

Heritage…in the balance

28th November 202214th February 2022 by Gary Stringer

Ruth Gray, Heritage Assistant at Planning & Design Practice looks back at her time spent living in Australia, and how that continent’s natural heritage led her to re-evaluate the built heritage of her homeland, and why preserving our heritage buildings must take account of modern concerns such as climate change.

Personally, I had no idea what heritage meant to me until I went to live by the Murray River on the border of New South Wales and Victoria in Albury Wodonga Australia, and after a while realised what I felt was missing was my own heritage, for example the food was familiar but different, their customs around holidays were great but different. But it was the buildings that at the time I didn’t realise held so much within their construction that connect with you. Having a tin roof and wood constructed walls with single glazing and no insulation in one of the hottest countries left me yearning for solid brick and mortar with stable foundations beneath my feet. With all but a few stone buildings there is not much physical to connect you building wise to the past.

Australia has of course natural heritage in spades and the landscape speaks to the people of its past, but nature also takes away swiftly anything that gets in its way and being there during the Black Saturday fires of February 2009 which destroyed over 3000 buildings the impermanence made me think it was time for me to return to the UK. According to UNESCO: ‘Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration’. This I agree with our heritage is irreplaceable, once it is destroyed, we have all lost something. To pass it on is important but its not to say that it can’t develop.

The daily struggle in planning is the tension between the clients who want to change and evolve their properties and those who push against those changes. I am all for preserving our heritage but not at the expense of keeping every single thing set in its time forever we must evolve especially in light of climate change and improve our buildings carbon footprints. I believe Australian buildings have moved on in the last 15 years since I was there as they continue to bear the brunt of environmental disasters. Locally technological changes with innovative products (for example, double glazing that mimics single glazing) means that we can both advance and preserve our old buildings while at the same time improve their footprint.

One of my first assignments for Planning & Design has been Grade II listed Belmont Cottage situated on a steep hillside in Matlock Bath, which was nearly destroyed by fire also, this Georgian Villa revealed itself to be of heritage significance because not just because of its structure but for the artist who lived there James Rawlinson. The group of buildings that Belmont is a part of were built by the Rawlingson family. The Rawlinson’s over three generations were a talented family, and James was the most eminent. Although his father George Rawlinson (1734-1823) was a Derby architect of whom it has been said ‘was Arkwright’s architect of choice’. Through working on this property, I have been able to see what the impact that a combination of artistic and architectural heritage significance has had on the client plans. There has been a balancing act of sensitive new additions and preservations that we hope will be approved soon and bring back into use this lovely family home.

Houses like Belmont Cottage which need careful consideration are a perfect example of a building that could be lost if it is not allowed to be sensitively developed. My time in Australia showed me what happens when something is destroyed for good by fire it is devasting to see entire towns disappear in one weekend. In the UK we are very lucky to have layers of heritage assets and to be able to read those and understand our past it is truely a privilege. While it may not be possible for clients to make all the changes they want to a building and others to ensure everything stays exactly the same, this is our heritage and it is important to the wider community. However, it also it has to meet 21st century living standards, along with meeting climate change targets. Therefore, it is a fine line to be trodden when dealing with a heritage building, respecting its past but also guaranteeing it has a sustainable future to ensure it is passed on as a viable asset for generations to come with a low impact on the environment.

Ruth Gray, Heritage Assistant, Planning & Design Practice

Photo Credit: BBC News

Covid, shopping and climate change

29th November 202229th March 2021 by Gary Stringer

As we ease out of lockdown, our Managing Director Jonathan Jenkin, looks at the changes that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to our high streets, and the complex interplay between climate change and our retail habits.

Covid 19, the rise on online shopping and the collapse of multiple retailers provides opportunities to reduce travel demand and by doing so carbon emissions. The market has seen a rise in local shopping habits with vacancy rates in district and local centres remaining low. In Derby for example vacancy rates in suburban local shopping locations such as Chaddesden, Chelleston and Mickleover have remained low while vacancy rates in the city centre have soared as multiple retailers and banks have deserted the city.

This means that people are shopping locally and much of the comparison goods shopping is taking place online. In order for new retail business to locate in the city centre they will need a significant drop in rents and rates as retail is now far more competitive because online shops do not have the costs of bricks and mortar. Retail is still needed to help to support non-retail social and leisure activity. Eating and experiences combined with specialist shopping should help centres to regain their vitality and viability and by staging events and conferences in city centres trade will revive and activity levels will increase. Most city centres have good public transport options and the centres are often in easy walking distance of inner city residential areas. They need to become the focus for civic and public activities so that events and nights out can take place without significantly increasing carbon emissions.

During the Covid pandemic out of town shopping has however seemed to be a safe place to shop. Shoppers are insulated from others by driving and vacancy rates in out of town car based retailing have held up well. Car based shopping is not good in terms of climate change. Not only is it wasteful of land and creates vast areas of tarmac but carbon emissions to regional and local retail parks is significantly higher than either town centres or local shopping. It maintains a dependence on the private car with the health and social dis-benefits that go with a car based lifestyle.

Covid and climate change provide an opportunity to revive the high street, renew city centres and create more sustainable cities. But to achieve this out of town retailing must be curbed. Britain has an over-supply of retail floorspace so it is depressing to hear that a major sub-regional outlet centre is to open in Cannock. It is supposed to create 1000 jobs in a town with a high unemployment rate but the centre is almost entirely car based and its opening will lead to more than 1000 jobs being lost elsewhere. Some of the regional shopping centres such as Meadowhall and the Metro Centre are showing their age and again these provide an opportunity for redevelopment and re-use for housing, offices and industry so it is disappointing that owners of these centres (most of which are now bankrupt and are being supported by the banking sector) are looking at revamping and expanding their centres as retail and leisure destinations.

Climate change needs us all to change to become less of a consumer society and a more healthy and socially aware society rooted in place where we have a network of friends and family living close to each other. Attractive and healthy places to work and to live with day to day needs met close to home allow children to reclaim the streets, it allows older people and those with disability to get the services they need close to home, it means more time spent outside walking and cycling and more time being part of a town and village rather than as an atomised consumer rooted to the next gadget.

We have major challenges ahead but also major opportunities to create a better society. Retail presents an interesting picture, two directions of travel but only one that is compatible with the long term health of our society and with climate change.

Planning Design – ‘A new normal’

29th November 202213th November 2020 by Gary Stringer

Writing for Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, a year on from the opening of our Sheffield office, Michael Bamford, Director at Planning Design reflects on adapting and prospering under “A New Normal” following the unprecedented upheaval caused by Covid-19.

In October 2019 we moved into our new office in the Workstation and were excited for what was a new chapter for Planning Design. Back then we thought the issues facing the South Yorkshire region were meeting the challenges of Climate Change and Brexit. We, like many businesses were apprehensive about the impact Brexit might have on business as usual but didn’t spot the more acute issue on the horizon. Covid-19 only really floated onto the radar in January and it wasn’t clear how significant a challenge it would be until March. At the time we were quietly optimistic about the signs of growth in Sheffield and excited at the opportunity to continue to be involved in realising potential for the city.

It was late March when true impact of Covid-19 hit home as the national lock down was rolled out. Working from home became the new norm, the majority of the planning system ground to a halt whilst Council’s and the Government grappled with operating a system that was reliant on a central office suddenly being required to work entirely remotely. Planning applications, appeals, committee meetings, pre-apps all stalled and for a short time it was difficult to see how things would move forwards.

Gradually the country (and the world) adjusted to lockdown and a new normality prevailed. Never has access to the internet been so vital in connecting communities and allowing work to continue. Video calls have become an engrained part of our society and paved the way for a new way of working. Slow at first to respond to the challenges of COVID-19, work towards the Sheffield Local Plan is now well and truly up and running and areas such as Doncaster have excelled in adapting to the challenges and motoring on with the adoption of the Local Plan.

The construction and property market was temporarily put on hold causing a backlog of demand which only served to accelerate the growth when it was released. Something that has been felt across the world. Many countries including the U.K. have seen significant growth in the price of property. The importance of space standards, natural light and access to public open space has been felt much more acutely, fast forwarding the adoption of policies and legislation to provide better homes. Significant changes to existing permitted development rights and the creation of new ones all striving to provide more homes of a much higher quality. As has been common to a lot of crises, the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated change across the board, and both planning and architecture are no different. In some areas the changes have been very difficult, and time will tell what long-term impact the pandemic will have on our lives.

One aspect the pandemic has highlighted is the importance of communities and how, when faced with challenges, people come together to adapt and remodel how normal society functions.

It is refreshing to see the how Sheffield as a Council are adapting and how Heart of the City is pushing ahead despite the adversity of the past 9 months. The view from the office window has changed over the past 12 months with ‘The Gate’ a new student accommodation tower nearing completion as well as the new HSBC building and the sheer number of cranes on the Sheffield skyline. It is all a clear sign of the optimism and investment people place in the city.
We have continued to work closely with both the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and the University of Sheffield to provide opportunity for employment and work experience within the city and welcome the support of both institutions in helping to deliver positive change across the region. As a company we have seen positive growth over the year and look forward to embarking on chapter two of “A new normal”.

Michael Bamford, Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Mitigating flood risk – Rain water management

11th March 202011th March 2020 by Gary Stringer

In a natural landscape, rain water is naturally absorbed and soaked into the ground, feeding water streams and rivers, supporting trees and vegetation as well as regulating ambient temperature by surface evaporation.

Construction and developments alter the water cycle, changing how, when and more importantly where our rain goes by increasing surface runoff and washing off pollution from our roads and hard surfaces. As the flow of water increases and drainage capacity is compromised, the risk of flooding is also higher. Permeable surfaces help to slow down water flow allowing watercourses to deal with excess water better decreasing the risk of flooding with the added benefit of proving better water quality to our watercourses.

Permeable surface can include:

Permeable paving
Rain gardens
Green roofs
Tree pits
Swales
Bio retention areas
Wet basins and Ponds
Dry basins
Wetlands
Underground water storage

Using permeable surfaces allow rainfall to soak into the ground, rills, channels and bio retention areas slow the flow, treat the water and store the rain. Vegetation also increases surface water runoff capture, providing biodiversity and ecology networks.

All of the above can be integrated into any project providing a great opportunity for the creation of great spaces for the community that are resilient and are able to adapt to a changing and challenging climate. A good example of this is the Strutts Centre and their Rain Garden retrofit project in Belper, which has no doubt helped to improve the local environment.

As we come to the spring and summer, if you are a keen gardener like me, you will be used to hearing about hosepipe bans and water restrictions in parts of the UK. A topic perhaps less discussed around here, is water demand in our developed environment. Just to bring an example from across the pond, in the western USA in years of normal rain fall, landscape irrigation can account for up to 43% of all residential water use, and perhaps closer to the UK, up to 26% in the wetter eastern USA.

Perhaps we all, architects, planners, designers, gardeners, citizens in general should open our eyes to a better water management approach from the outset on every project, however small they are and as simple and common as a new driveway.

Fernando Collado Lopez, Architect, Planning & Design

Top Images: With thanks to the Strutts Centre – Brick rain channel and linear rain garden in front of the old caretaker’s house.

Building Regulations approval – Understanding the importance

16th March 202011th March 2020 by Gary Stringer

At Planning & Design Practice we identified that the most commonly asked question post planning approval is “I have Planning Permission, why do I need Building Regulations approval as well?”

Building Regulations were first introduced in 1848 under the Public Health Act, ensuring that damp conditions, fire risks, sanitary conditions, ventilation and light levels were kept to an appropriate standard. In 1936, new legislation was introduced. However, under this legislation each regional council were able to enforce their own standards. In 1952, a set of mandatory national measures was introduced. In this edition structural requirements and material performance was also considered. Following this, in 1961 a new set of Building Regulations for England and Wales was included in the Public Health Act; however, it wasn’t until February 1966 that these were implemented by law.

So why did Building Regulations get put into place? Quite simply, Building Regulations are implemented to ensure safety and well-being of people inside and around buildings. More recently, due to changes in climate, further regulations were put in place to improve energy efficiency, enhance the surrounding environment and promote sustainable design and construction. All Building Regulation matters are dealt with by a separate governing body post planning approval rather than the Planning Authority who will have initially granted the planning permission.

Drawings are developed further post planning approval to provide all the required drawings demonstrating that Building Regulation standards are achieved and that structural & building services are further refined allowing for any specialist subcontractors design to be carried out. Building Regulations cover every aspect of the construction, from foundations and floor build up, right up to the thermal efficiency of the insulation used in the roof so that it meets the required specifications. Once these principles are established construction details can then be developed further.

Here at Planning & Design, we know how important Building Regulations are in the lead to a great performing extension or home. That’s why we take satisfaction in taking a project through all stages, from concept to completion.

In a nutshell, an informed design will lead to saving time and money.

Daryl Sanders, Architectural Assistant, Planning & Design Practice

The Importance of Good Architecture

18th March 20204th March 2020 by Gary Stringer

What is a home in the UK? It is a place that give shelter, it is warm and dry in winter and cool in summer. It is a refuge, a place to return to, and a place where we can feel safe. It is also a place where we can feel happy, a place we can be proud of and a place that reflects our values and says something about who we are. It is also a place that functions well. It must have the capacity to accommodate our family, friends, we must be able to cook, eat meals, clean ourselves, and increasingly a place we can communicate from. The area around the home must be pleasant, where we have neighbours and where we have easy access to facilities and amenities.

Many of the houses and flats built today barely function. The homes are bland, they are often smaller than we would want; the attention to detail is poor, outside space is limited. The outside environment is often dominated by the car; limiting social intervention with our neighbours and limiting the opportunities for children to play outside.

Good architecture can really improve our quality of life. It starts with a site and a location and the wishes and requirements of the client. This does not just mean the bespoke house for the individual client but it can be the community land trust, the house builder, the local authority or the housing association.

Good architecture can create real value. A well designed home in a well-designed neighbourhood can make us feel good about our lives, it can affirm that we are providing for those who depend on us and it can make us happy. Good design makes the best use of space. It makes the most of natural light, it links the inside environment with the outside. It functions; not just for the young and the able bodied but for everyone. It accommodates the needs of the young and the elderly with the challenges of climate change. Good architecture must also use resources prudently to minimize CO2 emissions but create a robust home that is resilient and increasingly a home that generate its own power.

In our ever increasing digital age, good architecture also means strong appeal on Instagram and other social media platforms, with striking and unique images generating debate and acting as a showcase for new work and new practitioners. With an estimated one billion people using Instagram every month, content is king and architecture is accessible to the general public as never before, creating trends and influencing how we perceive and experience our built environment.

At Planning & Design we really believe in good architecture. Our team comprises of RIBA Chartered Architects and Architectural Assistants who have a wealth of experience working with homeowners, developers and the public sector. These skilled professionals have vision but also the practical experience to deliver buildings.

We believe that good design is a crucial part of the planning process. Getting the design of a project right is critical to gaining a successful planning consent and avoiding unnecessary delay and costs. We can help you to establish your brief and work through your design ideas, whilst bringing solutions to make your building a successful place to live or work in.

For more information, or to discuss a specific project please get in touch.

Jonathan Jenkin, Managing Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Brexit is now ‘Done’ – The Outlook for Development in a Post Brexit Britain

29th January 2020 by Gary Stringer

By Saturday morning, February 1st the UK will have left the European Union. With more than 3 years of uncertainty behind us, I am looking forward to a post Brexit future.

The turmoil over Brexit put a break on the development industry. Business slowed, the number of planning applications submitted in 2019 was 5% lower than in 2018 and the number of new homes being built also dropped.

As long as the economy of the UK can adjust and with good trade deals with the EU and the rest of the world the key drivers for the development industry and its capacity to deliver development have not changed.

The country needs new infrastructure. It needs better public transport, it needs new building for business and it needs many new homes. We must meet the basic needs for work and a secure home with the provision of educational and health facilities and somewhere to shop and we need to accommodate a growing population. With climate change we will need to de-carbonise and the challenge will be to bring development forward while also reducing the country’s carbon emissions.

The development industry will have to adopt new building techniques, planning will be increasingly important and will need to co-ordinate development with the provision of services to reduce the reliance on the private car. The development industry will have to take account of the cost of releasing carbon while also expanding its capacity to build, and increasing training.

Creating sustainable development will become increasingly difficult if we do not increase the environmental capacity of the earth. Development will need to be coupled with human interventions and changes in lifestyles. This will mean planting trees, taking carbon out of the atmosphere, creating more space for wildlife, enhancing biodiversity and reducing meat consumption, creating less waste and using locally sourced foods.It will also include constructing zero carbon buildings and locking carbon into buildings.

At Planning & Design Practice we are developing zero carbon homes. A sustainably sourced timber building locks up carbon, creating space to plant new trees. Using air source and ground source heat pumps powered by electricity from non- fossil fuel sources (including PV and battery storage) a new home can be reliably heated without the need to burn fossil fuels. We are also looking at retrofitting, re-using old buildings for new purposes and exploring circular cities, with the re-use of all building materials.

Climate change will foster changes in lifestyles, and can foster healthy cities and towns. Reductions in air pollution from lower car use, greater use of public transport, cycling and walking will make people fitter, reducing pressure on the health service. It will also foster greater social inclusion as people have to live more communal lives leading to less social isolation.

Jonathan Jenkin, Managing Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

2020 Vision – Designing the decade ahead

18th December 2019 by Gary Stringer

Here at Planning and Design Practice 2019 has been a good year for our business. We have completed more work and had more success than in any previous year. Our successes have been highlighted in our regular newsletters, on our web-site and on social media. We expect growth to continue and I would like to thank all our clients and our staff for their support and hard work this year.

The election result was decisive. We have an elected government with a large majority which includes a broader based constituency. We will be leaving the European Union at the end of January 2020 but with an agreement in place.

The current government policies towards planning and architecture, the National Planning Policy Framework and the National Design Guide are likely to remain in force. The protection of Green Belts will continue as will the emphasis of developing brownfield land.

The government has trailed a white paper on accelerating and simplifying the planning process while continuing with its ‘beauty’ agenda, which seeks to protect the appearance and character of both town and countryside; this creates tension between the two aims which will play out in decisions where NIMBY and Neighbourhood Plans are a factor. Good architecture will continue to be important and the Paragraph 79 option will remain in force.

For the development industry, for both planning and architecture there is more certainty. The Conservative Party has promised to achieve the construction of 300,000 new homes a year by 2024 with a continued emphasis of home ownership. However the government has been running a multi-tenure approach and it is expected that this will continue. The gains by the Conservatives in the North of England might help to support council house building and building by Housing Associations and by Community Land Trusts. Homes England has been playing a more active role.

Climate Change is likely to drive policy in 2020 which will combine with Brexit to put into place new policies to reduce carbon emissions and to improve biodiversity. The Environment Bill consultation period has ended and it is likely that all new developments will have to provide a 10% net biodiversity gain. The implications of this are that for most planning applications, an initial baseline ecological report will be required.

In architecture, low carbon building and use will become key requirements. Part of this will be because Parliament and local Councils have declared a Climate Emergency and now need to act. Architecture and the built environment is one area where change can be effected quickly, added to this, the UK is to host the 2020 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, when the government will need to outline its measures to the rest of the world as to how it intends to combat climate change. The Climate Change conference is also an opportunity to promote trade and business and to sell UK ideas and systems to help solve the international crisis.

Architecture will be asked to meet new standards, through changes in building regulations and through Supplementary Planning Guidance and Local Plan Policies which are likely to require zero/near zero carbon homes and business premises and in addition buildings, structures and use of land which will allow biodiversity to thrive, where space is shared between people and the natural world. This will be a challenge for all participants and for the architectural profession.

We look forward to 2020 and the next decade, a time that will be marked by big policy shifts. It is also the start of a 5 year parliament when the government will want to be seen as ambitious. The government will also want to mitigate the impact of Brexit and development and construction is a means by which the economy can continue to grow when cross border checks could adversely impact on other sectors of the economy.

The tension between developments, the economy, meeting our social needs while also protecting our environment will intensify and we now need to enhance the natural world to help us move toward balance and away from the continued destruction of the natural world. It will be a challenging decade.

On behalf of Planning Design Practice I would like to wish you all a happy Christmas and a prosperous 2020.

Jonathan Jenkin, Managing Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Please note: Our offices will close at 5pm on Monday 23 December and we return from 9am on Thursday 2 January 2020.

Back to the future? Rethinking terraced housing

4th February 202011th December 2019 by Gary Stringer

Political parties of all stripes are vowing to ‘tackle the housing crisis’ and make Britain carbon neutral in the coming decades. This could radically change how we build and live in our homes in the future. Or perhaps not. Jon Millhouse, Director at Planning & Design Practice Ltd, believes that terraced housing could be the key to meeting this challenge.

Good ideas have a habit of coming back around. At the turn of the twentieth century, the most popular form of house building was terraced housing. As a concept, it was simple, yet effective. It didn’t require much land take, yet each household was usually allocated a decent amount of internal accommodation, and a garden. There was typically a shop on the corner of every street, or a pub; schools and places of work usually within walking distance. People travelled further afield by bicycle or tram.

Later in the twentieth century, as cars became the dominant mode of transport and the aspiration for most families, our built environment changed too. Rows of terraced houses were swept away to accommodate new roads. Those terraced streets which did survive became car-dominated. Those who could afford to often moved in the suburbs, or better still, the countryside, relying on the private motor car to serve their needs. The type of housing we began to build, and continue to build to this day, is designed around the car; low density detached housing with driveways and garages.

As we face up to the challenges of tackling climate change, and building enough houses to accommodate our population without having to pave over our treasured countryside, reverting to terraced housing once again, but in a manner fit for the twenty first century, could be a big part of the solution. Many aspects of that original urban form suit our needs today. Having only two (narrow) walls exposed to the outside world rather than four, significantly reduces heat loss. The higher densities enabled mean we can create walkable and cyclable neighbourhoods, reducing our reliance on the car. Small convenience food stores, micropubs and trams are all coming back into fashion. Fewer cars mean quieter streets, where children can play, and residents can interact, helping to address the increased problem of social isolation. It also means more exercise, which is good for our physical and mental health, particularly if supplemented with public open space in close proximity, offering opportunities for recreation, biodiversity and trees to help with carbon capture, urban cooling and flood resilience.

None of these ideas are new, none of this is rocket science. It is merely common sense. We shouldn’t assume that modern problems require a revolutionary, technological solution. Much can be learned from the past.

But neither should we assume that in re-adopting a house type of the past, we have to accept its historic limitations. Modern terraced housing can be better insulated, better lit and more spacious than its predecessors. We can generate heat and power through microgeneration, rather than coal. With such mod-cons, terraced houses can once again become the kind of property that developers want to build, and that people want to live in.

Jon is both a Chartered Town Planner and a Member of the Ins titute of Historic Building Conservation.

He can be contacted at jon.millhouse@planningdesign.co.uk or via telephone on 01332 347371.

Image: geograph-2703969-by-Dave-Bevis
Popular terraced housing at Chester Green, Derby. Fronting a quiet road reserved for cyclists and pedestrians, and a public green space.

Modern terraced housing at Oaklands, Duffield Road, Derby.
(Planning permission obtained by Planning & Design Practice Ltd on behalf of Meadowview Homes).

Examples of an urban form designed around the motor car became the norm in the later twentieth century.

(Images: Google Maps)

Call on government for stronger direction on climate action

18th November 2019 by Gary Stringer

A recent survey by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), has revealed that an overwhelming majority of UK planners want the next government to give stronger direction and more resources to enable local planners to deliver net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

With 79% of respondents agreeing that climate action should be a top priority for the profession, only 17% felt their nation’s planning system or policy framework was well equipped enough to deal with the current climate crisis.

Nearly 90% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that there needed to be stronger direction from central government and greater resourcing, training and capacity for local authority planning departments to enable more effective local planning for net zero carbon.

Victoria Hills, Chief executive, of the RTPI said: “The government’s own advisory body, the Committee on Climate Change, has acknowledged the role of planners in taking decisive and effective climate action, but without strong direction from central government and an increase in resources and capacity at a local level, it will be impossible for planners to meet the challenges of climate change and achieve the target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“These challenges are so significant and long-term that widespread and fundamental changes in the way our societies are organised and managed will be required. Planning can’t resolve this issue on its own.”

Ms Hills also confirmed that the RTPI has recently joined the UN’s Planners for Climate Action Campaign, which aims to catalyse and accelerate climate action through responsible and transformative urban and territorial planning practice, education and research.

At its annual conference earlier this year, The RTPI launched its Resource Planning for Climate Action campaign, which calls on government to take radical climate actions around buildings and transport, and to develop a tool to help local authorities gauge the carbon impact of existing and emerging local plans.

The campaign calls on the next government to:

ensure that all new build homes are zero carbon and that measures and resources are put in place for existing homes to be zero carbon and to begin a major national retrofitting programme for existing homes;
roll-out SCATTER, a tool for assessing the carbon impact of existing and future local plans, on wider scale;
ensure that climate change mitigation is a vital component of wider planning and infrastructure policy and that government listens to the planning profession in formulating that policy;
give more resources to local planning authorities;
empower devolved national governments and local authorities to lead on climate change mitigation in the devolved nations at local level and give them the resources to do so;
invest in UK infrastructure for smart energy heat and sustainable mobility, including greater collaboration between the ministries of BEIS, DfT and HCLG, as well as devolved governments.

A total of 994 out of the RTPI’s 25,000 members responded to the RTPI’s climate change survey. Respondents came from across the public, private and third sectors.

“Town planning is increasingly important across the world as climate change bites,” said Jonathan Jenkin, Managing Director of Planning & Design.

“With climate change the provision off public transport must increase, the use of the private car should be reduced and our homes should be built to zero carbon. This means building at greater densities and making the best use of land in our urban areas. It means co-ordinating development with public transport and building in locations of greatest accessibility so that people have a choice of transport options, to do this will give young people and the elderly autonomy in their lives, reduce inequality through better access to work and public services and in doing so create greater well-being for all.“

Respondents of the survey also called for zero carbon targets to be set in Building Regulations, more collaboration with other industries in the built environment sector, greater subsidies for retrofitting and more focus on transport planning.

Heritage…in the balance

Planning Design – ‘A new normal’

Mitigating flood risk – Rain water management

Building Regulations approval – Understanding the importance

The Importance of Good Architecture

Brexit is now ‘Done’ – The Outlook for Development in a Post Brexit Britain

2020 Vision – Designing the decade ahead

Back to the future? Rethinking terraced housing

Call on government for stronger direction on climate action

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