Issue - meetings

That Cabinet approval be given for the SPD to be adopted incorporating amendments following the public consultation. The amendments are outlined in a schedule of representations at appendix 3.

Councillor Andrew Jones stated that this Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) was necessary to ensure that up-to-date guidance on climate change was in place to help implement the Council’s Climate change strategy, to support the adopted Local Plan and to comply with regulatory requirements. This plan included topics encompassing sustainable design and construction, air quality, flooding, energy, ecology, waste, and transport and travel.

Councillor Wesley Harcourt added that the guidance in the SPD applied to new build homes, extensions and retrofitting of homes, non-domestic and mixed-use developments. It aimed to reduce carbon footprint. He believed this would be the first dedicated Climate Change SPD produced by a Local Planning Authority in London.

Councillor Adrian Pascu-Tulbure noted that other boroughs had created specific polices of retrofit first, when there was a choice between retrofit and demolition, and asked the Council’s position on the issue on all type of properties.

Councillor Andrew Jones said that the Council did not have a blank policy approach on retrofitting, but the planning guidance set a frame to evaluate embodied carbon and the benefits of retrofit as opposed to new build. He would ask officers to provide further details on that.

The Leader stated that retrofit was a better solution whenever possible as it minimised carbon footprint, but it was important to ensure that all buildings were fit for purpose and find a solution case by case.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE CABINET MEMBERS:

That Cabinet approval be given for the SPD to be adopted incorporating amendments following the public consultation. The amendments are outlined in a schedule of representations at appendix 3.