The new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has been published today, bringing some important changes for renewable energy and the way energy and climate considerations are addressed through planning.
The direction of travel is clear: planning policy is being strengthened to support the delivery of renewable and low carbon infrastructure.
The key changes include…
– Greater weight being given to the benefits of renewable and low carbon energy development.
– Clearer support for associated infrastructure, including the infrastructure needed to enable renewable energy projects.
– Local planning authorities are expected to facilitate renewable and low carbon energy development, although identifying specific sites through local plans remains discretionary.
– Onshore wind is being brought back into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) regime, with a 10MW threshold.
– The NSIP threshold for solar generating stations is also being increased to 100MW, allowing more mid-sized projects to proceed through the local planning route.
– Climate change is now expressly identified as an important consideration in both plan making and decision making, with greater emphasis on both mitigation and adaptation.
For developers, this reinforces the importance of getting the energy strategy and Energy Statement right from the outset, demonstrating not just energy efficiency and carbon reduction, but how a proposal responds positively to the wider national policy direction.
At BTS, we’ll be looking closely at the detail and what the new NPPF means for Energy Statements and planning applications going forward. If you need an Energy Statement or wish to discuss the energy strategy for any new proposed developments, please do get in touch.
