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Tuesday 8 October 2013

East Devon... and climate change

The District Council has taken the issue of climate change very seriously.

In its draft Local Plan, it talks about a 'transition to a low carbon economy', including practical steps such as incorporating sustainable building-design into planning decisions and looking at Decentralised Energy Networks:

4. Key Issues and Objectives
What Influences East Devon Now
4.1 There are many positive things about East Devon. We have listed some
of these below under thematic headings:
e. Carbon Emissions & Climate Change - East Devon offers a wide ranging
potential for renewable energy generation. There are current proposals for a
flagship combined heat and power plant to serve Cranbrook and other eco-
friendly initiatives in the District.

Green Infrastructure – A High Quality Green Framework for Development

What the sustainability appraisal and other evidence tells us about green infrastructure
at East Devon's West End:

• Climate change is a significant challenge that needs to be given prominence in decision
making. Innovative solutions need to be sought to ensure that other sustainability
considerations (such as landscape designations do not constrain the achievement of low
and zero carbon development). It is possible to achieve positive effects on what may
initially appear to be conflicting sustainability objectives.

17 Climate Change
Climate Change and Low Carbon Development

17.1 The best available evidence shows that we are seeing and can expect to see future
changes in the global climate as a consequence of past and ongoing greenhouse gas
emissions. These changes could escalate in the future and it is therefore essential that
in East Devon we plan for greater energy efficiency and generation of energy from
renewable sources. There can also be economic benefits to be gained as well. This
chapter of the plan addresses these themes.

What you said about carbon reduction:
• There is strong support for specific areas or locations to be identified for renewable and
low carbon generation with respondents mainly supporting small scale localised
solutions. Others felt that all areas of the district should be considered with opportunities
taken as they arise.
• 22% of respondents to the Issues and Options report supported the Local Plan
requirement for on-site renewable energy production while 49% supported a higher
standard. 27% favoured an alternative approach with the matter considered against
other objectives, particularly as the issue is being addressed nationally (Code for
Sustainable Homes)

What the sustainability appraisal and other evidence tells us about carbon reduction:
• Climate change needs to be given due prominence in decision making. Innovative
solutions need to be sought to ensure that some sustainability considerations do not
constrain the achievement of low and zero carbon development. It is entirely possible to
achieve positive outcomes by balancing apparently conflicting sustainability measures.
• Allocating sites for renewable energy production sends a positive message to
developers that East Devon is proactive in encouraging renewable and low carbon
energy generation.
• The biggest contributors to CO² emissions in East Devon are the road transport and
domestic sectors at 36.8% and 35.8% respectively. In the South West overall the top
two contributors are the industry and commercial sector and domestic sector, at 36.1%
and 32.8% respectively.
• Per head CO² production is high in the East Devon District (8.4 tonnes) compared with
Exeter (5.7 tonnes) but similar to the regional average of 8.2 tonnes. This is
characteristic of a predominantly rural area with a higher reliance on road transport.
• Flooding risk in East Devon is expected to worsen with projected sea level rises and
wetter winters. Areas of Flood Zones 2 and 3 are identified around all of the main rivers
in the District as well as many of their tributaries.
• There is strong support for significant weight to be given to low or zero carbon
construction throughout the District with house building being a key player.

Transition to a Low Carbon Economy

17.2 The Climate Change Act (2008)44 has put in place legally binding targets for the UK to
achieve an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 with reductions of
34% by 2020, against a 1990 baseline. Emissions from buildings account for
approximately half of all emissions nationally. There is little scope to force existing
buildings to become more energy efficient, other than by offering incentives to upgrade
and making renewable technologies a requirement of applications for refurbishment or
extension, but all new development will be required to be “low carbon”.

17.3 As demand for fossil fuel energy grows, energy prices are rising. This threatens the
security of energy supply as well as increasing the likelihood of fuel poverty. An
important means of mitigating this risk is by reducing the demand for energy from new
and existing development through improved efficiency measures.

17.4 There is strong evidence that the climate is changing45. The outcome for East Devon
is predicted to be increases in summer temperatures, greater fluctuations in weather,
uncertainty surrounding rainfall trends and an increased risk of flooding. These have
the potential to increase risks to health and comfort, cause damage to buildings and
infrastructure and increase building energy consumption from cooling. It is important
that new development responds to these risks.

17.5 In addressing climate change and energy security the planning process can not only
mitigate against the risks but can help to turn them into opportunities for local
businesses, giving East Devon a competitive advantage and helping it to prosper in the
future. The implementation of planning policy at a local level is crucial to deliver the
radical reductions in energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions required to
support the national transition to a Low Carbon Economy. The scope of policy can
cover the appropriate location and layout of new development, and provide active
support for energy efficiency improvements to existing buildings and the delivery of
renewable and low-carbon energy infrastructure.

17.6 All development proposals must be planned over the lifetime of the development to
ensure that the maximum potential for reducing carbon emissions and minimising the
risks posed by climate change are achieved. Developers must be mindful of the
carbon emission standards which will be required for later stages of the build
programme as decisions taken at the outset can compromise the viability of emissions
reduction in latter phases. In some parts of the District it will be possible to generate
energy locally at a scale which could serve the local area, for instance through a
Combined Heat and Power scheme. New development should include infrastructure to
enable it to be connected to such CHP schemes, whether they already exist or may be
provided in the future. Where low carbon technologies are not installed new buildings
should be designed for easy installation and/or adaptation at a later date.

Development that Minimises the Demand for Energy

17.7 Buildings and their associated infrastructure perform essential economic and social
functions, though they result in a significant environmental burden during their
construction, occupation and demolition.

17.8 The Government has established that through Part L of the Building Regulations 46,
emissions allowed from new buildings will be reduced incrementally and that “zero
carbon” buildings will be required within the plan period. The definition of “zero carbon”
has introduced three concepts; “energy efficiency”, “carbon compliance” and “allowable
solutions”.

17.9 Evidence suggests that in spite of increasingly strict standards at the point of build new
development often fails in practice to deliver expected carbon emissions reduction.
This may be due to the way in which occupants subsequently operate their buildings
rather than any fault with the building process. Developers will be expected to commit
to extended periods of Post Occupancy Evaluation and commissioning of building
systems to demonstrate their intent to ensure that new development operates as
effectively as possible and that calculated carbon reduction is realised in practice.

17.10 The broader sustainability performance of a development is most commonly measured
using either the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) for residential development or
BREEAM for non-domestic development. It is expected that these standards would be
used to demonstrate the environmental performance of developments greater than 10
homes or 1,000m2 for non-domestic buildings.

17.11 Recent analysis by CLG (2011)47 has shown that the most significant cost to meeting
the CSH is in reducing carbon emissions. The national timetable for “zero carbon”
homes is expected to require Code Level 4 energy standard from 2013 and Code
Level 5 energy standard from 2016. The CLG analysis has shown that the non-energy
requirements for CSH Code 4 can be achieved with minimal cost uplift for a broad
range of development types. It would therefore be reasonable to expect homes from
2013 to meet Code Level 4 of the CSH. Developers may feel there is additional value
in obtaining Codes 5 or 6 of the CSH from 2016 or earlier.

17.12 Proposals for well designed, sustainable buildings will be supported unless it would
cause harm to a heritage asset or its setting, and this would not be outweighed by the
proposal’s wider social, economic and environmental benefits. This will also apply in
the case of refurbishment of existing development, for example regarding the fitting of
external insulation to properties with solid walls.

17.13 Higher levels of building sustainability, in advance of those set out nationally, will be
sought for larger scale developments such as those in the West End or other localities
in the District where there is the potential for over 10 hectares of new development
either housing or other buildings.

17.14 Proposed development will demonstrate how the scheme presented will minimise
vulnerability and provide resilience to impacts arising from climate change.
Specifically, this will include the increased risk of summertime overheating and
subsequent potential requirement for artificial cooling, water stress, and flooding.

Renewable and Decentralised Energy

17.15 Whilst reducing the demand for energy through efficiency measures will be crucial to
lowering carbon emissions, reducing the carbon intensity of the energy we consume
will also play a critical role in helping the UK is to meet its climate change targets. The
Renewable Energy Directive (2009)48 sets a target for the UK to achieve 15% of its
energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020. As well as reducing
environmental impact, renewable energy can also offer diversity and security of supply.
East Devon recognises its responsibility to contribute to energy generation from
renewable or low-carbon sources in the District.

17.16 The potential renewable energy resource in the District has been assessed by the
Council49. There is the potential to adopt a variety of technologies at different scales,
from domestic to commercial, across the District. This ranges from a relatively modest
number of commercial scale wind turbines, which could provide a quarter of all carbon
savings from renewable energy, to a very large number of much smaller on-site
installations such as photo voltaic panels to produce domestic electricity and hot water,
and heat pumps.

17.17 A large proportion of East Devon’s land area is covered by environmental designations
such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Much of the coastline is also designated
as a World Heritage Site. Once these, and other constraints such as wind resource
and exclusion zones around existing houses have been accounted for, there is still the
potential for some commercial scale wind generation within the District. There is also
the potential for a Centralised Anaerobic Digestion plant and large photo voltaic.

17.18 Significant weight will be given to the wider environmental, social and economic
benefits of renewable or low-carbon energy projects whatever their scale. Planning
permission will not be refused for a renewable energy project because local renewable
energy resources have been developed.

17.19 Analysis by the Council has shown that there is great potential for on-site renewable
energy technologies. As the requirements of Part L of the Building Regulations are
tightened, increasing amounts of low or zero carbon technologies will be required.
Incentive schemes such as the Feed-in Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive have
improved the viability of small scale renewable energy. As such specific percentage
targets for the proportion of energy met by renewable energy sources are not
stipulated. Reducing the demand for energy through efficiency measures still remains
a cost effective means of helping to meet the regulations, and could help reduce the
size of required renewable technology.

17.20 The presumption will be made in favour of sustainable development for community-led
initiatives for renewable and low carbon energy, including developments outside such
areas being taken forward through neighbourhood planning.

17.21 New development should come forward in locations and ways which reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. This means locating development close to everyday
facilities and public transport. The density and mix of building types and use proposed
in a development should be mindful of the energy load across the development. Higher
densities and combinations that provide a balanced heat load are likely to provide
greater potential for cost effective low carbon energy solutions.

17.22 District Energy Networks enable the use of large scale heat and/or electricity
generation technologies to supply a number of nearby homes and businesses.
Networks can vary in size from 20 homes to 2,000 homes or more. Even when using
natural gas, Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems can provide significant carbon
emissions reduction. However it is important the CHP systems are designed to avoid
the situation where excess heat is not used while electricity is generated. Small gas
CHP systems can be viable for as few as 250 homes. On a larger scale the district
energy system East of Exeter is perhaps the best example of renewable CHP in the
country.

17.23 In parts of the District where there is the potential for over 10 hectares of new
development (either housing or other buildings), developers will be expected to
contribute to community heating, hot water and cooling systems and CHP and provide
the infrastructure required as an integral part of the development. Where it is proposed
not to employ such systems, developers must demonstrate why they are not viable
over the life of developments in that locality.

17.24 District energy systems rely on high numbers of users to make them viable so it is
essential that, where new development is happening within reach of an existing or
potential heat network, that new users connect to the system and provide infrastructure
to easily enable subsequent future development to also connect to the network. While
heat is not regulated in the same way as gas or electricity, heat network operators offer
competitive long term contracts typically at prices slightly under those of substitute
fossil fuel systems. Capital costs are similar to traditional heating systems and
equipment is much more compact compared to fossil fuel alternatives.

17.25 The West End is planned to contain approximately half the proposed housing and
employment space in the District. Proposed development in this locality should
connect to the District Energy Network.

Consultation Local Plan – Draft Strategy 34
Decentralised Energy Networks

Decentralised Energy Networks will be developed and brought forward. New development
(either new build or conversion) with a floor space of at lEast 1,000m2 or comprising ten or
more dwellings should connect to any existing, or proposed, Decentralised Energy Network in
the locality to bring forward low and zero carbon energy supply and distribution.
Where there is no existing Decentralised Energy Network in the locality, proposals for larger
developments of 10 hectares (either housing or other buildings) or 300 houses should
evaluate the potential for such systems and implement them where they are viable over the
life of the developments in the locality. Consumer choice of energy sources will be retained
when decentralised Energy networks are developed.

How we reached this Policy position:

We are legally required to achieve an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
with reductions of 34% by 2020, against a 1990 baseline. Emissions from buildings account
for approximately half of all emissions nationally so there is huge scope to reduce emissions
as part of new development.
Consultation demonstrated strong support for setting challenging renewable energy
production and carbon reduction targets, although significant concerns regarding the possible
environmental impact of major schemes for instance wind turbines may be supported.
Policy recognises that on major development sites the economies of scale are such that much
higher measures can be incorporated, therefore the thrust of Policy is to encourage and
support small scale renewable energy production and carbon reduction measures whilst
setting strict requirements in larger schemes.


www.eastdevon.gov.uk/new_local_plan_publication_draft_dec_2011_lowres.pdf

The Sustainability Appraisal provided detail and analysis:

RESOURCE CONSUMPTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Key Issues

Energy Consumption
• Devon currently receives around 1.8% of its energy supply from renewable
sources, mainly methane gas from landfill and small hydro schemes.
• East Devon has achieved greater improvements in domestic energy efficiency
than the South West region overall – 19.8% compared to 15.3%.
• High renewables targets were set by the now abolished South West RSS.
There is significant scope within East Devon for small-scale community based
energy production and combined heat and power (CHP) schemes.
 Waste
• Household waste levels in East Devon are increasing year on year whilst
landfill capacity in the District is becoming depleted.
• There is an ongoing drive to increase levels of recycling and composting.

 Climate Change
• The biggest contributors to CO² emissions in East Devon are the road
transport and domestic sectors at 36.8% and 35.8% respectively. Across the
South West overall, the top two contributors are the industry and
commercial sector and domestic sectors, at 36.1% and 32.8% respectively.
• Per capita CO² production is high in the East Devon District (8.4 tonnes)
compared with Exeter (5.7 tonnes) but is similar to the regional average of
8.2 tonnes. This is characteristic of a predominantly rural area with a high
reliance on road transport.
• Incidences of flooding in East Devon are expected to increase with projected
sea level rises and the onset of wetter winters. Areas of land classified as
Flood Zones 2 and 3 are identified around all of the main rivers in the
District as well as many of their tributaries.

Sustainable Development and Climate Change
• Climate change is one of the most significant challenges that faces East Devon
and the issue needs to be given due consideration in decision making.
Innovative solutions need to be sought to ensure that other sustainability
considerations (such as the conservation and enhancement of the landscape)
do not constrain low and zero carbon development as it is often possible to
achieve positive outcomes where there may initially appear to be conflicting
concerns.
• Allocating specific sites for renewable energy production sends a positive
message to developers that the District is proactive in encouraging renewable
and low carbon energy generation.


www.eastdevon.gov.uk/plg_preferredapproachsareport.pdf

And a lot of other documentation used in strategic planning at the District Council takes climate change very much into consideration, such as the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment from Halcrow:
www.eastdevon.gov.uk/plg_sframainreport01.pdf

Very positive is how the District Council has engaged with the Futures Forum on these issues:
Futures Forum: Development for Sustainability: Futures Forum meeting
Futures Forum: Development for Sustainability: sustainable communities
Futures Forum: Development for Sustainability: sustainability appraisal
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