The New London Plan is here! It was formally published and adopted on 2nd March 2021. This is the third London Plan from the Greater London Authority (GLA) since it was first published in 2004.

The London Plan plays a vital role and forms part of the development plan for all London boroughs. Planning applications that are referable to the GLA will be considered against the new London Plan’s policies and those within the individual borough Local Plans. Whilst there will be some divergence in policy with older Local Plans, future Local Plans will be expected to be in general conformity with the new London Plan.

With 100 policies covering 10 topic areas, this new publication is considered more comprehensive than its predecessors. The topic areas most interesting to us are in Chapter 9 – Sustainable Infrastructure. Here are some of the key points which you should be aware of and where we can help. You may find that some of these conditions were already being enforced by planning teams from when the draft policies were announced in previous years.

Heat Risk and Overheating

Capturing this early in the design is important. Low energy measures that can mitigate overheating risk should always be considered first, in accordance with the GLA’s cooling hierarchy. Referable schemes must provide a thermal dynamic overheating model, but many Local Plans also call for this regardless of scheme size.

A new Building Regulation for Overheating is also expected to come into effect next year, so it’s no surprise that these high standards are already being called for by London, which must manage their heat risk.

Emission Targets and Energy Hierarchy

The energy hierarchy and associated emission targets is something we are fairly familiar with now. Major developments (residential and non-residential) should be net zero-carbon following this hierarchy by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions through minimising energy demand. A minimum on-site reduction of 35% beyond Building Regulations is expected.

Another key element of the energy hierarchy is ‘Be Seen‘ which asks for developments to monitor, verify and report on energy performance post construction for at least five years.

There is an increased focus to achieve net zero carbon, with offset payments at £95 per tonne of CO2 where the zero-carbon target cannot be fully achieved on-site.

Life Cycle

To fully capture a development’s carbon impact, a whole life-cycle approach is needed. This covers everything from unregulated emissions (such as cooking and small appliances) to embodied emissions (associated with raw material extraction, manufacture and transport of building materials and construction) and all the way through to emissions from dismantling, demolition, and material disposal.

Designers will be expected to report a Whole life cycle carbon emission assessment for referable schemes. Major non-referable developments are also encouraged to do so. Locally sourcing materials will play a key role in achieving a low score.

Air Quality

Major schemes will need to demonstrate they are ‘Air Quality Neutral’ through an Air Quality Assessment. The important thing here that new schemes should not lead to a reduction in local air quality. Developers will be expected to improve pollution through their proposals in areas where a poor air quality is known.

Circular Economy

This looks to contain a new focus on the whole life cycle of the development. This means a big drive on waste reduction and material re-use and recycling. Referable applications will need to provide a ‘Circular Economy Statement’ which explains how they will promote circular economy outcomes and aim to be net zero waste.

We understand it can be challenging to know where to start. There’s a lot the London Plan covers. Should you have any queries, our team will be happy to help.

Tel: 01486 346700 | Email: info@cooperhomewood.com