Sustainability Committee
Inquiry into Carbon Reduction in Wales: The Role of the Planning System Carbon Reduction
The National Assembly for Wales Sustainability Committee is currently undertaking an inquiry into Carbon Reduction in Wales.
The terms of reference for the inquiry are:
To scrutinise the Welsh Assembly Government on its progress in contributing to the UK’s carbon reduction targets and its proposals for meeting the 3% per year carbon reduction target for Wales contained in the One Wales document.
The inquiry is split into the following topic areas:
Residential carbon reduction
Carbon reduction by transport
Carbon reduction by industry and public bodies
Carbon reduction from electricity generation (including renewable energy)
Rural land use management and carbon reduction
The role of the planning system in carbon reduction
Written consultations are carried out at the start of each topic area and the first five consultations are now closed.
The Committee is now issuing a call for written evidence for its sixth topic area - the role of the planning system in carbon reduction - and is keen to gather your organisation’s views in the attached questionnaire.
I would be grateful if you could submit any written evidence by Friday 23 January 2009 If possible, please supply an electronic version in MS word or Rich Text format, by email to Virginia Hawkins, Clerk to the Committee, at Sustainability.comm@Wales.gsi.gov.uk or on a disk. Disks or hard copy versions should be sent to the heading address.
Further information regarding the Committee’s inquiry into carbon reduction can be found on the Committee web pages at:
Written questions for carbon reduction inquiry: Land Use planning system
Questions
From the evidence collected in previous stages of the Committee’s inquiry into Carbon reduction in Wales, the land use planning system has emerged as a major barrier to progress in meeting the Welsh Assembly Government and UK Government carbon reduction targets. Issues raised included the time taken to complete the planning process, inconsistency in decision making and a lack of guidance to planning authorities from the Welsh Assembly Government. Many witnesses called for the planning process to act as a catalyst for carbon reduction in Wales.
What particular actions do you think the Welsh Assembly Government should be taking to ensure that the land use planning system in Wales encourages greater progress towards the achievement of carbon reduction targets?
What particular actions do you think the Local Planning Authorities in Wales should be taking to ensure that the land use planning system in Wales encourages greater progress towards the achievement of carbon reduction targets?
Please be as detailed as possible in you answers to questions 1 and 2.
"The Committee recommends that, through a Ministerial Interim Planning Policy Statement (MIPPS), the Welsh Assembly Government require developments of over 5 dwellings and all commercial developments to produce at least 10 per cent of their energy requirements through on site renewable energy or local decentralised sources.”
"The Committee recommends that, through a Ministerial Interim Planning Policy Statement (MIPPS), the Welsh Assembly Government require developments of less than 5 dwellings to reduce their predicted CO2 emissions by at least 25 per cent based on current building regulations through improvements to the energy performance of buildings, and/or the efficient supply of heat, cooling and power.”
"The Committee recommends that the Welsh Assembly Government revises Planning Policy Wales and the associated guidance to strengthen the requirements for local authorities to include policies aimed specifically at carbon reduction in their Local Development Plans.”
In July 2008 the Assembly Government issued a Planning for Climate Change1 consultation paper seeking comments on possible planning policy including the following areas: -
The use of sustainable building standards to drive up the sustainability of buildings in Wales;
The incorporation of local renewable and low carbon energy sources in new developments to reduce carbon emission, and;
The ability for Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to set higher standards in the above areas for strategic sites.
What are your views on the Assembly Government’s revised proposals for planning for climate change? In particular, do they go far enough in implementing the previous recommendations of the Committee?
"The Committee recommends that the Assembly Government reviews the application process for installation and use of low carbon technologies in residential buildings with a view to simplifying and accelerating the process.”
What changes to the planning system are needed to ensure that low carbon technologies are introduced more extensively into residential properties in Wales?
"The Committee recommends that the Welsh Assembly Government should urgently revise its statutory planning guidance for local authorities to ensure that proposals for development are not permitted where adequate public transport cannot be provided.”
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts;
Improving public transport and better integration between modes;
Improving links and access between key settlements and sites across Wales and strategically important all-Wales links;
Enhancing international connectivity; and
Increasing safety and security.
What needs to be done to ensure better co-ordination between land-use planning and transport planning?
Does the Welsh Assembly Government’s new transport strategy, One Wales: Connecting the Nation give sufficient emphasis to this issue?
What are your views on the current and proposed planning regimes for the consideration of large-scale energy projects in Wales?
What changes to Technical Advice Note 8 (Planning and Renewable Energy) would you wish to see?
Please note:
It is normal practice for the National Assembly to publish evidence provided to a committee. Consequently your response may appear in a report or in supplementary evidence to a report. The National Assembly will not publish information which it considers to be personal data.
In the event of a request for information submitted under UK legislation, it may be necessary to disclose the information that you provide. This may include information which has previously been removed by the National Assembly for publication purposes.
If you are providing any information, other than personal data, which you feel is not suitable for public disclosure, it is up to you to stipulate which parts should not be published, and to provide a reasoned argument to support this. The National Assembly will take this into account when publishing information or responding to requests for information.
1. Welsh Assembly Government Further Consultation on Planning for Climate Change, July 2008
2. Welsh Assembly Government, One Wales: Connecting the nation, April 2008,
