COP26 might’ve been a damp squib, but green issues continue to dominate the agenda

On Wednesday evening, the Royal Borough of Greenwich became the latest London Borough to adopt a net zero strategy. The ‘Carbon Neutral Plan’ sets out an ambitious programme of action to decarbonise the Borough by 2030, 20 years ahead of the target set by the UK Government.

On the national stage, COP26 felt like a damp squib, but the salience of environmental issues at a local level is growing.

Air source heat pumps, photovoltaic cells and biodiversity net gain simply weren’t as present in the public vocabulary a year ago. Now, after months of press coverage and Government announcements ahead of the international summit, green issues are on everyone’s lips.

Sustainability is among the top priorities raised by communities at public consultations, and the all-important political decision-makers are seeking assurances that new developments are truly planned for an environmentally friendly future.

While the Future Homes Standard is four years away, an increasing number of local authorities are taking matters into their own hands by using local policy to influence development. Earlier this month, Cornwall submitted its Climate Emergency Development Plan to the Inspectorate. If adopted, the document will sit alongside the Council’s Local Plan.

In many cases, the development sector has been one step ahead of councils but hasn’t shouted enough about the success stories.

Our advice is simple: review your plans and look at ways in which you can help the local authority achieve its goals. Has your local planning authority has adopted a Climate Action Plan? If not, perhaps it has declared a climate emergency? Either way, you should be aware of this, and should be aiming to boost the profile of your sustainability credentials accordingly.

Big ticks on sustainability should be front and centre in your messaging. Whether it’s new green open space and tree planting, air source heat pumps or EV charging, planning committee members are less tolerant of schemes which don’t boast such features, even if the policy isn’t there to require them in the first place.

As tempting as it may be to defer to national targets, responding to the climate crisis is becoming ever more important to securing planning permissions quickly.