The TCPA and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), in collaboration with The Planner and planning technology company Landstack, have published a report assessing the gap between local authority climate ambitions and policy delivery.
The research reveals that whilst the vast majority of local plans (93%) set strategic objectives for addressing climate change, this is not backed up by policy coverage addressing key climate risks and mitigation opportunities, revealing a stark gap between stated climate ambition and tangible policy action in local plans.
Policy coverage in emerging plans compared to adopted plans is improving, but the scale and pace of change does not reflect the urgent action needed if new development is to align with national carbon budgets and secure the delivery of climate resilient places.
Amid a rapidly changing climate and planning environment, the study concludes that more work must be done to deliver local climate policy ambitions.
Commenting on the research, Celia Davis, Interim Director of Operations and Impact said: “This report shows that whilst there has been progress on coverage of climate change policies in local plans, there is still a long way to go to keep pace with the rapidly changing climate.
“As we await the publication of the updated National Planning Policy Framework, there is a clear opportunity for the government to put climate resilience at the heart of planning policy. However, as consulted, the NPPF will act as a brake on local progress and risks undermining the many authorities that want to build sustainable homes designed to avoid overheating and reduce energy bills.”
Other key findings include:
- Around half (53%) of emerging local plans contain policies that require developers to address overheating by producing ventilation and cooling strategies.
- Whole life carbon assessments are required by 43% of emerging plans – a marked improvement compared to just 6% of currently adopted local plans.
- Just 7% of emerging plans have assessed the carbon impact of local plan proposals.
The research builds on the RTPI and TCPA’s joint Planning for the Climate Crisis guide, which sets out practical planning approaches local authorities can use to tackle climate change through the planning system.
You can download the full report here.
A detailed feature exploring the report’s methodology and findings will be published separately in the upcoming July/August edition of The Planner.
Please look out for this feature on our social media and this news page, where a link to this piece will be published.
