Low Emission Strategies

During Phase I of the programme (2008-9) the LES partnership worked with 15 local authorities across England in the development of LES.

Outlined below are some early project examples. We hope you can see where the approach being taken may be similar and/or assist you in making related decisions. We’ll keep you posted on how they develop.

Latest Project Updates

Mid Devon – Using their own Formulas to Assess Developer Contributions to Low Emission Strategies

Mid Devon are now using their own Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) “Air Quality and Development” to calculate developer’s contributions of 50% of the cost of measures within their Air Quality Action Plan. The SPD was widely consulted upon and has been accepted as a council strategic document.

See www.middevon.gov.uk/media/pdf/j/1/Air_Quality_SPD.pdf

Contained within the SPD is a formula for assessing developer contributions to the Air Quality Action Plan under different scenarios. As the main impact on air quality is vehicles, the common measure used is trip generation for different uses, by unit or floorspace. This is then directly related to the cost of mitigation. The impact on air quality will be related to the scale of development and trip generation that depends on the use class. Some exclusions/reductions are provided for, such as affordable housing and small dwellings.

Although Mid Devon in effect went out on a limb to produce their own formula, it was widely consulted on and was supported within the council and by important stakeholders such as the environment agency and CPRE. This now provides a sound and accepted base to assess developer contributions to low emission strategies in Mid Devon.

Following on from the last newsletter, we promised to keep you informed of the progress of LES’s in Mid Devon DC.

The large Tesco development mentioned last time has been conditioned via a section 106 agreement to:

• Upgrade the town bus service to increase it’s frequency, and to serve the railway station
• Refurbish the railway station using the S106 criteria
• Contribute £1.2m to the redirection of traffic away from populated parts of the Crediton Air Quality Management Area.
• Produce a travel plan for the whole site - this includes an on-site development of offices, and a family pub/restaurant in addition to the store.

Close liaison with the developers is still on-going but it appears that the store will be part of Tesco’s Eco Store concept and operating with a reduced carbon footprint. Submitted for approval are such innovations as gas low-carbon CHP, mixed mode ventilation including passive roof-mounted wind catchers, increased efficiency lighting, energy efficient small electrical items, electricity load management and improved switching and additional and increased coverage triple layer glazing.

Sheffield – Approval Granted to Prepare a Low Emissions SPD

Sheffield City Council produced its Air Pollution and Land Use Planning guide in 2001. At present the city council now have the protection of air quality contained within its Local Development Framework. To further enhance the protection of air quality and to set it in a practical context, Sheffield is currently developing a supplementary planning document.

Approval has been granted by the city council’s Senior Management Team to prepare a Low Emissions SPD and a working group consisting of officers from Forward Planning, Transport Planning and Environmental Strategy has been set up to ensure a smooth transition to the final Low Emissions SPD.

Once agreed the document will be part of a family of SPDs that will be consulted upon and hopefully accepted as part of the city’s development plans.

Leeds – An Innovative Approach Through Two Projects

Leeds City Council is developing an innovative approach to LES through two potential projects. The first will see contributions sought from specific developments within certain sectors of the city where New Generation Transport (NGT) will be introduced.

NGT will take the form of either guided buses or trolley buses in line with the existing guided bus routes introduced two years ago. The new routes will incorporate low emission vehicle technology and form the basis of low emission corridors. Whilst at an early stage, discussions are taking place regarding using the introduction of NGT to designate a pilot Low Emission Zone.

Secondly, Leeds would like to build on the low emission vehicle trials in the city to develop a Low Emission Vehicle Demonstration Handbook. Leeds will be shortly starting the demonstration of dedicated and prototype dual fuel RCVs as part of their biomethane vehicle trials - operating vehicles on fuel made from waste that produces very low GHG and toxic emissions when used as a vehicle fuel. This demonstration will help Leeds look at producing their own vehicle fuel from an anaerobic digestion plant.

The Handbook will pass on advice to authorities wanting to trial new low emission vehicles, giving practical advice on cost, availability and maintenance. It will also cover the electric and low carbon van demonstrations arising from Leeds’ participation in the Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme- a £50M programme of accelerating the uptake of new vehicle technology managed by Cenex in partnership with the Department of Transport.

Sefton - Developing a Low Emissions Strategy for Sefton

Relationships between Planners, Transport Planners and Air Quality Officers in Sefton have been strong for many years. They have worked well together to ensure that air quality is taken account of when planning applications and new road schemes are under consideration. This ensures that the views of Planners and Transport Planners are reflected in Sefton’s air quality strategy and Air Quality Review and Assessment work.

However, when as a Beacon council Sefton became involved in the Low Emissions Strategies Development Project (LESDP) Sefton realised there was more that could be done using the Planning system to control emissions and improve the local environment.

When Sefton began to explore the ideas being developed by the LESDP some familiar concerns were raised. Namely that in Sefton, development is necessary for the regeneration of local communities and the council would be unwilling to take action that may discourage it. Sefton however, also recognised that Low Emission Strategies can make a difference and that actions could be taken that would not scare developers away whilst still clearly outlining what would be required from them, which would actually make things easier for developers.

Although in the early stages of developing an LES, Sefton have had two meetings to discuss it. The meetings were facilitated by Andrew Whittles of the LESDP, and brought together senior council officers from present development control, those responsible for the Core Strategy, transport planners and air quality.

Meeting one discussed whether an LES was the right thing to do for Sefton, what were its aims and how it should be done. With general agreement on the LES course of action, meeting two considered the type of actions that could be included. A further meeting has been established to refine the actions and to finalise the strategy.

The actions that Sefton are considering include:

• Developing a guide for Development Control Officers on what actions will be required of developers to reduce emissions
• Moving away from requiring air quality assessments to requiring identification of emissions, due to the development and the requirement to reduce them.
• Modifying an existing SPD on ensuring choice of travel to include LES actions and giving consideration in the longer term to developing a specific LES SPD.
• Providing some small bursaries for students from local universities to examine specific aspects developing and implementing an LES in Sefton.

Previous Project Updates

Mid Devon – Embedding LES into the Local Development Framework and Low Emission/Air Quality Benefits from S106 agreements

Mid Devon District Council is conducting an examination of how to incorporate LES, sustainable energy and carbon foot printing into proposed housing allocation sites under the Local Development Framework (LDF). The aim is to establish LES as a key infrastructure requirement.

A major consideration will be the weighting between these elements in relation to allocation decisions. The project seeks to develop an approach so that the principle of low emission and low/zero carbon development can be embedded within the site allocation process.

In turn this will inform their Development Plan Document produced under the LDF. The DPD produced by Mid Devon hopes to achieve a coherent approach to managing and mitigating both the climate change and local air quality impacts of future development.

Demonstrating benefits are important to achieving a successful approach. Clearly indicating environmental and health gains will be the best way to convince elected members, planners, developers, environmental officers and the general public that such an approach is worthwhile. Mid Devon are just at the start in the assessment of benefits, however they have managed to develop a formula for coherent and consistent section 106 requests. This ‘Mid Devon Formula’ allocates a proportion of Air Quality Action Plan delivery costs to each new development, providing a defendable basis for requesting S106 contributions. This formula has been formally adopted and incorporated in an air quality and planning supplementary planning document.

The potential low emission benefits are now being realised from the approach being taken in Mid Devon. Already, using the formula has resulted in a major air quality action plan activity being part funded through a £1.2 million S106 agreement from a Tesco development. Details of the s106 relating to this development will be available soon.

South Cambridgeshire – An LES for a New Town

South Cambridgeshire District Council plan to agree and adopt a comprehensive LES for the development of the new town of Northstowe.
The new town of Northstowe is located 8km to the northwest of Cambridge and will include 9,500 dwellings plus a variety of amenities. The LES will bring together existing planning policies and highlight areas for future policy development. Initially, work will be carried out to create a LES framework, which will be focussed upon providing best practice and guidance for future significant developments within the District.

Greenwich – Quantifying the Benefits of an LES

Greenwich is to undertake a major LES impacts assessment study. The intention is to look at impacts at different scales (i.e. individual development, regional and national).
Like the Mid Devon case study, the work being undertaken by Greenwich will feed into what is felt an essential outcome from the LES project i.e. a set of clear and easily understood quantification of impacts.
The project will report back on how Greenwich are progressing with this vital piece of work. We can then compare it with the Mid Devon work to see which is most suitable for other local authorities to use, or which elements from each piece of work can best be used in local authorities that may have particular constraints or opportunities that they need to address.