Consultation opens on Monday 28 September on further changes to one policy in the City Plan to reflect recent changes in national policy. The changes have been requested by the government appointed Planning Inspector. These further changes will take the Plan, which sets out a blueprint to provide homes and jobs for the city, closer to adoption.
Over the last few months the council has been responding to questions from the Planning Inspector to ensure the City Plan satisfies national requirements. This will mean the council can continue on the path of getting an agreed Plan which will carry weight when making planning decisions.
The Inspector has asked the council to further modify its Sustainable Buildings Policy (CP8) to remove references to the proposed 2016 zero carbon standard, the increase in on-site energy efficiency standards, and the Allowable Solutions carbon offsetting scheme as the government has indicated recently that it no longer intends to pursue them. The Inspector has also asked the council to remove the technical requirement for a 'sustainable buildings' standard on residential conversions as these will be covered by building regulations.
Councillor Gill Mitchell, chair of the city’s environment, transport and sustainability committee, said: “We need to follow the Planning Inspector’s advice and amend the City Plan to reflect national changes in planning policy before we take it on to the next stage. Nevertheless we will still seek the highest standards of sustainability in new developments and support developers that want to go beyond the building regulation standards. We have therefore retained our proposed energy performance target to ensure there is no drop in standards in line with the government’s March Written Ministerial Statement.
“We are also still pursuing the new optional standard for increased water efficiency as we are in a ‘water stress’ area and this allows us to have a local policy to ensure water is used efficiently in new developments.”
You can take part in the consultation online from Monday 28 September or access paper copies at the customer service centres or the three main libraries (Jubilee, Hove and Portslade).
Closing date for comments is 5.00pm Monday 9 November. All comments will be collated and sent to the Planning Inspector for review. If agreed, the City Plan will proceed to final draft for possible adoption in early 2016.
Updated information on the City Plan will also be available on the council’s website here