Government 'red tape' threat to Brighton eco-homes
22 December 2007
New ideas for eco-friendly buildings in Brighton & Hove, such as the ‘Green Dreams’ development described in The Argus, are under threat from government red tape, warn Brighton and Hove Greens.
In a directive issued by the government this week, measures for cutting down on energy and water consumption, such as solar panels and wind turbines, can no longer be included in local ‘supplementary planning documents’ (SPDs).
They must now be outlined in ‘development plan documents’ (DPDs) that are more unwieldy and take longer to produce and to be agreed.
Planners at Brighton & Hove City Council are working on an SPD that could make a real difference to the quality of new buildings in our city and beyond. The Greens would like to see even tougher measures included in the final draft.
All these could be scuppered by a technical detail in the government’s new planning policy statement: Planning and Climate Change.
Paul Steedman (pictured left), Green Party Councillor and member of the Council’s Sustainability Commission and its Planning Committee, explains:
“We want to spearhead strict stipulations for energy efficiency and renewable power for all new buildings.
"If these were to be adopted as a new standard, we could be talking about Brighton and Hove making a real contribution to tackling climate change.”
Following a Green Party motion agreed by the Council on 18 October, Chief Executive, Alan McCarthy wrote to Housing Minister, Yvette Cooper asking her to change the government guidance when still at draft stage, but she refused.
The Greens are now concerned that meeting the new government directive could mean that innovative measure for new buildings could take so long to be agreed that development plans may be given the go-ahead without them, and fantastic opportunities for real and positive change would be lost.
Paul Steedman added: “It's sad to think that the Government, which makes so much noise about tackling climate change, should be the very ones to force us to delay or water down our plans. This is madness; it benefits no one.”
Notes to editors:
For more information contact Lizzie Deane, External Communications Co-ordinator, on 07899 8432061. The Argus first reported the story under the headline ‘Green Dream’; the story is available at www.theargus.co.uk/display.var.1688242.0.eco_plan_to_make_city_the_greenest_in_the_land.php?act=login
2. The new document Planning Policy Statement: Planning and Climate Change. Supplement to Planning Policy Statement 1 can be downloaded at http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/614742
3. The full Green Party consultation response is available on request from paul.steedman@brighton-hove.gov.uk
4. The full text of the motion is available at http://peace.brighton-hove.gov.uk/Intranet/CommitteeMgt.NSF/0/579EA8CD4C1A53F9802573700056128A/$File/071018+NM07+(MertonRule-GreenGrp).doc
5. Green technologies such as solar water heating, photovoltaic solar panels, wind turbines, biomass combined heat and power and groundsource heatpumps could suffer from the Government's 'red tape' plans.
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