Kelvedon Hatch Parish Council response:
Please feel free to use it if you agree with it.
Question 18
Q18) Do you agree with policy PM13 on setting local standards, including the proposal to commence s.43 of the Deregulation Act 2015?
Kelvedon Hatch Parish Council strongly disagrees with policy PM13 of the NPPF on setting standards, and strongly disagrees with the proposal to commence s.43 of the Deregulation Act 2015.
a) Please provide your reasons, particularly if you disagree.
Policy PM13 should be deleted or amended to allow Local Authorities, including Town and Parish Councils through their Neighbourhood Plans, to be responsive to their local communities’ needs and priorities (e.g. by tackling the cost of living crisis and alleviating pressure on health services) and take advantage of potential economic opportunities created by having the flexibility to go further than Building Regulations (current or planned) in development plan policies, and to set policies on matters relating to construction (where evidenced and viable). Local authorities, including Town and Parish Councils, must retain the ability and flexibility to fulfil their duties and obligations and deliver healthier, resource efficient, resilient new homes through the planning process that are aligned with statutory climate targets, better adapted to climate risks, and contribute towards the Clean Power 2030 mission.
Local Plan policies setting local standards, including localised energy efficiency standards, do not create the economic issues that the Government is concerned about, and therefore PM13, DM7, and section 43 of the 2015 Act are not necessary.
To provide further robust, justification and explanation for the reasoning behind the suggested deletion or amendment of PM13, key points are listed below:
The risks associated with implementing PM13 as currently drafted are that:
1. Opportunities for economic innovation and growth in key sectors will be stifled.
2. Benefits relating to the cost-of-living crisis and fuel poverty will be lost.
3. Benefits relating to people’s health and well-being (including those relating to economic productivity, climate resilience and public services) will be lost.
4. Significant additional pressure is put on the energy system, which undermines the Greater Essex Local Area Energy Plan and the Government’s Clean Power 2030 mission, and inhibits the effective use of land.
5. Local climate targets and national statutory carbon reduction targets will be harder to meet, and local action on mitigating and adapting to climate change will be frustrated.
6. Local authorities are inhibited from responding to the local needs and priorities of their areas, including consumer demands, which undermines the move nationally towards greater devolution and local control.
7. By creating uncertainty in the policy landscape of Greater Essex (which is setting consistent energy efficiency standards beyond Building Regulations including Future Homes Standard), the planning and delivery of new homes, including Garden Communities and strategic development sites, will be disrupted.
The justification for PM13 is challenged and considered flawed because:
1. There is no evidence to show that setting local standards creates problems with viability and delivery of housing. On the contrary, there is evidence to show that development in areas with local standards is viable and deliverable.
2. There is no evidence to show that setting local standards creates problems with scaling of energy efficiency technologies. On the contrary, setting local standards can help stimulate investment and expansion of supply chains and enable a manageable increase in deployment.
3. The notion that energy is not a locally variable issue is unfounded. Energy is an issue of national importance, but is affected by local variables, and requires solutions at a local level that cannot solely be left to the market to determine.
4. The notion that there are lots of varying standards across local plans is unfounded. Local authorities are aligned around essentially the only approach that delivers truly net zero buildings and which uses energy-based metrics that are also backed by industry and the Climate Change Committee.
5. Relying solely on Building Regulations (including the anticipated Future Homes Standard) to deliver new homes that align with climate targets is inadequate.
6. PM13 contradicts other parts of the draft NPPF, undermines other areas of sustainable development and other Government Plans and Strategies.
7. There has been no published environmental assessment or equalities impact assessment accompanying the draft NPPF, consequently, no consideration of the environmental implications or equalities implications has occurred in the setting of proposed policy PM13, which is unacceptable.
Each of the points raised are explained and evidenced in detail by the response submitted by Essex County Council, which Kelvedon Hatch Parish Council endorses.