Sustainability hub added to national planning application service

Planning Portal, the national online planning application service, has set up a dedicated section to provide architects with concise information and guidance on how to make designs more sustainable, including how to check compliance with planning regulations and requirements.

The free resource, a joint venture between the government and TerraQuest, has been created as part of a drive to “simplify sustainability legislation to encourage uptake”. The guidance is split into two sections: one aimed at homeowners working on small projects; the other at professionals, including architects, working on larger projects.

A range of legislative guides for professionals provide detailed information on evolving issues such as biodiversity net gain, which requires developers to demonstrate that schemes will increase the biodiversity of their site by at least 10 per cent; and nutrient neutrality, which places limits on the runoff of surface water and wastewater produced by development, and the Future Homes Standard.

These guides summarize the latest updates, provide explanations to stakeholders, and provide links to necessary regulations and other resources.

Planning Portal policy and strategy adviser James Garrett tells RIBAJ: “Post-election, there will potentially be a shift in priorities with new initiatives being launched. Our team of experts will be looking at this as policy changes. We wanted to provide a single source that people know they can rely on and return to as situations change and repeat themselves.”

The Sustainability Hub provides detailed information on sustainability concepts relevant to planning and construction. These include embodied carbon and retrofitting, covering the benefits of different retrofit approaches and common changes. The advice is tailored to help applicants submit valid planning applications that meet environmental standards.

The section on sustainability financing explains the grants currently available from the government, including the Green Deal, the Boiler Retrofit Scheme, the Home Improvement Grant and the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4), with external links to further information.

The Planning Portal has worked with organizations such as the Environment Agency, the Public Advice Service and those involved in developing BNG policies to improve the way information is presented on the website. The partnership with BNG specialist Joe’s Blooms gives planning applicants access to online tools designed to help them check and meet their biodiversity obligations.

According to Garrett, architects can use these resources to “make sure they’re up to date with their knowledge” or point them to clients to raise the profile of sustainability issues. “You want to be able to prove to your customers why certain things are required and why they should be done a certain way, so it’s not just about ‘take my word for it,’” he says.

The plan is to expand the center to collect feedback from local authorities on the quality of planning applications, including common errors and invalid applications.

“The goal is to try to get some of the validation work done early to ensure a better quality application from the get-go,” Garrett says, “so there’s less friction and delays down the road.”