Issues and opportunities

Planning strategy has an important role in ensuring that new developments are resilient and appropriately adapted to the potential impacts of climate change. The supplement to PPS1: Planning and Climate Change confirms that tackling climate change is key Government priority for the planning system and stresses that both mitigation and adaptation should be considered. It includes the following key planning objectives related to adapting the climate change:

• secure new development and shape places that minimise vulnerability, and provide resilience, to climate change; and in ways that are consistent with social cohesion and inclusion;
• conserve and enhance biodiversity, recognising that the distribution of habitats and species will be affected by climate change;
• reflect the development needs and interests of communities and enable them to contribute effectively to tackling climate change; and
• respond to the concerns of business and encourage competitiveness and technological innovation in mitigating and adapting to climate change.

It states that when selecting land for development planning authorities should take into account:

• the ability to build and sustain socially cohesive communities with appropriate community infrastructure, having regard to the full range of local impacts that could arise as a result of likely changes to the climate;
• the effect of development on biodiversity and its capacity to adapt to likely changes in the climate;
• the contribution to be made from existing and new opportunities for open space and green infrastructure to urban cooling, sustainable drainage systems, and conserving and enhancing biodiversity; and
• known physical and environmental constraints on the development of land such as sea level rises, flood risk and stability, and take a precautionary approach to increases in risk that could arise as a result of likely changes to the climate.

PPS 25: Development and flood risk aims to ensure that flood risk is taken into account at all stages in the planning process. Given that projected changes to climate are likely to have significant influence on all sources of flood risks, most of the provisions of PPS 25 are relevant to climate change adaptation. In particular, PPS 25 requires the:

• framing policies for the location of development which avoid flood risk to people and property where possible, and manage any residual risk, taking account of the impacts of climate change; and
• safeguarding land from development that is required for current and future flood management.

Local development frameworks can support climate change adaptation by including policies and Supplementary Planning Documents that require or encourage measures such as:

• buildings to be sited and designed to minimise solar gain during summer and exploit opportunities for passive cooling
• reducing flood risk to and from new development through location, layout and design, incorporating sustainable drainage systems (SUDS);
• ensuring that drainage systems can cope with more intense rainfall
• requiring permeable surfaces for pavements, driveways, footpaths, car parking areas and access roads
• minimising water consumption in buildings by measures such as rainwater harvesting and the recycling, or reuse, of greywater

The government is currently consulting on a new planning policy on development and coastal change. The intention is that the finalised policy will be published as a supplement to PPS25 and the current PPG20 Coastal Planning will be cancelled.

The Sustainability Appraisal(SA) or Strategic Environmental Assessment(SEA) of your LDF and any SPDs should include consideration of climate factors. The Environmental Agency has produced a document Strategic Environmental Assessment and climate change: Guidance for practitioners giving advice on the appraisal of both mitigation and adaptation issues in planning documents.

Sources of advice

Some Planning Policy Statements (PPS) relevant to the consideration of climate change adaptation:

• Planning Policy Statement 1: Delivering Sustainable Development
• Planning Policy Statement: Planning and Climate Change - Supplement to Planning Policy Statement 1
• Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing
• Planning Policy Statement 25: Development and Flood Risk
• Consultation paper on a new planning policy on Development and coastal change
• Web based Practice Guidance to support the supplement to Planning Policy Statement 1 on planning and climate change, jointly hosted by the Planning Advisory Service and Homes and Communities Academy.

UK Climate Projections 09

• Letter to Chief Planning Officers from CLG on how to use the UK Climate Projections 09 within regional and local plan making.

Strategic Environmental Assessment:

• CLG general advice on conducting SEAs -- A Practical Guide to the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive
• The Environmental Agency document Strategic Environmental Assessment and climate change: Guidance for practitioners

Other guidance:

• The Three Regions Climate Change Group publication Adapting to climate change: a checklist for development
• Adapting to Climate Change: A Case Study Companion to the Checklist for Development
• Appraisal of flood and coastal erosion risk management, Defra policy statement
• TCPA publication - Adapting to climate change by design
• NHBC Foundation Climate Change and Innovation in House Building: Designing out Risk.

Case studies

• The Environment Agency's land use planning adaptation case studies
• East Riding Council's 'roll-back' policy for its eroding coastline, a planning response to coastal erosion