Consulting

Planning Policy Across The Southwest

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2024/2025 will see wholesale changes to planning policy across the Southwest which will impact environmental strategies for all developments. But is the construction industry ready for these changes?

Bath and Northeast Somerset

Bath and Northeast Somerset threw down the gauntlet in Feb 2023 by introducing some of the most advanced low carbon planning policies in the country.

Policy SCR6 - Sustainable Construction Policy for New Build Residential Development

  • Space Heating <30kWh/m2/annum

  • Total Energy Demand <40kWh/m2/annum

  • On-Site Renewable Energy Generation to balance the Total Energy Usage

Policy SCR7 - Sustainable Construction Policy for New Build Non-Residential Buildings 

  • Net zero for regulated operational carbon emissions

Policy SCR8 - Embodied Carbon

  • Embodied carbon assessments required for developments over 50 dwellings or 5000m2. Score of 900kgCO2e/m2 for substructure, superstructure and finishes must be achieved.

BaNES’ local plan update also saw the introduction of a carbon offset fund for projects which could not achieve net-zero on-site. The price of offsets is anticipated to be £373-378/tCO2 based on the BEIS Green Book values.

The remaining members of the West of England Combined Authority are currently updating their local plans to align and surpass the targets set out by BaNES.

Bristol

Bristol have just published their local plan update which will be formally adopted in Q1 2025.

Policy NZC2 - Net zero carbon development – operational carbon

  • Space Heating <15-20kWh/m2/annum

  • Total Energy Demand <35kWh/m2/annum

  • On-Site Renewable Energy Generation to balance the Total Energy Usage

  • Passivhaus Classic offered as an alternative way to achieve compliance.

Policy NZC3 -Embodied carbon, materials and waste

  • Embodied carbon assessments required for developments over 10 dwellings or 1000m2.

Upfront embodied carbon:

o Residential (4 storeys or fewer) - <400 kgCO2 e/m²

o Residential (5 storeys or greater) - <500 kgCO2 e/m²

o Major non-residential schemes - <600 kgCO2 e/m²

Whole life-cycle embodied carbon:

o Residential (4 storeys or fewer) - <625 kgCO2 e/m²

o Residential (5 storeys or greater) - <800 kgCO2 e/m²

o Major non-residential schemes - <970 kgCO2 e/m²

Bristol local plan update will also include a carbon offset fund priced at the same rate as BaNES.

South Gloucestershire

South Gloucestershire are currently consulting on their new local plan which should be adopted in 2025.

Policy PSP6 – Onsite renewable and low carbon energy

  • Net-zero in operation. Regulated or regulated and unregulated TBC.

  • Passivhaus Classic offered as an alternative way to achieve compliance.

South Gloucestershire local plan update will also include a carbon offset fund priced at the same rate as BaNES.

North Somerset

North Somerset are still consulting on their new local plan, but the latest consultation document closely replicates that of Bristol.

Policy DP6 – Net Zero Construction

  • Space Heating <15kWh/m2/annum

  • Total Energy Demand <35kWh/m2/annum

  • On-Site Renewable Energy Generation to balance the Total Energy Usage

  • Passivhaus Plus offered as an alternative way to achieve compliance.

  • Embodied carbon emission targets currently being reviewed.

Interestingly, whilst Passivhaus Classic is being used as an alternative route to compliance by Bristol and South Glos, Passivhaus Classic does not actually achieve net-zero. This means quality assurance through proof of airtightness and no thermal bridging is being prioritised over renewables.

The direction of travel is clear, but how achievable are these targets. Analysis undertaken by the University of Bath reviewing planning submissions against the latest BaNES targets found the following:

  • 54% of eligible planning applications did not comply with the new operational energy policy, primarily due to a lack of awareness.

  • 1/3 of applicants submitted incomplete energy model calculations, making them unreproducible and difficult to verify.

  • 88% of those applications which failed to meet the energy standards were due to a lack of on-site renewable energy generation. Largely due to available roof space for PV.

Concerns were also raised around the cost of creating the necessary energy models to demonstrate compliance at planning stage. This applies particularly to small developments where these works will form a disproportionally large percentage of the overall construction cost.

Major developments will likely also incur additional costs due to the new offsetting requirements in BaNES and Bristol. Taking the RIBA Climate Challenge 2030 ‘business as usual’ model as a baseline the following offset costs could be assumed:

  • £94.50/m2 operational carbon (£7,465 for a 2-bed, £8,788 for a 3 bed) worst case scenario

  • £214.48/m2 embodied carbon (£16,943 for a 2-bed, £19,946 for a 3-bed)

These costs are significant and can add up quickly across a large development site. If you need any support reviewing your current or future developments against these standards feel free to get in touch for some advice.

gcp offer Passivhaus design, whole life carbon assessments, and energy strategy assessments which can help developers to navigate these new planning changes to make the most informed decisions.

gcp Seminars: Passivhaus / Retrofit / Whole Life Carbon

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At gcp we know that the growing terminology around low carbon housing is confusing and practical implications on development can seem unclear. As early advocates for Passivhaus and low carbon design, we want to help our clients explore how high quality and sustainable housing can be achieved.

We offer seminars on Whole Life Carbon, Passivhaus, Net-Zero and Retrofit. Please let us know if you would like us to drop by and talk with your team!

t 0117 967 6286

e mail@gcparch.co.uk

Construction Life Cycle Assessment Specialists

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Since the release of the RICS professional statement on whole life carbon assessments in 2017 there has been a sea of activity across the construction sector to define best practice for low carbon buildings through publications such as the RIBA Climate Challenge 2030 or the LETI Climate Emergency Design Guide. Climate targets have led to legislative change through planning policy in some areas including Greater London, B&NES and Cornwall, however despite the plethora of targets and policies, there has been very little by way of certification for assessors.

Certification is important as it sets a common standard for the quality of assessments which should lead to better data capture and analysis across the sector and improve the validity of future targets.

gcp have undertaken whole life carbon assessments since 2020. Initially working from first principals and undertaking our own calculations, but quickly progressing to the OneClick LCA software which contains a much broader database of materials. In April 2023 we became certified as Construction Life Cycle Assessment Specialists by OneClick LCA which allows us to generate whole life carbon calculations with the confidence that we are providing the best and most valuable service to our clients.

If you would like to find out more about the low carbon design and assessment services we offer, please contact matt.bonney@gcparch.co.uk.

BaNES Local Plan Update

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BaNES have kicked off 2023 with a “groundbreaking” new policy which sets a precedent for low carbon planning policy across the country.

Housing in BaNES will now need to achieve net-zero energy in use; meaning all operational energy must be off-set using on site renewables, such as solar PV panels. In exceptional circumstances where this is not possible, BaNES will be operating a carbon credit scheme to offset excess energy by funding sustainable schemes throughout the region, such as installing solar PV on social housing.

Alongside this progressive operational policy, BaNES have also introduced an embodied carbon target of 900kgCO2/m2 for large developments.

Together these two policy changes should mean the whole life carbon of residential developments in BaNES will dramatically reduce in the coming years. However, to see the full picture, we need to compare these policies against other progressive industry guidance.

RIBA Climate Challenge 2030 for example sets the following targets for domestic developments:

This guidance suggests we should already be designing for <800 kgCO2/m2 with a 2030 target of <625 kgCO2/m2 embodied carbon, including services which are omitted from the BaNES requirements.

This may seem overly ambitious, but environmentally conscious housing developers are already surpassing these targets with standard forms of construction. We have recently undertaken an embodied carbon assessment for Goram Homes, Bristol City Council’s housing company, in partnership with Vistry Group. Houses at the One Lockleaze development in North Bristol were easily achieving <400 kgCO2/m2 with timber framed construction and <800 kgCO2/m2 with traditional construction for the apartments.

Publishing a target of 900 kgCO2/m2 embodied carbon (not including services) and net-zero operational carbon may inadvertently have a negative effect by encouraging developers to fill rooftops with solar PV to counteract poor thermal performance, rather than investing in fabric first design and integrating low carbon products to achieve buildings with a much lower whole life carbon.

Undoubtably, this is a massive step in the right direction for planning policy in England. Embodied carbon in particular has been screaming out for regulation, and by introducing the industry to concepts such as net-zero and whole life carbon we should see the acceleration of low carbon development we desperately need.

The gauntlet has now been thrown down to all other Local Authorities. I certainly hope Bristol and South Glos will look to match or surpass this policy when their new Local Plans go live in 2024.

gcp offer a whole range of sustainability assessments through gcp Consulting, including whole life carbon assessments. If you need to demonstrate compliance with sustainability targets or would be interested in understanding how well your current developments perform, please get in touch.

End of Year Wrap Up: 2022

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2022 has seen the “new normal” become the normal-normal, with hybrid working and remote meetings just a part of everyday life now. With bubble-working and office closures a thing of the past, the word of the year at gcp has been collaboration. We have really enjoyed being back in the office together, sharing stories and cakes at our Monday huddles and using our new whiteboard space for design workshops.

We started the year by offsetting carbon emissions: a frosty January day was spent planting trees with Avon Needs Trees. gcp are committed to tackling climate change both through our designs and our actions. We hope to build off this initial planting session by further developing our carbon tracking, reduction, reporting, and offsetting strategies to better understand how we can make a difference.

In February we celebrated national apprenticeship week, with architectural apprentice Owen Faunt. We are pleased to be supporting Owen through his Architectural Apprenticeship at South Bank University, London. We love discussing his projects and seeing his finished work and are incredibly proud of how far he’s come since his change of careers 3 years ago.

Part of his experience this year was the chance to work on The Ranch, Southmead, with DIY SOS. gcp helped with the overarching vision and Owen got the chance to put his amazing sketching skills to work.

Team challenges form the cornerstone of office morale here at gcp, and in March we split into team-bikes and team-books to see who could go the furthest – readers or cyclists. Team reading easily beat the cyclists, though with their many pub lunch cycles clocked up, who was the real winning team?!

In July, some of the staff, their partners and families took a relaxing weekend trip to Devon and in September we celebrated the company’s 30th birthday with our favorite memories and a huge cake.

2022 has seen a boom in recent sports project experience. gcp were proud to help bring a top class sporting facility to West London, with the completion of a fantastic cricket centre developed in conjunction with the Wilf Slack Trust, Middlesex Cricket and Willam Perkins School. We have some more exciting sports projects on the program for 2023!

Our long-running relationship with Curo continued this year, with Century Park a 128 unit scheme progressing well on site. This scheme has received great press and is a finalist in Bristol Property Awards, for Residential Development.

Alongside marking a continued relationship with Curo, we were pleased to be working with EG Carters, a partnership which has been ongoing for over 18 years. We have worked closely with the EG Carter team over the years to find practical development solutions for often tricky sites across the South West.

Our first project together (back in 2004!) was a small infill housing project in a dense urban neighbourhood in Bristol. Current projects include Rural Exception sites in Somerset and Wiltshire where we have worked closely with the E G Carter team, jointly negotiating our way through complex planning, land and environmental issues, to deliver needed affordable homes that are welcomed by the local community.

We celebrated with Acorn Property Group and Halsall the completion of Brooks Dye Works, a 113-home regeneration project in St Werburghs, Bristol.

Our initial contact with Acorn began when we supported Halsall Construction on the Otters Holt development in Ottery St Mary, a complex brownfield development in a conservation area. Acorn subsequently approached us to resolve planning conditions and provide technical design for their major project at the old Brooks Laundry in Bristol. Alongside architectural design we also provided energy assessments to meet Acorn's performance targets through our in-house energy consultancy.

Alongside our continued housing experience and exciting sports projects, we have been working on Retrofit in the Forest of Dean. At the CIH conference in September, Tom Mellor presented alongside Curtins, Two Rivers and Rider Levett Bucknall as part of the “Bristol Retrofit Collective” speaking to Demystify PAS2035. We will be running some further seminars on this subject in the New Year, so please get in touch if you’d like to get added to the list.

All in all, it’s been a busy year for gcp and we rounded it off with a lovely Christmas meal in Bristol last week. After a busy few months, it was lovely to gather around the table, enjoy good food and even better company and raise a glass to the success of our small team over the year.

We can’t wait to see what is in store for us and for you, in 2023.

Season’s greetings to all and wishing you a very happy New Year.

Renewable Energy for the Bristol Heat Network

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Castle Park Energy Centre proposal

Castle Park Energy Centre proposal

Planning has been submitted by Bristol City Council’s Energy Service for the construction of a new Water Source Heat Pump energy centre on the edge of Castle Park. gcp have worked with the client and the design team to deliver this exciting scheme which will generate renewable energy for the Bristol Heat Network. Consisting of an abstraction platform on the wall of the Floating Harbour, a heat pump building and a thermal store, the proposed water source heat pump will form a key part of the council’s ambition for Bristol to be a carbon neutral city by 2030.

“Fab to be involved in this fascinating project for the city on such a prominent site on the edge of Castle Park and the floating harbour. ”
— Jonathon Platt, Director, gcp Chartered Architects