Considerations for delivery
There is a limit to what planning policies alone can achieve in terms of delivering decentralised renewable and low carbon energy and responses to climate risks. Therefore, the outcomes of the evidence base can be used to develop a delivery focused implementation plan areas that identify local government delivery partners (such as the energy, finance and regeneration teams) and relevant Local Strategic Partnerships.
Delivery mechanisms should draw on the powers and duties available to you as a local authority and they should be supported by guidance to utilities, ESCo and specialist investors to manage future sustainable energy and adaptation climatic requirements of proposed development.
A high-level implementation plan should address areas for further work and discussion within your council, including:
- Opportunities for reducing CO2 emissions and adaptation risks in existing building stock, for example, through targeting a BREEAM rating for refurbishment projects or using a community infrastructure fund to encourage distributed energy generation. The page on Existing Dwellings discusses some of the issues which are relevant to dealing with issues in existing building stock
- Development phasing
- Funding mechanisms, such as Prudential Borrowing or Salix finance which help bridge the gap between national policy and local delivery.
- Levering in third-party finance
- Use of local authority powers to set up delivery companies, partnerships or joint ventures
- Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy
- Gaining political capital – appropriate stakeholder engagement
- Linking with other local authority or partner initiatives
It is also important that, whatever sustainable energy and adaptation policies you adopt, they are effectively delivered. You can achieve this by taking advantage of key intervention points in the Development Management process. The introduction to the Development Management pages sets out the process and highlights these key interventions.
