Agenda item

To set out a response to a Motion brought to the 12 September 2019 Council meeting.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 17) which set out a response to a motion brought to the September 2019 Council meeting.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Hilary Cole and seconded by Councillor Alan Law:

That to Council notes the following response to the motion:

“The motion to the Council seeks the introduction of an SPD for CO2 and H2O, while this is possible it would not be advisable to do so as any SPD would not be enforceable under planning legislation as it would it would not be in conformity with both national and our local planning policies.

In order for the Council to progress such a policy as proposed, it will have to part of the new local plan and subject to consultation and examination in public and this is the intention.

However, this does not prevent the Council from progressing with the Environment Strategy, the consultation on which ends on the 21st February 2020, and which aims to make West Berkshire Council is carbon neutral by 2030.

For the reasons set out in this report the motion to Council is not supported.”

Councillor Hilary Cole informed members that West Berkshire Council was one of the first authorities in the country to have a policy adopted which went beyond the Merton Rule which required a standard of house building that was not only energy efficient but was able to be independently monitored. The policy was the Code for Sustainable Homes. It required all new homes built after 2016 to be zero carbon. Unfortunately the Government abolished the Code and stated that building regulation would be enhanced instead to deal with this issue.

The Motion proposed by Councillor Macro at the September Council meeting requested the introduction of a Supplementary Planning Document within six months which Councillor Cole commented was not possible given the regulations associated with their production.  Councillor Cole stated that if the Council tried to insist on standards which exceeded those set out in the building regulations with regard to CO² emissions and water usage then the Council would be exposed to additional appeals.

Councillor Hilary Cole stated that despite this the Council was not ignoring the issue. The merging Local Plan was looking at assembling evidence to support a new planning policy on this issue and some of the issue would be considered as part of the Environment Strategy albeit that this was not a planning document.

Councillor Alan Macro stated that he was pleased that this issue was being looked at but that the new Local Plan would not be in place for another three years. The Council needed to act now and should not rely on the introduction of enhanced building regulations in order to decrease emissions.

Councillor Lee Dillon stated that despite declaring a Climate Emergency a number of initiatives that had been brought forward to address issues had not been supported. He urged members to vote against the recommendations in the report and start building a profile for the future of the District.

Councillor Alan Law commented that he would like to support the motion but as explained by Councillor Cole the Code for Sustainable Homes, which the Council had adopted in 2010 and which was due to be introduced in 2016, had been superseded by National Planning Regulations and he therefore urged Members to reject Councillor Macro’s  motion to Council on practical grounds.

Councillor Hilary Cole stated that Members had lobbied Central Government extensively on this issue. The Council could not afford to divert valuable resources to develop this planning policy now given that it would be included in the emerging Local Plan.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.