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Local action

Local government has a pivotal role in achieving sustainable development including mitigating and adapting to climate change.

The Local Government White Paper 2006 (Strong and Prosperous Communities) sets out important policy changes that enable local government to become leaders in climate change. For example:

  • Since climate change is a cross-cutting issue in policy terms, the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) used effectively should be an important vehicle. LSP bring together the public, voluntary and private sectors to co-ordinate the contribution that each can make to improve local areas. Underpinning and supporting LSP are various thematic partnerships responsible for tackling specific agendas, including adaptation to climate change. Tools such as the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change, a high-level statement of commitment, can help provide the political support and measurable targets needed to take broader action at the local level.
  • The national performance framework sets out 198 indicators, of which 35 are negotiated by Local Area Agreements (LAA). These are key levers for local authorities to address issues include adapting to climate change (National Indicator 188), flood and coastal erosion risk management and improved local biodiversity.
  • LSP have responsibility for drawing up a Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) which should provide the overarching framework for delivering climate change adaptation and mitigation. LAA or MAA between more than one LSP, provide a mechanism for linking the objectives set out in the SCS to delivery.
  • LSP, SCS and LAA, therefore, offer local authorities new opportunities to set and achieve a vision for their areas, with their partners. They allow different agencies to pool budgets in pursuit of common aims and challenging targets. These local partnerships should be seen as a key vehicle for climate change adaptation.

The spatial elements of the SCS need to be delivered through the planning process. LDF in England should provide the spatial expression of each SCS, therefore the Development Plan Documents (DPD) that form part of the LDF should point to practical actions which can be addressed through planning. All plans that form part of an LDF should be climate-proofed using Sustainability Appraisal.

The supplement to PPS1 on Planning and Climate Change indicates that a range of Local Development Documents (LDD) are likely to be relevant to planning for climate change adaptation.

  • The Core Strategy sets out the key elements of the local planning framework for the area. Policies should support RSS policies and targets by requiring local action on climate change. The most recent version of PPS12 enables more site specific policies and targets to be included in Core Strategies than was previously allowed, however:
    • Site Specific Allocations may be also relevant, for providing flood storage for instance; Area Action Plans (AAP) can also help by identifying areas, public spaces or properties that are at risk from flooding or other hazards such as over-heating, water shortages or land instability. AAP can also complement Core Strategies where significant change is proposed by providing policies relating specifically to the proposed developments.
  • Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD) or Supplementary Planning Guidance (in London) can provide more detailed guidance on delivering adaptation policy. These must be related to specific policies in DPD. A climate-sensitive development checklist could be incorporated into SPD, such as that produced by the Three Regions Climate Change Group.
  • Legally, the attachment of planning conditions and obligations is an effective way of controlling local development (e.g. by requiring Sustainable Drainage Systems – SuDS – to manage pollution and flood risk). Planning obligations, sometimes called ‘Section 106 agreements’ or planning gain, can act as a key instrument for enabling developers to contribute to climate proofing by requiring them to minimise future impacts and to carry out works which will provide community benefits. The Planning Act includes a duty on councils to take action on climate change in their development plan documents. It also contains enabling powers for charging authorities (including local authorities) to apply a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) on new developments in their areas to support infrastructure delivery. The CIL could be used to fund community energy infrastructure and to help public spaces adapt to climate change by enhancing the provision of green infrastructure.

Most buildings have a long life expectancy, the neighbourhoods in which they sit, even longer. It is important to assess the regional and local opportunities to adapt both new and existing public spaces to climate change. Matched with a clear understanding of the local vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, the imperative to act becomes clear.

Plan-making offers the chance to identify areas that can expect to undergo major change, through regeneration or growth initiatives including the Government’s Eco-Towns, Growth Points and the Sustainable Communities Plan. Such areas have the opportunity to build in adaptive measures from the outset but the importance of adapting existing communities and spaces should not be ignored.

It is also important to recognise that planning solutions alone are unlikely to fully deliver the necessary adaptation actions. Making things happen requires a strong emphasis on partnership working between planning, wider local authority departments and other key stakeholders. Furthermore, flexible frameworks should be put in place that are able to accommodate new climate change evidence as well as the advancement of adaptive technologies, as and when these become available.

National Indicator 188 – Planning to Adapt to Climate Change

The aim of this indicator is to ensure that the assessment of risks and opportunities from climate change is embedded across decision-making, services and planning. This should identify which local areas should treat adaptation as a priority and where relevant action plans should be developed. Working with local strategic partnerships to embed climate change adaptation across the local area will be important.

Over time, several supporting documents on adaptation are likely to be published, including statutory guidance and further evidence gathered as to the likely impacts of climate change. A framework should be put in place locally which accommodates and builds in new evidence as and when it becomes available.

Supplement to PPS1 on Planning and Climate Change: a local perspective

Assessing local vulnerability to climate change

A local study enables the likely impact of extreme weather to be more fully considered – weather extremes such as intense rain or high temperatures, including urban heat islands, are not fully reflected in current climate scenarios.

The supplement recommends the use of the Local Climate Local Impacts Profile tool, which helps local authorities to understand the impacts of weather and climate on the local community as well as the authority’s assets and capacity to deliver services. It looks at past weather events and the impact these had on the locality and helps identify the type of information needed to manage future weather events and to inform adaptation decisions.

Identifying vulnerable sites and opportunity areas

Heat and land use mapping helps assess local vulnerability to climate change and can provide the basis for evidence in support of policy and targets.

Developing climate change adaptation policies

Evidence base and mapping exercises can be used to define appropriate policy response at different spatial scales, from the local authority scale down to neighbourhoods and individual buildings. Planning policy and decision making will not be able to deliver all of the responses necessary and so close co-ordination with the Sustainable Community Strategy and LSP will be needed.