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21. ANP15: Net Zero, Climate Change And Building Design

21.1Climate change is recognised as a threat to society. Britain is committed to stringent carbon reduction measures through the 2008 Climate Change Act which feeds through to national planning policy encouraging a proactive approach to mitigating and adapting to climate change with targets to be achieved by 2050. Guildford Borough Council declared a climate emergency in July 2019 and has published a Climate Action Plan which sets out a commitment towards making the Council’s activities net-zero by 2030. The Guildford Borough Local Plan also includes policies which support zero carbon development.

21.2It is important that local communities take the lead in tackling climate change at local level. This can be done through Neighbourhood Plans which have a key role to play in increasing the parish’s resilience to climate change. The vision and objectives place climate change and sustainability issues at the heart of this Plan which feeds through to the policies. Community involvement will be key to the project’s development process. The policy below sets out a range of requirements to ensure that new and existing development addresses and mitigates the impact of climate change and supports the transition to a low carbon economy.

21.3Zero carbon building - To mitigate emissions that worsen climate change it is essential that buildings in Albury parish minimise energy use and maximise energy efficiency and the production and use of renewable energy to meet needs. As this Neighbourhood Plan has a lifetime of 15 years there is an implied expectation that any new development will be built to the current highest building standards by adhering to the latest zero carbon policy, national, local and Neighbourhood Plan policies, and should aim to be future proofed.

21.4Sustainable development should include the use of renewable energy and should seek where practical to benefit and connect to the wider local community and not just the development site. It should also take advantage of natural sustainable resources such a water capture, siting, and orientation as well as insulation, heat retention and reflection as appropriate.

21.5Waste management should prioritise waste reduction, recycling, and composting initiatives to minimise waste going to landfill.

21.6Residential: new buildings - The scope for new development opportunities in the parish are constrained by the Green Belt, settlement area and Surrey Hills National Landscape. Achieving highly energy efficient buildings through a process of design performance will make a significant contribution to mitigating climate change in the parish. As such, any new development should aim to meet high levels of sustainable design and construction.

21.7The Neighbourhood Plan includes a policy that sets sustainability targets for new development. Recent changes to Buildings Regulations have introduced sustainability standards that are more stringent than those set out in the Guildford Local Plan. The Neighbourhood Plan supports these targets but encourages developers to improve upon them where possible. This includes a requirement for a “Whole Life Zero Carbon” report. This should be provided at the planning application stage to avoid leaving it to the Building Regulations stage, by which time the opportunity may have been lost. The “Whole Life Zero Carbon” report will enable the design team to understand and respond to the lifetime consequences of their design decisions and to design for adaptability, longevity and contribute to resource efficiency.

21.8It is acknowledged that there may sometimes be a trade-off between the objectives of this policy and local design policy as set out in the Albury Parish Design Guide APPENDIX A, policy issued by Guildford Borough Council and those for the Surrey Hills National Landscape. It therefore allows for some limited degree of flexibility.

21.9Existing and historic buildings: residential and non-residential - Even if all new housing were to be carbon neutral from tomorrow this would still not be enough to achieve carbon emission reductions to meet 2050 targets, as around 70% of the UK’s buildings that will be in use in 2050 already exist. As new development is low in the parish the percentage of existing buildings in Albury parish is much higher. In order to meet these targets, it is necessary to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings, including historic and listed buildings. Albury parish has a high number of historic buildings as identified in APPENDIX E the Heritage Report, so this is an important area of focus and will require community education in order to determine how it can be achieved and to access funding.

21.10The Parish Council is requested to set up a working group to identify properties that may benefit from retro fitting energy efficient schemes, and to contact the owners, providing information on advice and grant funding.

21.11Development should not damage the health of the air by increasing emissions of harmful pollutants to it. Such pollutants include: greenhouse gases; those considered to cause adverse impacts to the natural environment or be harmful to human health. All development must aim to be at least ‘air quality neutral’ and not cause or contribute to worsening air quality.

21.12Heat management. Development should demonstrate how it has been designed to mitigate and adapt to climate change and natural hazards. In particular how it can minimise heat generation through energy efficient design. Consideration should be given to moderating external temperatures through planting and landscaping, reducing the amount of heat entering a building through orientation, shading measures, balconies, internal or external blinds, fenestration, and insulation. Consider passive ventilation through the use of openable windows and cross ventilation and mechanical ventilation and minimising internal heat generation through energy efficient design and adopting pipe configurations which minimise heat loss.

21.13Education The areas of net zero, climate change and building design are evolving and will continue to do so during the life of the Neighbourhood Plan. It is therefore vital that a coordinated approach is taken so that community involvement is at the heart of delivering this policy. The Parish Council is requested to set up a working group with responsibility to review the parish and identify areas of strength and weakness in net zero, climate change, green infrastructure and biodiversity, to remain informed of new developments in these fields that can support introduction and efficiencies and be applied in the parish, to find resources for professional advice, funding sources and for these to be communicated to parishioners.

21.14This working group could include the resources offered by parishioners who volunteered their services when responding to the Neighbourhood Plan public consultation 2024. Some of these include professionals in the field of green energy and architecture.

Policy ANP15 – Net Zero, Climate Change & Building Design

1. New residential development should achieve high levels of sustainable design and construction and be optimised for energy efficiency, targeting zero carbon standards through the following measures:

  1. Siting and orientation to optimise passive solar gain

  2. Use of high quality, thermally efficient building materials

  3. Incorporating energy efficiency measures such as loft and wall insulation and double glazing and maximising the use of renewable energy, including solar voltaic panels.

  4. Providing dedicated space for the storage and sorting of recycling.

  5. Incorporating best practice building standards to future proof the development, including Passivhaus.

  6. Designing and constructing buildings to mitigate and adapt to climate change through measures to avoid overheating, including through building orientation and landscaping, incorporating passive heat control measures and minimising the need for heat generation through energy efficient design.

2. New non-residential developments should aim to meet the same standards of construction as for residential developments (as set out in Part 1 above), where relevant, and in addition should aim to meet the Buildings Research Establishment BREEAM building standard of “excellent” or “outstanding” and any guidance or legislation that supersedes it.

3 Development proposals for the conversion and / or alterations to existing buildings will be supported where they include energy reduction measures and demonstrate through an Energy Assessment how the sustainable design and construction standards set out in Building Regulations and/or the Guildford Local Plan are being achieved. The retrofit of heritage assets, including renewable energy measures, will be supported providing it safeguards the significance of the heritage asset and is supported by the relevant heritage organisations