Letter sent to Boris Johnson flags concerns over promised commitments
Contractors, housebuilders and developers, including Sir Robert McAlpine, Berkeley and Capital & Counties, are among the signatories to a letter calling on prime minister Boris Johnson to ensure the Planning Bill promotes net zero.
More than 100 leaders from housebuilders, residential developers, architects, consultancies and contractors have signed the letter (see full list below), which is critical of measures trailed in the Queen鈥檚 Speech and the Planning White Paper published last year.
Others to sign the letter include Multiplex and Bam, British Land and Legal & General along with a host of architectural practices, including Bennetts, Hopkins and PRP.
In it, the signatories say they are concerned that the government鈥檚 plans 鈥渄o not include sufficient commitments for the Planning Bill to drive a strategic approach to the net zero transition, or to achieve development that is resilient to the impacts of climate change鈥�.
The letter (see box below) calls on the government to ensure the new bill aligns with and supports the UK鈥檚 target of achieving net zero by 2050.
It wants the bill to support measures in the delayed Environment Bill to assist the recovery of nature. It also calls for clarity on how land allocated for growth is compatible with net zero and increased resourcing and skills support for local authorities.
The letter says: 鈥淚t remains unclear whether proposals in the Environment Bill for nature鈥檚 recovery will be formally supported in planning, and we are concerned that the proposed land categorisations may open up protected areas for inappropriate development.
鈥淭o support the Government鈥檚 aims for nature recovery, local growth and levelling-up, the Planning Bill must demonstrate a continued commitment to enabling ambitious, locally-led climate action and environmental protection.鈥�
The government last month used the Queen鈥檚 Speech to trail measures that will form the forthcoming Planning Bill.
These include proposals to scrap Section 106 agreements, push widespread design coding, and force councils to zone swathes of land for 鈥済rowth鈥�, 鈥減rotection鈥� or 鈥渞enewal鈥�.
Land zoned for growth will benefit from automatic outline planning permission, with councils unable to turn down applications that accord with local rules.
The letter calls for:
- 路 The new Planning Bill to align directly with, and support, the UK鈥檚 net zero target and ambitions for nature set out in the Environment Bill
- 路 Clarity on how land allocated for 鈥榞rowth鈥� will be compatible with achieving net zero, securing nature鈥檚 recovery and delivering development resilient to the impacts of climate change.
- 路 Genuinely enhanced levels of protection in planning for designations in the Environment Bill intended to support nature鈥檚 recovery.
- 路 Increased resourcing and skills support for local planning authorities, in order to support their ability to set local targets, and deliver across multiple objectives in their local areas.
Full list of signatories
Acclaro Advisory
AGP Sustainable Real Assets
Akustak庐 (Cusp London Limited)
Alchemi Group
Aldersgate Group
Allies and Morrison LLP
Anglian Water
Apex Acoustics Ltd
Arcadis
BAM Construct UK Ltd
Bennetts Associates
Berkeley Group
Biogen Systems Limited
Bioregional
Black Architecture
Blue Tile Property Consultants
British Land
Bruntwood
Buro Happold
Capital & Counties Properties PLC
Carbon Intelligence
CBRE Ltd
CFP Green 黑洞社区s
chapmanbdsp
Civic Engineers
Climate Strategy & Partners
Conisbee
Cundall
Dan Carson Sustainability
Darren Evans Ltd
David Morley Architects
EAUC The Sustainability Leadership Alliance for Education
Ecovivid
Element Four
Elliott Wood Partnership
Encore Environment Limited
EPR Architects
Finance Earth
FORE Partnership
Gerald Eve
Globechain
Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London
Greencore Construction Ltd.
Greengage Environmental
Greenspace Live Ltd
Grimshaw
Hawkins\Brown
Hilson Moran Partnership Ltd
Hoare Lea
Hopkins Architects
Howard Kennedy LLP
HTA Design LLP
Hutchinson Engineering (Widnes)
Hydrock & Hydrock Consultants Limited
igloo
Ingenious Real Estate Finance
Interface
JLL UK
John Sisk & Son Ltd
Legal & General Investment Management
LightSIM Ltd
MCS Company
MCS Foundation
Morph Structures
Morrow + Lorraine Architects
Multiplex
National Union of Students UK
Norman Disney & Young Consulting Engineers
NSR Management Ltd
One Click LCA
Perkins & Will
ProofShield ltd
PRP Architects LLP
Quantem
Ramboll
reading university
RetrofitWorks
Robert Lambe FCIOB, Managing Director, Melius Homes Limited
ROCKWOOL Ltd
Saul D Humphrey LLP
Scott Brownrigg
SCRArchitects
Signify UK&I
Sika Limited
Sintali
Sir Robert McAlpine
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
SOS-UK
Space Positive Ltd
Spenbeck
SRE Ltd
Stride Treglown
StudioDS
Syntegra Group
Targeting Zero LLP
TFT
Thakeham Group
Thames Water
The Golden Threads of Construction Limited
The Pallet LOOP
Trident 黑洞社区 Consultancy Limited
TRILUX Lighting Ltd
Tritax Big Box REIT
Troup, Bywaters + Anders
Twinn Sustainability Innovation
U4L
UKGBC
Vertigo SDC
Willmott Dixon
Zeal Hotels
ZEHo Projects Ltd
Zero Carbon House
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