MD2962 London Plan Guidance – Whole life carbon and circular economy

1.1. The London Plan 2021 was published on 2 March 2021, giving full statutory weight to the Spatial Development Strategy as part of the Development Plan for all London planning authorities. Following its publication, a suite of new guidance is being developed, providing additional detail on how specific policies in the Plan should be applied to planning applications and boroughs’ local plans.

1.2. The two guidance documents in this MD will be the third and fourth to be adopted following the Plan’s publication. The first two were adopted by the Mayor in 2021 through MD2861, which also sets out further background on the LPG programme and the approach being taken.

1.3. LPG has no specific statutory weight and cannot create or change London Plan policies. However, it is capable of being a material planning consideration and adds further, more detailed guidance as to implementation of the London Plan in practice.

1.4. This MD relates to the adoption of the following LPG:

• Whole Life-Cycle Carbon Assessments LPG (Appendix A)
• Circular Economy Statements LPG (Appendix B).

2.1. The objective of LPG documents is to provide detailed guidance to complement and support the implementation of policies within the London Plan 2021 and the Good Growth objectives set out in the Plan. It should facilitate improved clarity and faster decision-making by ensuring a consistent and shared understanding of the policies’ requirements across local planning authorities and all stakeholders, including developers and their agents, and the local community. The development of the LPG will contribute to the aims set out in the GLA Act, in particular to achieving sustainable development, and mitigating and adapting to climate change.

2.2. The LPG topics that are included for adoption in this MD have specific objectives as set out in turn below.

Whole Life-Cycle Carbon Assessment LPG

2.3. The WLC Assessments LPG provides guidance for the implementation of Policy SI 2, on minimising greenhouse gas emissions, as specifically referred to in subsection (F) of that policy. This requires proposals referable to the Mayor to calculate WLC emissions through a nationally recognised WLC assessment; and to demonstrate actions taken to reduce life-cycle carbon emissions. The guidance was developed with technical expertise from consultants Cundall and Targeting Zero, and thorough engagement with a wide range of stakeholders including developers and industry experts.

2.4. WLC emissions are the carbon emissions resulting from the materials, construction and the use of a building over its entire life, including its demolition and disposal. A WLC assessment provides a fuller picture of a building’s carbon impact on the environment. The guidance sets out how WLC information should be collected and reported at different stages of the design and development process. This is an innovative approach that captures carbon emissions of the built environment that are not currently well understood or reported and sits alongside the long-established and successful approach to reducing the operational carbon emissions of buildings in successive London Plans.

2.5. The technical detail set out in the WLC LPG is critical to the implementation of the London Plan policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and will help to embed consideration of WLC in the design of buildings. This will contribute to the Mayor’s commitment to making London a zero-carbon city.

Circular Economy Statements LPG

2.6. A CE is defined as one where materials are retained in use at their highest value for as long as possible and are then reused or recycled, leaving a minimum of residual waste. CE statements are intended to demonstrate how a development will incorporate CE measures into all aspects of the design, construction and operation process, therefore encouraging development that is designed to eliminate waste, conserve resources, and manage waste sustainably at the highest value.

2.7. The CE Statements LPG explains how to prepare a CE statement as required by Policy SI 7 of the London Plan for development proposals that are referable to the Mayor.

2.8. A key aspect of this guidance concerns approaches to reusing and demolishing existing buildings. The guidance sets out a hierarchy, with retention and retrofit of existing buildings at the top and demolition at the bottom. A ‘decision tree’ sets out a series of questions for a proposed scheme, which inform the approach to retention and/or demolition. A crucial question asks whether the existing building (or parts of it) is suited to the requirements for the site, and the guidance explains that, where disassembly or demolition is proposed, applicants should set out how the options for retaining and reconstructing existing buildings have been explored and discounted, and show that the proposed scheme would be a more environmentally sustainable development.

2.9. This aspect of the guidance reflects the balance that needs to be struck when considering the most sustainable approach to designing a development where there are existing buildings: on the one hand, the importance of keeping embodied carbon in situ; on the other hand, the need to accommodate Good Growth through sustainable patterns of development. It is right to want to reduce demolition and reuse buildings wherever possible but there are situations where insisting on this would fail to optimise a site – for example, a low-density retail park close to public transport. The guidance recognises that different approaches will need to be taken on different sites; and allows an opportunity for applicants to justify the approach proposed.

Templates

2.10. Both the WLC Assessments LPG and CE Statements LPG require the submission of a spreadsheet by applicants. Templates have been created for this (Appendix G and Appendix H) and these contain some technical calculations. Following adoption of the guidance, situations may arise where these templates require technical updates, and these may in turn require minor changes to the relevant part of the LPG. Given the limited nature of such changes, the decision to make these changes would be expected to be taken under the General Delegation rather than through a further Mayoral Decision.

3.1. The Mayor and the GLA are subject to the public sector equality duty, as set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. The London Plan and its policies plan for growth on the basis of its potential to improve the health and quality of life of all Londoners, to reduce inequalities and to make the city a better place to live, work and visit. It uses the opportunities of a growing and changing city to plan for a better future, and for planning decision to be focused on improving London, transforming the city over time. It plans not just for growth, but for Good Growth – sustainable growth that works for everyone.

3.2. Objective GG1 of the London Plan – building strong and inclusive communities – makes it clear that Good Growth is inclusive growth. This objective underpins the policies in the Plan, which will help to address inequality in a broad range of different ways. The London Plan 2021 was subject to an iterative Integrated Impact Assessment process including an Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA), and this assessed the impact of the policies within the Plan on which the LPG in this report provides further guidance. This has been supplemented by an EqIA specific to each of the LPG topics, recognising that the application of the detail can give rise to additional, exacerbated or mitigated impacts that need to be taken into consideration in having due regard to the Equality Duty.

Whole Life-Cycle Carbon Assessments LPG

3.3. The EqIA undertaken for the guidance did not show any impact on groups with protected characteristics, and no responses to the consultation identified any equality impacts. The full EqIA report is included as Appendix E. The Mayor should have regard to the contents of this EqIA report in deciding whether to agree the recommendations within this report.

Circular Economy Statements LPG

3.4. The CE Statements LPG is expected to give rise to positive impacts for older and younger Londoners, disabled people, people who are pregnant, people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, women (particularly those who are single parents) and people on low incomes, largely as a result of minimising pollution and therefore improving air quality. The full EqIA report is included as Appendix F. The Mayor should have regard to the contents of this EqIA report in deciding whether to agree the recommendations within this report.

4.1. Care has been taken to ensure that the guidance contained in the LPG does not create or amend policies contained within the London Plan 2021 and falls within the legal powers used to produce such guidance. These documents do not purport to be statutory Local Development Documents within the meaning of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 or Supplementary Planning Documents developed in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012. This will mitigate the risk of any legal challenge to the LPG documents following adoption.

4.2. Historically, the issuing of Supplementary Planning Guidance has not always been as successful as envisaged, due to the length of the documents and a lack of focus on how their requirements should be implemented in the planning system. To mitigate this risk, the new LPG documents are written in a clear and direct manner, without unnecessary related information. In addition, each LPG document sets out clearly at the start the types of planning applications it should be applied to and how it relates to boroughs’ development plan documents (as relevant). The relevant London Plan policy and who the guidance is for are also explained at the start of the document.

4.3. While the London Plan 2021 was developed and subject to Examination in Public (EiP) prior to the Mayor’s target for London to be carbon-neutral by 2030, it remains a sound spatial development strategy for London and part of the statutory development plan for Greater London. Many objectives and policies in the Plan are even more relevant, including the policies that underpin the two LPG in this MD, which seek to ensure developments are built according to CE principles and in ways that account for WLC.

4.4. No-one involved in the drafting or clearance of this form or the preparation of the LPG has any conflict of interests that might arise as a result of the adoption and implementation of the LPG.

Consultation and Impact Assessments

4.5. For each piece of guidance, consultation was undertaken in accordance with section 32 of the GLA Act. This included a bespoke engagement process in order to realise Good Growth objective GG1 A, which requires early and inclusive engagement with stakeholders.

4.6. Consultation on the draft guidance was held between 13 October 2020 and 15 January 2021. Details of the consultation are set out in the consultation reports attached at Appendix C and Appendix D.

Engagement – Whole Life-Cycle Carbon Assessments LPG

4.7. Engagement on the WLC Assessments LPG included workshops at an early stage with developers and housing associations, professional bodies and industry professionals. A webinar was also held with boroughs, and the approach was presented at a technical seminar in the run-up to the London Plan EiP. This was open to members of the public and those involved in the EiP, including the panel of Planning Inspectors. These various sessions informed the development of the draft guidance. A webinar was held during the formal consultation, attended by over 240 people.

4.8. There was strong overall support for the WLC LPG, with 86 per cent of respondents to the consultation survey agreeing or strongly agreeing with the approach set out in the draft guidance.

4.9. The main issues raised by respondents related to obtaining accurate data for different modules and stages of assessment, the scope of assessments, securing requirements to report the data, verification of data and the complexity of assessing grid decarbonisation. The guidance has been updated in response to these issues, including updates to the processes and reporting requirements. Suggested wording has also been made available to help boroughs secure the post-construction assessment as part of legal agreements.

Engagement – Circular Economy Statements LPG

4.10. Engagement on the CE Statements LPG included a number of technical meetings with specialist consultants prior to the formal engagement. During formal engagement, three webinars were held, attended by around 100 people in total.

4.11. There was strong overall support for the CE Statements LPG. All respondents to the consultation survey agreed with the high-level principles set out in the guidance.

4.12. The main issues raised were around the timing of information at different stages in the planning process and suggesting further clarity around the processes involved and the specific information required for CE statements. There were also various comments made about the way the guidance seeks to prioritise reuse over demolition, with the general thrust being a desire to ensure reuse and minimise waste. The guidance has been updated to reflect many of the suggestions made, including making the requirements at different stages clearer and

5.1. The decision has no direct financial implications.

6.1. There is no statutory power that expressly deals with the development of the LPG in the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (as amended) (the GLA Act). However, the LPG is developed in accordance with the general power in section 30 of the GLA Act, which gives the GLA the power to do anything that it considers will further any one or more of its principal purposes, namely promoting economic development and wealth creation in Greater London; promoting social development in Greater London; and promoting the improvement of the environment in Greater London. The LPG will further all three principal purposes to some extent, in particular promoting social development and the improvement of the environment. In addition, section 34 of the GLA Act contains a general power to do that which “is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental, to the exercise of any functions of the Authority”. The LPG is developed under these general powers.

6.2. The High Court has confirmed that planning guidance issued by the Mayor of London is capable of being a material planning consideration in the same way as local Supplementary Planning Documents at borough level – that is, through supporting the policies in the relevant Plan.

6.3. Both the WLC Assessments LPG and the CE Statements LPG have been subject to legal advice throughout the process.

6.4. The Mayor and the GLA are subject to the public sector equality duty; this is considered in detail in section 3.

7.1. This is the final stage of the LPG development process for these pieces of guidance. There is further guidance in different stages of development.

7.2. The LPG will be applied to relevant planning applications by decision-makers taking into account the guidance as a material consideration, and will be taken into account by the Mayor when considering referable planning applications. Boroughs will consider the guidance (where relevant) when developing Local Plans; and it will be taken into account by the GLA when assessing the general conformity of boroughs’ Local Plans with the London Plan.

7.3. The LPG includes links to GLA webpages and other sites. As and when the web addresses change the links in the online and PDF versions of the LPG will be amended to ensure they direct users to the correct place.

• Appendix A: Whole Life-Cycle Carbon Assessments LPG
• Appendix B: Circular Economy Statements LPG
• Appendix C: WLC Assessments LPG consultation summary report
• Appendix D: CE Statements LPG consultation summary report
• Appendix E: WLC Assessments LPG EqIA
• Appendix F: CE Statements LPG EqIA
• Appendix G: WLC assessments template (.xls)
• Appendix H: CE statements template (.xls)