Final Report Climate Change Adaptation & Mitigation Staffordshire County Council Project number: 60625972 16th October 2020 Final Report Project number: 60625972 Quality information Prepared by Checked by Verified by Approved by Harper Robertson Luke Aldred Luke Aldred Luke Aldred Senior Sustainability Associate Director Associate Director Associate Director Consultant Harper Robertson Robert Green Senior Sustainability Sustainability Consultant Consultant Erin Gianferrara Principal Environmental Economist Jess Wood Assistant Environmental Consultant Thomas Daly Senior Electrical Engineer Louisa Lyons GIS Specialist Alice Purcell Consultant Luke Mulvey Consultant Revision History Revision Revision date Details Authorized Name Position 01 17th June 2020 Draft Report Y Luke Aldred Associate Director 02 11th September 2020 Final Issue Y Luke Aldred Associate Director 03 16th October 2020 Updated fuel consumption Y Luke Aldred Associate Director and EV charging points Distribution List # Hard Copies PDF Required Association / Company Name n/a Yes Prepared for: Staffordshire County Council AECOM Final Report Project number: 60625972 Prepared for: Staffordshire County Council Prepared by: AECOM Limited Aldgate Tower 2 Leman Street London E1 8FA United Kingdom aecom.com © 2020 AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited. All Rights Reserved. This document has been prepared by AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited (“AECOM”) for sole use of our client (the “Client”) in accordance with generally accepted consultancy principles, the budget for fees and the terms of reference agreed between AECOM and the Client. Any information provided by third parties and referred to herein has not been checked or verified by AECOM, unless otherwise expressly stated in the document. No third party may rely upon this document without the prior and express written agreement of AECOM. Prepared for: Staffordshire County Council AECOM Final Report Project number: 60625972 Executive Summary AECOM has been commissioned to provide technical support to develop an evidence base for new energy and sustainability policies being considered for Staffordshire County Council and its eight constituent Local Authorities. This report is the final deliverable, which summarises the findings with respect to sustainability-focused interventions that the Authorities should consider as part of their emerging Local Plans. This report follows an interim deliverable (the Baseline Report) that was issued in March 2020. A further update to the Baseline Report is issued alongside this Final Report; these two reports should be read in conjunction with one another. Note: For ease and reference throughout this report, a glossary is provided on page 12. Summary of Policy Recommendations Reducing CO2 Emissions in the Built Environment Carbon emissions in the built environment should be minimised wherever possible. For new buildings, Local Authorities should look to set the highest level of building performance standards for energy use and CO2 emissions that can practically and viably be achieved. Authorities should also look to implement an Energy and Heat Hierarchy. In addition to regulated emissions, which are covered by Building Regulations, these policies should also seek to reduce unregulated emissions and embodied carbon. Policies should seek to ensure that proposals are ‘futureproofed’ to facilitate the uptake of LZC technologies, particularly those that deliver low carbon heat (such as ASHPs) and provide on-site renewable electricity generation and storage (such as PV and battery technologies). Although setting standards for new buildings will be important for avoiding future increases in CO2 emissions (as set out in the Baseline Report), a bigger challenge is in the existing stock. Local Authorities should review opportunities to promote energy efficiency measures and the uptake of LZC technologies through methods such as enforcement of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards and Part L2B of the Building Regulations, along with behavioural change and awareness programmes. Councils should also seek to lead by example by developing carbon management and reduction plans for their own assets (e.g. council housing). It will also be important to ensure that any fuel poverty initiatives align with the Net Zero target, particularly if these involve installing or upgrading gas central heating systems. Local Authorities may also wish to consider establishing a Carbon Offset Fund that developers can contribute to in lieu of on-site CO2 savings. This fund would be used to deliver carbon offsetting and reduction projects such as large-scale LZC installations and / or installations on existing built infrastructure (e.g. solar car parks), afforestation, and peatland restoration. For more information on reducing CO2 emissions from buildings, see Section 3.1.1. It is acknowledged that some of these recommendations will be affected by the Government’s consultations on the Future Homes Standard and the ‘Planning for the Future’ White Paper. Furthermore, Local Planning Authorities would need to have the resources to assess and monitor outcomes, or administer schemes such as a Carbon Offset Fund. Although these factors could present challenges, it is worth emphasising that buildings contribute significantly to total CO2 emissions and one of the key ways that Local Authorities can mitigate those effects is via the planning system. This is discussed in Section 3.1.1 and further information about the White Paper is provided in Appendix A. Holistic Interventions in Development In order to ensure that development proposals adopt a holistic approach to sustainable design, Local Authorities should consider requiring applicants to undertake a BREEAM or HQM assessment (or similar). The sustainability strategy should be described in a standalone Sustainability Statement or as part of the Design and Access Statement. There are a variety of opportunities to incorporate holistic sustainability interventions into the public realm that can be adopted in individual development proposals or at a wider masterplanning scale. For example: • Co-locating green corridors (including trees, parks, gardens, and other areas of landscaping) with pedestrian and cycle routes, and to integrate these with sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) or other blue infrastructure such as canals, ponds and river networks; Prepared for: Staffordshire County Council AECOM Final Report Project number: 60625972 • Integrating LZC technologies into the existing built environment, e.g. using PV canopies and battery storage systems for EV chargepoints and other street infrastructure; and • Specifying sustainably-sourced materials with low environmental impacts and high albedo for use in landscaping and the urban realm. These can be used to replace traditional materials when carrying out upgrade or maintenance work (e.g. for road and path surfaces). This should include reused or recycled materials where possible, which helps to reduce the demand for raw materials and can contribute to wider goals in relation to waste reduction. All developments should seek to incorporate circular economy principles such as: • Designing out waste; • Lean design; • Designing for flexibility and adaptability; and • Designing for deconstruction and reuse. The adoption of circular economy design measures can contribute towards wider goals, objectives or strategies that Local Authorities may have in place, particularly in relation to waste reduction. For more information on holistic sustainability interventions, see Section 3.1.2. Sustainable Transport Local Authorities should seek to enhance the provision of EV chargepoints across the County. In doing so, they should seek to maintain dialogue with key market participants (e.g. Western Power Distribution (WPD) and the Government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles) to identify opportunities to work together to facilitate the transition to EVs, and ensure that policy and efforts to support this transition are aligned with market developments. Similarly, Local Authorities should aim to keep informed of any significant changes in hydrogen vehicle markets as they continue to develop, to ensure that policies, spatial strategies and infrastructure provision respond appropriately. There may be opportunities to co-locate PV canopies with existing or future parking provision, an approach that would contribute towards increasing EV infrastructure while also increasing the provision of LZCs (see below). For more information on sustainable transport, see Section 3.2. Low and Zero Carbon Technologies In order to meet their climate change commitments, Local Authorities will need to facilitate a step change in the provision and uptake of LZC technologies, including large-scale and strategic installations. Local Authorities should consider adopting a policy stance with a presumption in favour of such technologies, while setting local criteria for acceptability that reflect the UK’s legal commitment to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050. The technologies that are likely to offer the greatest opportunities, based on considerations such as physical resource, technological maturity, annual electricity generation, and cost effectiveness, are onshore wind and PV farms. Although there are significant existing Local Plan and national policy constraints regarding onshore wind development, this study has found that there is no technical basis for the current levels of restriction on wind energy development in Staffordshire. This applies