Dorset Council has (Mid December) published 3 new guidance documents:
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- Planning for climate change: Interim guidance and position statement
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- Sustainability statement and checklist for planning applications
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- Listed buildings and energy efficiency: what you can do for climate change
The guidance can be viewed on their website at: Planning for climate change – Dorset Council
The sustainability statement and checklist will come into effect from 15 January 2024. At this point an amendment to Dorset Council’s Local List will also be published and come into effect (Paragraph 39 of the Local List) requiring the submission of a sustainability checklist, alongside a sustainability statement with planning applications for any new residential development (including changes of use) and all new office / commercial / industrial development AND if there is an extension of over 10% to an existing office / industrial /commercial property.
Applicants must complete a checklist to indicate which sustainability objectives the development complies with – answering the Yes/No column as well as the reasoning column where relevant, PLUS submit a sustainability statement detailing the required information in relation to each of the checklist questions, cross referencing other assessments where appropriate.
Associate Director, Alan Davies, explained ‘the Sustainability statement and checklist for planning applications will need to accompany any application for planning permission. Without them, the Council will not validate the application. Whilst I understand the desire of the Council to flag up such issues, I fear it is yet another tick box exercise which is already largely dealt with under the Building Regulations, and secondly – will they ever check for implementation? I think I know the answer to that!’
