The government proposals for winding down the CfSH has been published. The government has just published the consultation document setting out the final proposals for winding up CfSH. That portion of the Code directly related to the building itself, and arguably the most relevant part will go into a new form of building regulations (click here for more information). While there is a wind down period, within two years, local authorities will have to have their own policies to address those parts of the Code that are not directly related to the building, e.g. Chapter 9 points for ecological enhancements.
CfSH has its limitations when maximising site biodiversity, as the methodology can be manipulated to meet the criteria; and conversely, if enhancements do not assist in the overall CfSH objectives, they may not be included. It is still wide open to discussion as to how ecological enhancements will be codified going forward. Some developers are coming up with their own internal policies and strategies. Local planning authorities may be incorporating policies to take over from CfSH, but with the glacial pace of local plan implementation, there could be a significant hiatus from any external pressures to provide development which really benefits biodiversity.
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A Technical Consultation on Planning has been produced to address the governments belief that development is not being brought forward due to the costly EIA process. It is thought that the current system has too much room for subjectivity and more EIAs should be ruled out during the screening process, new guidance for planners has been published, follow this link to view it; Planning Guide
The proposals focus on urban residential development and industrial estates. It is proposed to raise the EIA screening thresholds for industrial and urban development projects outside sensitive areas from 0.5ha to 5ha, given a density in housing of 30 units per ha, this equates to development of 150 units. It is thought that this will reduce the number of EIA applications from 1600 to 300 per year. |
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