The Local Plan will direct development to the most sustainable locations and will set policies designed to help meet the government’s target for development to be net zero carbon by 2050.
Government guidance is clear that addressing climate change is a core principle that should underpin plan-making. For plan-making this means ensuring we have a strategy for promoting development in sustainable locations to reduce the need to travel and steering development away from areas of flood risk. We must align our growth with infrastructure and make effective use of land for new homes and businesses. It also means we must ensure we take a proactive approach to shaping new places, rethinking the way homes are designed and built, so that they have a reduced carbon footprint.
The Local Plan has a central role in supporting the transition to a net zero carbon future by helping to limit carbon dioxide emissions, encouraging the use of renewable energy and prioritising infrastructure and nature-based solutions to support growth. The Local Plan will also support the Council’s commitments to make our organisation’s operations carbon neutral by 2030.