We welcome the government's consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework, but the proposed changes fall short of what's needed to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and energy storage projects at the scale and pace required.
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We welcome the government's consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework, but the proposed changes fall short of what's needed to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and energy storage projects at the scale and pace required.
We're pleased to see that the consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) acknowledges the need to improve the planning system to better address climate change and support renewable energy development.
However, while the changes proposed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are a positive step, they fall short of what's needed to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and energy storage projects at the scale and pace required. To meet our net-zero targets, policy must go further – not only to unlock renewable and storage projects, but also to ensure that local communities are actively involved and see tangible benefits.
Our consultation response outlines the key reforms necessary to align planning policy with the climate emergency and help facilitate renewable energy deployment. Building on our existing work in this space and with feedback from our members working group on planning, we outline five key messages for the government:
Climate change must be at the heart of the NPPF. The planning system must explicitly prioritise action on climate change. We advocate for a clear definition of planning's purpose in the NPPF that emphasises its crucial role in tackling climate change.
Renewable energy and battery storage projects should be a Critical National Priority. While amendments to the NPPF aim to support renewable energy, the language must go further. We're calling for all renewable energy projects, regardless of scale, to be designated as a Critical National Priority to ensure a consistent supportive planning environment across planning regimes.
Policy change won't have the desired impact unless we address local authority resourcing. Local planning authorities do not have the resources required to meet the expected increase in renewable energy applications. We are therefore calling for the introduction of specialist renewable energy planners to work across local authorities.
Community energy needs to be supported. Community-owned energy projects have a unique role to play in helping to increase our renewable energy generation in a way that directly benefits communities and provides additional benefits, such as increased engagement and understanding of the energy system. We thus suggest that community-led renewable energy applications should be given weight in planning. Additionally, a consistent, free, pre-application advice service should be offered to any community energy project.
We need to consider the future Strategic Spatial Energy Plan. Looking ahead, it will be important that the NPPF is able to align with the future Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, ensuring that planning policy supports the long-term, strategic goals for energy infrastructure.
At Regen we will continue to feed into work and discussions in this area to ensure that the planning system is able to balance the need for developing renewable and energy storage projects at pace with the goal of ensuring that communities remain at the centre of decision making. If you're interested in keeping up to date with our work in this area, please register for Regen's next members working group meeting on planning.
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