Planning
Sustainability planning requirements for new development
Energy efficiency planning condition for extensions
Uttlesford District Council requires cost-effective energy efficiency improvements to be carried out on dwellings when they are extended. In this way, the extra energy that is used and carbon dioxide that is produced by the extension is compensated for by improvements elsewhere. As well as benefiting the environment, this requirement reduces energy bills and improves comfort. Undertaking these measures at the time an extension is carried out can also save money on their installation. UDC is the first local authority in the United Kingdom to introduce a requirement of this kind.
The Campaign
The council has just launched a campaign to persuade the Government to implement this condition in its 2010 revision of the national Building Regulations.
Uttlesford’s approach has already been recommended to other local authorities and central government in reports by various independent bodies:
- Federation of Master Builders: Building a Greener Britain
- Parliamentary Select Committee for Communities and Local Government : Existing Housing and Climate Change
- Local Government Association’s Climate Change Commission: A Climate of Change
The requirement has been introduced via the planning system, through the Supplementary Planning Document on Home Extensions (adopted November 2005), and all planning approvals for home extensions arising from applications submitted after April 1, 2006 carry the 'Energy Efficiency Condition (C8.28)', which states:
Within four weeks of the date of the commencement of the development hereby permitted or other such period as agreed by the local planning authority details of Cost Effective Energy Efficiency Measures to be carried out to the extended dwelling shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. These measures shall be implemented during the construction of the development, unless otherwise previously agreed in writing by the local planning authority.
Although this is a planning condition, UDC building surveyors provide onsite advice on how to comply with the condition, as they do for compliance with building regulations. For more information, including the official guidance.
Measures
These measures will be sought under the energy efficiency condition:
| Measure | Required for |
| Cavity wall insulation | Any dwelling that has empty cavity walls, subject to a check for suitability from an accredited installer and approval by local authority building control |
| Loft insulation (250 mm) | Any dwelling with an accessible loft and less than 100mm depth existing insulation |
| Floor insulation | Dwellings with uninsulated suspended timber floors only, where easily accessible from underneath (e.g. basements) |
| Replacement condensing boiler | Any dwelling with a 'wet' central heating system with a non-condensing gas or oil boiler more than 15 years old |
| Heating controls upgrade | Any dwelling with central heating that lacks a programmable timer, room thermostat or thermostatic radiator valves |
| Hot water insulation package | Any dwelling that has an uninsulated hot water tank or a tank has an existing insulating jacket that is in poor repair as judged by a building surveyor |
| Draught-stripping | Any dwelling that has excessive air leakage as judged by a building surveyor |
| Energy-efficient lighting | Any dwelling that has less than four energy-saving lamps fitted in commonly used areas |
If all eight measures are either already in place or are not possible at your dwelling, it is possible to comply with the condition without further action. 'Cost-effective' is defined as having a simple payback of seven years or less. The total set of measures asked for will cost no more than 10 per cent of the cost of the extension.
Note: any measures that cause this threshold to be exceeded will be excluded.