An Act to enable local planning authorities to set requirements for energy use and energy efficiency in local plans.
[13th November 2008]
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
(1)A local planning authority in England may in their development plan documents, and a local planning authority in Wales may in their local development plan, include policies imposing reasonable requirements for—
(a)a proportion of energy used in development in their area to be energy from renewable sources in the locality of the development;
(b)a proportion of energy used in development in their area to be low carbon energy from sources in the locality of the development;
(c)development in their area to comply with energy efficiency standards that exceed the energy requirements of building regulations.
(2)In subsection (1)(c)—
“energy efficiency standards” means standards for the purpose of furthering energy efficiency that are—
set out or referred to in regulations made by the appropriate national authority under or by virtue of any other enactment (including an enactment passed after the day on which this Act is passed), or
set out or endorsed in national policies or guidance issued by the appropriate national authority;
“energy requirements”, in relation to building regulations, means requirements of building regulations in respect of energy performance or conservation of fuel and power.
(3)In subsection (2) “appropriate national authority” means—
(a)the Secretary of State, in the case of a local planning authority in England;
(b)the Welsh Ministers, in the case of a local planning authority in Wales.
(4)The power conferred by subsection (1) has effect subject to subsections (5) to (7) and to—
(a)section 19 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (c. 5), in the case of a local planning authority in England;
(b)section 62 of that Act, in the case of a local planning authority in Wales.
(5)Policies included in development plan documents by virtue of subsection (1) must not be inconsistent with relevant national policies for England.
(6)Policies included in a local development plan by virtue of subsection (1) must not be inconsistent with relevant national policies for Wales.
(7)Relevant national policies are—
(a)national policies relating to energy from renewable sources, in the case of policies included by virtue of subsection (1)(a);
(b)national policies relating to low carbon energy, in the case of policies included by virtue of subsection (1)(b);
(c)national policies relating to furthering energy efficiency, in the case of policies included by virtue of subsection (1)(c).
In this Act—
“development plan document” has the same meaning as in Part 2 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004;
“local planning authority” has the same meaning as in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (c. 8).
(1)This Act may be cited as the Planning and Energy Act 2008.
(2)This Act extends to England and Wales.