| Wednesday, 14 November 2007 | |
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Stoate calls for councils to be given powers to set their own renewable energy targets Dartford MP, Dr Howard Stoate, has called on the Government to give councils the power to introduce their own local renewable energy generation targets for new housing developments.The MP has joined a group of backbench Labour MPs in writing to the Housing and Planning Minister, Yvette Cooper to urge the Government to give its official backing to councils that want to adopt the so called ‘Merton Rule’ – which calls for at least 10% of the energy used by new housing developments to be generated on site from renewable sources. The Merton Rule, so-called because it was first adopted by the London Borough of Merton, has now been taken up on a voluntary basis by nearly 150 councils across the country. Most of them have backed a 10% target but some have sought to introduce more ambitious targets. Although it has yet to issue any final guidance on the subject, the Government is now thought to be opposed to a blanket ‘one size fits all’ policy such as the Merton Rule. Reports suggest Ministers would prefer a less prescriptive approach with councils being encouraged to work on a ‘site by site’ basis when it comes to determining how much energy should come from on site renewable sources. This would mean that councils would be unable to include a Merton style target for on site renewable energy generation in their Local Development Frameworks (LDFs). Dr Stoate said; “In my view the only way of making sure that new housing developments become less reliant on conventional means of power generation is to put in place ambitious minimum renewable energy generation targets. A 10% onsite renewable energy generation target is the bare minimum we should be asking for. If local councils want to put in place more ambitious targets then they should be free to do so without running the risk of facing a legal challenge.” “This will force developers to take onsite renewable energy generation more seriously and ultimately will help to bring down the cost of installing and using renewable energy technology, as we begin to achieve greater economies of scale. It will also help to pave the way for making all new homes carbon neutral by 2016.” Notes The Government is in the process of finalising a new national Planning Policy Statement (PPS) on planning and climate change. This statement will set out the Government’s policy with regard to the on site generation of renewable energy on new developments. A draft version was issued at the end of last year and final version is likely to be published shortly. In a recent consultation on the draft PPS, there was strong support from local councils and regional planning bodies for local councils to be given the right to decide their own local renewable energy generation targets. |
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© 2008 Dr Howard Stoate - Member of Parliament for Dartford
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