The Climate Response Team welcome the inclusion of climate change within the overall vision. The planning system has a significant role to play in designing places that cut carbon emissions and build resilient communities. In addition to this being an opportunity to refresh the vision and objectives of the Local Plan in line with the council’s ambitions, this is also an opportunity to establish the Local Plan as a fundamental driver for a range of solutions to the climate crisis.
We have the following specific feedback on this section:
• Paragraph 2 - The new Local Plan should be a key delivery tool in achieving net zero carbon emissions for Medway. This section should make it clear that the vision is for a net zero carbon and adaptation framework which needs to be ambitious. Consider rewording to say, “Medway will have achieved a significant reduction in carbon emissions (well on its pathway to net zero by 2050) aided by developments which have adopted high sustainable buildings standards (not just in construction but use and refurbishment too) and are achieving ambitious net zero carbon targets. Alongside this, adaptation is an essential component of all development and Medway is well prepared for its long term future adaptation needs”.
• There should be a commitment to use evidence to set local carbon reduction targets (for example through SCATTER or Tyndall tools) for the Local Plan so that its success, and that of its associated policies, can be can be measured.
• The vision around energy is lacking and yet emissions from domestic energy currently make up 38.99% of all Medway emissions compared with 29.4% from transport. Consider saying, “Medway is delivering against a strong local energy plan and communities are harnessing the results of their direct involvement in decision making on community owned, local energy infrastructure”.
• Paragraph 3 - Not sure that everyone will understand the term “green growth” – is there another way to explain what this means?
• Paragraph 3 - Where flooding is mentioned, risk of overheating, drought and soil erosion should also be included. These are noted elsewhere in the document but not captured here. Linked to this should be a greater explanation of the role that new and protected natural assets will play in carbon sequestration and adaptation and the co-benefits this brings of enhanced biodiversity, good air quality and improved public health.
• Paragraph 3 - Remove “with a clear path mapped out to reaching net zero” as this should be in place now (well before 2040) and significant achievements realised by 2040 (see first bullet point above).
• The vision jumps around a bit and may benefit from some restructuring. For example, the mention of Medway transitioning to a low carbon economy in paragraph 3 doesn’t tell us much, the details follow in paragraph 9.
• There is currently no mention of minimising the need for travel although this is possibly inferred in paragraph 6 where it says “people can meet most of their daily needs in their local area.” Reducing the need to travel is the first step in the transport hierarchy and will be key to achieving a reduction in emissions. It is mentioned in paragraph 9 in terms of commuting. Again, an example of where the vision jumps around a bit and could be stronger if slightly restructured.
• Paragraph 7 - “Older properties have been retrofitted to improve sustainability”. The word sustainability is vague. The challenge here is to retrofit them for energy efficiency and adaptative measures to make them less vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Consider re-wording to say “Property owners have felt sufficiently supported to retrofit older properties to make them more energy efficient and less vulnerable to the impacts of climate change such as overheating.”
• We welcome the mention of a low circular economy but the vision could be more meaningful, for example: “A significant reduction in emissions from waste (including water) is achieved through provision of infrastructure and services which support people to reduce waste and reuse more. The circular economy is embedded into business models and applied to developments.”