Only a third of councils consider a development’s response to climate change when granting planning consent, a survey has revealed.
A further 25% of councils said the issue did not factor as a priority material consideration in deciding approvals, with 42% unsure if climate change is a factor.
The Town & Country Planning Association’s survey of 65 local authorities revealed the vast majority believe they do not have the knowledge or resources to incorporate the impact of climate change in planning decisions.
The councils said the largest barriers to sustainability in planning were the higher expense of buildings (72%); lack of developer, contractor and third party knowledge (71%); and insufficient resources to monitor and review schemes (43%).
Some 83% of respondents said they need better knowledge of how to incorporate climate projections in planning decisions.
Councils said they needed better information on local impacts (77%) and the resources to review applications and conduct better analysis (71%).
More than half (57%) said they needed a stronger political willingness to take difficult decisions.
A third of local authorities added that they believe the Covid-19 pandemic will negatively impact their ability to plan effectively for the impacts of climate change. Respondents highlighted already stretched resources and weakened finances in the wake of the pandemic.
Hugh Ellis, director of policy at the TCPA, said: “We know that the greatest challenge for many local planning authorities is a critical lack of resources.
“If we really want to drive effective change, we need to provide decision-makers with clear policy priorities, transparent methodologies, and, wherever possible, nationally agreed standards.”
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