Object
Draft Greater Norwich Local Plan – Part 1 The Strategy
Representation ID: 23080
Received: 16/03/2020
Respondent: Orbit Homes
Agent: David Lock Associates
We wholly support the sustainable communities policy. This should underpin the spatial growth strategy and sites that are best able to perform against these sustainability requirements should be the ones selected for allocation.
However, we consider that the Plan does not effectively translate its aims and objectives in relation to delivering sustainable communities into its spatial strategy. It fails to acknowledge the ability of larger strategic scale developments to achieve these policy requirements, many of which are inherent in the design of new settlement scale developments.
The opportunity at SGV truly stands apart from other strategic growth opportunities in its sustainability and energy offer. One of the central features of SGV, as demonstrated in the Prospectus, is its ability to be aligned with the delivery of a solar farm on adjacent land under the control of the same landowner.
In this context, Orbit have explored the measures necessary to achieve a NetZero development from the outset and put forward SGV on this basis. The detail of how the scheme could achieve NetZero is set out in Sustainability, Energy and Climate Change Strategy as part of the technical assessment in Appendix 4. To inform this Strategy estimates of possible construction and operational stage carbon emissions and costs estimates to address these emissions to net zero through on-site renewable energy, tree planting and carbon offsetting have been undertaken.
SGV as a prospective allocation would establish an important precedent for the GNLP area in demonstrating how requirements of Policy 2 can be met. It is vital that in preparing Local Plans, policy-makers are proactive in establishing policies to tackle climate change.
It is imperative that GDNP realise their ambitions as set out in Policy 2 in light of the growing global climate change challenge. Without such commitments the GDNP will fall short of making a meaningful contribution in the fight against global climate change.
The use of zero-carbon and energy-positive technology is one of the integral Town and Country Planning Association Garden Village principles which have been used to shape the SGV proposal since its inception. We contend that the use of the Town and Country Planning Association Garden Village principle framework ensures that GV proposals, in particular SGV, are better placed to respond to climate change issues than small – medium scale development as sustainability principles are embedded within the design of such schemes.
For full representation, please refer to the attached documents.