Draft Greater Norwich Local Plan – Part 1 The Strategy

There is no mention of the carbon offsetting procedure to mitigate the building of 40,000 + homes and the infrastructure needed to sustain them, across the region covered by the GNLP. There appears to be little regarding the quality of build and future proofing the housing stock and the infrastructure. So far the GNLP appears heavily weighted toward developers and community expansion. With less regard to community harmony and the environmental impact I suggest the following.
Offsetting at the point of build. All new building projects will be expected to have undergone a carbon assessment (tCo2e) and to publish the result at the time the application is made (prior to any decision by the planning authorities).
All new builds should clearly identify the carbon-offset strategy they intend to utilize to meet the carbon offset requirements prior to consent being given.
Strategic Offsetting. The GNLP should make the assessment (tCo2e) of the cost of implementing the GNLP in full. The GNLP should then mitigate the cost by creating a South Norfolk GNLP woodland. This could be a series of smaller woodlands linked that run across the South of the county across a large number of parishes.

Strategic Offsetting. The GNLP should make the assessment (tCo2e) of the cost of implementing the GNLP in full. The GNLP should then mitigate the cost by creating a South Norfolk GNLP woodland. This could be located as a single large public woodland handed over to and managed by an organisation such as the Woodland Trust
4 Strategic Offsetting. The GNLP should make the assessment (tCo2e) of the cost of implementing the GNLP in full. The GNLP should then mitigate the cost by creating a South Norfolk GNLP woodland. This could be woodlands planted in all the parishes that have housing through the GNLP process. These public woodlands would be managed by the Parish councils.

The GNLP could provide a list of environmental measures to be adopted by developers in consultation with the local community to ensure the communities see a positive environmental impact of any new development Rather than a perceived reduction.

It is my view that in order to have credibility the GNLP team need to calculate the environmental cost of the entire GNLP process and publish the outcome of that investigation / research. This will help in understanding what the environmental impact of building the additional homes identified by the GNLP and the supporting infrastructure across the city and districts will be.
I think local authorities, parish councils and residents need to know from the GNLP a best estimate of the carbon cost of building 1 home.
The GNLP team should identify what requirements are being made of developers to mitigate against environmental impact and carbon emissions through the build process.
I believe there should be a carbon neutral attitude to the development of new homes this would enable The authorities in GNLP to lead the way. It would add credibility to the whole project and divert criticism.

Strategies to deliver a healthier environment
1 Offsetting at the point of build. All new building projects will be expected to have undergone a carbon assessment (tCo2e) and to publish the result at the time the application is made (prior to any decision by the planning authorities).
All new builds should clearly identify the carbon-offset strategy they intend to utilise to meet the carbon offset requirements prior to consent being given.
2 Strategic Offsetting. The GNLP should make the assessment (tCo2e) of the cost of implementing the GNLP in full. The GNLP should then mitigate the cost by creating a South Norfolk GNLP woodland. This could be a series of smaller woodlands linked that run across the South of the county across a large number of parishes.
3 Strategic Offsetting. The GNLP should make the assessment (tCo2e) of the cost of implementing the GNLP in full. The GNLP should then mitigate the cost by creating a South Norfolk GNLP woodland. This could be located as a single large public woodland handed over to and managed by an organisation such as the Woodland Trust
4 Strategic Offsetting. The GNLP should make the assessment (tCo2e) of the cost of implementing the GNLP in full. The GNLP should then mitigate the cost by creating a South Norfolk GNLP woodland. This could be woodlands planted in all the parishes that have housing through the GNLP process. These public woodlands would be managed by the Parish councils.

Please see attached
1 There appears to be no strategy put forward by the GNLP to identify the carbon footprint of these activities.
2 There appears to be no strategy to ensure that once built the houses and infrastructure will have a reduced impact upon the environment and mitigate against carbon release or environmental outcomes such as flooding.
We would like answers to the following questions:
1 What will be the environmental impact of building the additional homes identified by the GNLP and the supporting infrastructure across the city and districts?
2 What is the calculated cost of CO2 emissions and environmental impact of the whole GNLP process?
3 What requirement is being made of land owners and developers to mitigate against the environmental impact of their specific development?
4 It has been suggested that CIL monies can be used to offset the environmental impact of a development. The CIL monies are principally used to provide infrastructure needed within the community to facilitate the additional homes and families. What new monies are going to be provided specifically to accommodate the environmental impact of the development?

Dickleburgh and Rushall Parish Council Proposals:
1 Offsetting at the point of build. All new building projects will be expected to have undergone a carbon assessment (tCo2e) and to publish the result at the time the application is made (prior to any decision by the planning authorities). This should be shared with the local community and additional requirements made upon the developer to mitigate against environmental damage. This could include: providing additional funding for the purchase of carbon offset capabilities, or providing additional habitats and environs for species, or providing offset land within the community for carbon capture.
All new builds should clearly identify the carbon-offset strategy they intend to utilize to meet the carbon offset requirements prior to consent being given.
2 Strategic Offsetting A. The GNLP should make the assessment (tCo2e) of the cost of implementing the GNLP in full. The GNLP should then mitigate the cost by creating a South Norfolk GNLP woodland. This could be a series of smaller woodlands linked that run across the South of the county across a large number of parishes.
3 Strategic Offsetting B. The GNLP should make the assessment (tCo2e) of the cost of implementing the GNLP in full. The GNLP should then mitigate the cost by creating a South Norfolk GNLP woodland. This could be located as a single large public woodland handed over to and managed by an organisation such as the Woodland Trust
4 Strategic Offsetting C. The GNLP should make the assessment (tCo2e) of the cost of implementing the GNLP in full. The GNLP should then mitigate the cost by creating a South Norfolk GNLP woodland. This could be woodlands planted in all the parishes that have housing through the GNLP process. These public woodlands would be managed by the Parish Councils.