Policy information sourced from Newham Local Plan 2018
SC1 - Environmental Resilience
Proposals that address the following strategic principles, spatial strategy and design and technical criteria will be supported:
- Strategic Principles:
- In design, construction, and operation, development must respond to the known effects of climate change, including the likelihood of extreme weather events, geohazard risks, increased water scarcity and warmer temperatures;
- Development must be resource-efficient, recognising the increasing pressure on resources due to population growth and environmental stress as well as the economic opportunities of ‘waste’;
- Bolster the Council’s wider resilience agenda, development will promote local production (notably food growing), procurement, and labour (see J3);
- Ameliorate past environmental degradation, (as evident in water quality, habitat loss and contaminated land) to enhance site potential and minimise future degradation;
- Encourage the take-up of opportunities to improve resource efficiency in existing homes and buildings through retrofitting, subject to the sensitivities identified in SP5; and
- Development should take advantage of linked opportunities in sustainable design and minimise conflict between different strands, notably through:
- The biodiversity, pollution control and flood-reduction benefits of surface water attenuation measures as per the SUDS hierarchy (see SC3);
- The temperature-regulation and surface water attenuation benefits of biodiversity enhancements (see SC4);
- Avoiding conflict with air quality objectives (see SC5);
- The opportunity to integrate food growing, including consideration as a temporary use.
- Spatial Strategy:
- Support implementation of the Thames River Basin Management Plan;
- Remediate gasholder sites for more beneficial use that would meet other aspirations of the plan;
- Improve opportunities for food growing, including through the protection and creation of allotments and other local growing space;
- Make best use of locally-available energy sources (see SC2 and INF4); and
- Protect and enhance the ‘green grid’ (see INF6).
- Design and technical criteria:
- Development will achieve at least the following standards (Table 11), or equivalent standards within updated/replacement schemes;
- All development will incorporate water efficiency measures to achieve a consumption target of 105 litres or less per head per day (residential) or ‘excellent’ Wat 01 rating (non-residential development the subject of a BREEAM assessment);
- Where contamination is known or suspected, proposals will include adequate investigation of land contamination with remedial works agreed prior to the start of development. Reference to CLR11 Model Procedures for the Management of Land Contamination or subsequent updates should be made;
- Development should demonstrate that the risks of overheating have been addressed through design and construction choices, particularly in the case of high density and public realm schemes and in relation to energy and glazing solutions; and
- Landscaping schemes will demonstrate consideration of climate change effects through planting choices that are resilient to higher temperatures and scarce water supply.
| Development Type | Scheme | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| All Major applications* that are not solely residential new build | BREEAM UK New Construction or BREEAM UK Domestic Refurbishment / Non-Domestic Refurbishment and Fit-Out | Excellent |
| New build non-residential and mixed use with over 500 sqm GIA | BREEAM UK New Construction | Very good |
| Residential | London Plan Zero Carbon | As per policy SC2 |
* As defined by The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015
For more information please see the Local Plan 2018