Policy information sourced from Wandsworth Development Planning Management Policies Document

DMS 3 Sustainable design and low-carbon energy

Sustainable design and construction

Development will be required to meet the following sustainability standards or such equivalent standards that replace them:

  • All new residential development: 19% improvement over 2013 Building Regulations until such time that national or London Plan standards exceed this level. Major residential development will also be required to met the targets set out in Policy 5.2 of the London Plan.
  • Major non-residential development (including conversions): 2013-19: BREEAM Excellent 2019 onwards (or in line with national zero carbon timetable): BREEAM Outstanding
  • Minor non-residential development (including conversions): Encouraged to meet same standards as majors.

Applications for all new developments should be accompanied by a preliminary assessment report demonstrating how the relevant national technical standards and BREEAM standards will be met. Design Stage and Post Construction reviews will generally be required by conditions.

All developments will employ good standards of sustainable design and construction, as outlined in Core Strategy Policy IS2. This will include, but not necessarily be limited to the following:

  • incorporation of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) or demonstration of alternative sustainable approaches to the management of surface water. Further detail is set out in Policy DMS6;
  • sustainable construction methods, such as the use of sustainably sourced and recycled materials;
  • the use of demolished material from the development site where practicable, in order to minimise the transportation of waste and reduce carbon dioxide emissions;
  • incorporation of water conservation measures, achieving water use of 110 litres per person per day for homes under the optional national technical standard;
  • incorporation of living roofs and walls where feasible.

Sustainable energy

All development is required to follow the energy hierarchy in accordance with Core Strategy Policy IS2 to meet CO2 reduction standards of the London Plan and Policy DMS3(a).

All new residential development and major non-residential development is required, and minor non-residential development is encouraged to submit an energy assessment informed by preliminary SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure for residential buildings) calculations or National Calculation Method (non-residential) and detailing how the development will address the following considerations:

  • Energy efficient design and building fabric – development should maximise energy efficiency through design, layout, orientation, insulation materials and other sustainable construction techniques, aiming to improve on the standards set in the version of the Building Regulations current at the time of submission.
  • Decentralised energy – All development should assess the feasibility of decentralised energy and combined heat and power (CHP) in line with policy IS2. In decentralised energy opportunity areas the following requirements apply:
    • New developments should be designed in a manner fully compatible with any existing or planned future decentralised energy network (DEN) in accordance with any relevant Energy Masterplan and the District Heating Manual for London (including appropriate design of building systems to minimise return temperatures).
    • New developments must connect to the DEN if that network is expected to be operational within 5 years of the development being completed
    • Developers will be expected to contribute towards the costs of the DEN in line with the avoided costs of their own plant installation.
  • Renewable energy feasibility – a full assessment of the feasibility of all the potential renewable energy technologies that could be incorporated on the site. For the chosen solution, details should be provided on:
    • energy generated and the CO2 saved
    • capacity and quantity of the proposed technology/ies
    • location of the technology/ies marked on site plans

Conditions may be used to ensure principles outlined in this Policy are adhered to throughout the lifetime of the development.

Where appropriate in new developments, and in compliance with the Community Infrastructure Regulations, the Council will seek contributions towards CO2 reduction measures in line with Core Strategy Policy IS7. Details in relation to the requirements for contributions are set out in the Planning Obligations SPD.

For more information please see the Development Planning Management Policies Document