Policy information sourced from The Woking Local Development Document - Core Strategy

CS22: Sustainable construction

New residential development on previously developed land will be required to meet the energy and Carbon Dioxide (CO²) and water components of the Code for Sustainable Homes level 3 (or any future national requirement) from now until 31 March 2013, the energy and CO² and water components of at least Code level 4 from 1 April 2013 and the energy and CO² and water components of Code level 5 from 1 April 2016. New residential development is encouraged to meet the full requirements of each Code level, with particular encouragement for the material and ecology elements. Where the scale, nature and location of a development would justify a higher Code level, the Council will negotiate with developers to achieve that because of the lower cost of developing such sites.

New residential development on greenfield sites will be required to meet the Code for Sustainable Homes level 5 (or any future national requirement) from now because of the relatively lower cost of developing such sites.

The Council will consider a case based on evidence of viability if an applicant can demonstrate that the requirement for code level 5 cannot be met. This will be considered on a case by case basis.

New non-residential development of 1,000 sq.m or more (gross) floorspace is required to comply with BREEAM very good standards (or any future national equivalent).

All new development should consider the integration of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) or other forms of low carbon district heating in the development. All new development in proximity of an existing or proposed CHP station or district heating network will be required to be connected to it unless it can be demonstrated that a better alternative for reducing carbon emissions from the development can be achieved. Details of the zones where connection will be required will be set out in an SPD and will be determined by factors such as the capacity of the existing CHP network, distance from it and physical constraints.

The evidence base sets out the locations in the Borough which have significant potential for CHP or other forms of low carbon district heating networks. Subject to technical feasibility and financial viability, all development within these zones will be required to be designed and constructed to enable connection to the future network.

Applications for developments with exceptionally high total energy consumption, such as large leisure facilities with a high heat demand or buildings with exceptionally high power/cooling loads (such as data centres), will be required to reduce the total carbon emissions from the development by 10% through the use of renewable energy measures on site.

Where it can be demonstrated that the standards set out in this policy cannot be met on site, permission will only be granted if the applicant makes provision for compensatory energy and CO² and water savings elsewhere in the Borough equivalent to the carbon savings which would have been made by applying this policy.

The Council will encourage proposals for residential extensions and non-residential developments of 1,000 sq.m or less (gross) floorspace to incorporate energy and water efficiency measures.

The standards set out in the policy will be reviewed to reflect any future change in national standards and/or any equivalent standards that might be introduced.

Electric Vehicle Charging Points

The Council is actively promoting electric vehicle charging points and has already provided a number of these in the Borough. These are of particular value when the electricity source is low carbon. Details of when new development will be expected to provide electric vehicle charging points or when a contribution towards public charging points will be required, will be set out in an SPD.

Design and Construction

The design of all new developments will be required to take account of layout, landform, orientation and landscaping to maximise efficient use of energy and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The design of all new developments should facilitate the reduction of waste and the recycling and composting of the waste produced.

All developments should consider the use of sustainable construction techniques that promote the reuse and recycling of building materials. All development is encouraged to use responsible resourcing of materials and is encouraged to source materials locally. All new residential development is encouraged to meet the ‘materials’ elements of the Code.

Checklist

All applications for new development should include a completed copy of the Council’s climate neutral checklist (with the exception of very minor development such as minor exterior alterations).

Ecology and Biodiversity

All development is encouraged to make biodiversity enhancements such as green roofs and bird and bat boxes. All new residential development is encouraged to meet the ‘ecology’ elements of the Code.

For more information please see the Core Strategy