The Weald Action Group has responded to the government’s consultation on proposed revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework.
We welcome the proposed policies on renewable energy, which provide a welcome shift to enable the rapid deployment of renewable energy at scale.
As this set of policies seeks to “direct decision makers to give significant weight to the benefits associated with renewable and low carbon energy generation, and proposals’ contribution to meeting a net zero future”, we point out that the NPPF should at the same time reduce the weight given to fossil fuel exploration and extraction, which inevitably results in the generation of energy from these sources.
Failing to review the policies on fossil fuel exploration and extraction is, in our view, a significant omission in the overall context of the Government’s target to achieve Net Zero by 2050 (and zero carbon electricity generation by 2030).
Increasing the weight on one side of the scales, has to mean that the weight given on the other side is reduced in order to achieve the policy goals of the Government.
We recommend a number of amendments to the draft which would provide clear guidance for planning authorities when making decisions regarding fossil fuel applications. It would also provide consistency and clarity to decision makers and developers and provide a further incentive to shift away from damaging proposals, to those the Government seeks to encourage elsewhere in this set of revisions.
It will be a missed opportunity, and hamper the shift to renewables, if the fossil fuel policies in the current NPPF are not revised as part of this exercise.
The consultation runs until 11.45pm on Tuesday 24 September 2024.
Responses can be submitted online here: https://consult.communities.gov.uk/planning/planning-reform