Role of planning

As on-site or community renewable and low carbon energy will be required for new housing developments by law by 2016, and for other developments soon after, planning policy will not need to set targets for renewable and low carbon energy for new developments in the long term.

There is still a role for planning in implementing renewable and low carbon energy, both in the short and long term:

• Setting targets for new developments that are more stretching than regulations and establishing the related policies will still be important in the interim period, before the regulations change
• Providing coordinated, local support to enable renewable and low carbon energy, for example providing community infrastructure and organisational and financial delivery mechanisms. This will continue to be important in the long term
• Development control, both in terms of assessing whether the proposals for renewable and low carbon energy in applications for new developments meet the policy requirements, and determining applications for planning permission (where required) to install renewable and low carbon energy in new and existing developments

The national priorities for local government, the planning system and national planning policy establish the basis for the role of planning in implementing renewable and low carbon energy.