What is the Regional Sustainability Checklist for Developments?

The Checklist is a tool which looks at the sustainability of developments and is used by decision makers within the planning approval process, whether they are in the developer team, the planning authority, the client team or are potential purchasers.

It looks at a range of sustainability issues and, by means of a series of questions, indicates the level of performance that the development has reached for each issue. A high level report sheet shows the score that the development achieves out of the maximum possible for each of eight sections. It also indicates issues which are deemed not applicable or where the minimum standard has not been achieved.

It provides a simple way to help deliver sustainable development policy through the planning system and is regionally specific, being consistent with regional & national policy. It is weighted to meet regional policy priorities.

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When is the Checklist used?

The Checklist is designed primarily for use within the development design and planning application process to help new developments and refurbishments to contribute to more sustainable communities.

The Checklist gives the developer an idea of the scope of issues that need to be addressed in the formulation and design of the planning proposal, and provides the information about minimum standards for each issue.

Once completed, the Checklist provides an assessment tool for local planning authorities. It provides information to assist in the decision-making process, presenting results at a high “overview” level whilst allowing scrutiny of individual issues where required.

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How does the Checklist benefit the Developer?

It gives advice to the developer team as to the sustainability of different site types;
It guides the design team in illustrating the issues that they need to address, so that these can be considered at the right stage of the design process rather than having to be incorporated (and the design expensively reworked) at a later stage;
It sets out minimum, good and best practice standards for each of the issues covered, so that the developer can see where they are performing well and which areas need further work;
It provides recognition where the developer has gone above the minimum level of performance;
It provides a common framework for pre-application discussions;
It enables the developer to assess the sustainability of their planning application before it is submitted to the local planning authority;
It provides a level playing field for all developers, as issues and standards are clearly laid out;
It does not constrain the design team – it sets out standards to be achieved rather than defining the methods to achieve them;
The framework and methodology will be common across all regions and local planning authorities adopting Checklists;
It builds on well known industry standards such as BREEAM, Code for Sustainable Homes, Ecohomes, Urban Design Compendium, National Standards Framework.

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How does the Checklist benefit the Local Planning Authority?

It provides clear and consistent advice about the range of issues to be considered when assessing the sustainability of a planning application;
It can be used to analyse local policy, showing where there are gaps which the Authority may need/wish to fill;
It can be used to help scope Development Plan Documents and SA/SEA if desired.
Recognising that resource constraints mean it is unlikely that a local authority has an expert on every sustainability issue, it provides information about what constitutes good and best practice for each issue, rather than just listing issues to be considered;
It shows how issues fit together – e.g. links energy efficiency and renewables;
It encourages developers to consider issues at the design stage, rather than having to address everything at the approval stage;
Provides assistance in turning around planning decisions within 8 weeks – all information about the sustainability of the application is in one place, in an easy to read format;
Planners and planning committees can view high level reports, but can drill down for more information if they so wish;
The Checklist is filled in by the developer, but can easily be audited by the authority where required – in contentious applications a third party audit can be required;
It enables multi-stakeholder dialogue around common ground;
Can be tailored to individual local authorities – and to individual planning sites – very simply;
Provides data for the Annual Monitoring Report;
It helps the Local Planning Authority deliver local, regional and national sustainable development policy in line with their obligations under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and PPS1.

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How does the Checklist benefit the wider community?

The Checklist helps developers and planners to produce more sustainable developments, enabling people to look beyond the buildings and see the effects on a range of issues including the community, the environment, the economy and climate change.

The Checklist can be used by a range of stakeholders – including the community - when the planning proposal is being prepared, as it provides a common framework to discuss the range of issues contributing to a sustainable community and enables a debate around the appropriate standards to be achieved.

By producing a simple and easy to read overview report, it highlights issues where the development performs well and enables a review of issues where performance is less good.

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