susanmurray
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Article from the Guardian - thought provoking read - 2006/02/09 23:48
Peter Hetherington Wednesday February 8, 2006 The Guardian
Modest wind turbines, banks of solar panels and power plants burning
biofuels ought to become as familiar as telegraph poles and electricity
pylons in Britain's towns and cities. That is the view of several go-ahead
councils, pressure groups, and green campaigners, but only a few areas have
embraced these alternative sources of energy through planning regulations,
because most authorities are unwilling to use powers at their disposal to
cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report published today.
The report, designed to kickstart a wider debate on the environmental role
of authorities at a major sustainable communities conference organised by
the Local Government Association (LGA) next week, found that 82% of 300
councils surveyed believe they are making little progress in tackling
climate change.
Undertaken by the Energy Saving Trust (EST), the report finds that stretched
finances, limited resources and, crucially, a lack of support from
councillors are the key barriers preventing councils from addressing green
issues. Depressingly, almost half of the council officials surveyed blamed
their political masters for a lack of support, while 34% reported local
resistance to environmental schemes.
Initial scepticism
This flies in the face of experience on the ground, where two pace-setting
councils - the south London boroughs of Merton and Croydon - say developers
and housebuilders, after initial scepticism, are now embracing renewable
energy and a variety of other green initiatives on the grounds that they are
good for business.
By strengthening planning guidelines, and challenging a timid Whitehall in
the process, Merton and Croydon have proved that local government can take a
lead on tackling climate change. Around Croydon, all new housing
developments - and 55 are now under way or in the pipeline - have to
incorporate renewable energy as well as high insulation and other
above-average environmental standards.
The initiative began with a seemingly innocuous change of wording in a
government planning guideline six years ago. Rather than "encouraging"
developers to incorporate renewable energy sources into new buildings,
Merton said it would "expect" them to do so.
Whitehall, which had to approve the change, thought the council had gone too
far and questioned whether the substitution of "expect" for "encourage" was
legal. After 12 months of wrangling, and the intervention of the former
planning minister, Keith Hill, the change was agreed, and the first
renewable project - a development of 10 small industrial units fitted with
micro wind turbines and one solar panel - took off.
"There was a worry that companies would go elsewhere, but the developer came
back, and now the fourth development has been approved with bigger turbines
on 15-metre high poles and 100 sq metres of solar panels," enthuses Adrian
Hewitt, Merton's principal environment officer.
The Merton agenda is based on all new businesses, such as small factories
and retail outlets, showing that at least 10% of energy requirements will
come from renewable sources, such as wind turbines and solar power. In a
further stage of the green initiative, combined heat and power plants are
being encouraged around the borough, which has set a target of cutting
greenhouse emissions by 15% in 2015.
The strategy is now so entrenched that when the DIY retailer B&Q put forward
plans for a 10,000 sq metre superstore off the A3, it readily agreed to
incorporate small wind turbines, solar panels and a sustainable energy
exhibition centre in the complex. Hewitt, who has become a green evangelist,
speaking at events around the country, says B&Q has spotted a niche in the
market for a new business opportunity - namely, cut-price baby turbines. He
says: "People who see their bills going up will not only want to insulate to
the maximum, but also want ownership of an energy source. And there's
potential here to halve bills."
In partnership with the LGA, the Energy Saving Trust has produced a vision
of a sustainable area, which it calls Anytown 2025. It urges councils to
seize the higher environmental ground, rather than sitting meekly on the
sidelines, and argues that the UK target of a 60% cut in greenhouse gas
emissions by 2050 "should now be treated as the minimum responsible level of
change".
The guide adds: "Working towards the future can lead to multiple benefits
for local authorities: improvements in health; community cohesion; social
inclusion; and quality of life. It does not rely on any technological
breakthroughs."
Anytown would incorporate combined heat and power from a neighbourhood
electricity plant, which "digests" organic wastes, burns biofuels, supplies
heat through a grid of insulated pipes under the roads, and, significantly,
could provide a revenue stream for a council (a part-owner of the plant),
which might sell surplus electricity. Anytown's local school would have a
small renewable plant on site, while surrounding terraced houses would
incorporate solar panels and high insulation.
Electric carts, primed daily by the neighbourhood power plant, would pick up
household waste, streets would be pedestrian and cycle friendly, with trees
- which help absorb excess groundwater - and permeable paving. A transport
club would encourage car sharing. The council in Anytown would also push
home food production, with a database to put keen gardeners, who are short
of ground, in touch with people who have spare growing space. A marketing
collective would sell spare produce, underwritten by a commitment from the
local school, hospital and other public service kitchens.
Worthy but impractical? Eddie Taylor, who heads an environment and
sustainability team at Croydon council, says new housing developments in the
borough already incorporate some of these proposals. By embracing the
Building Research Establishment's ecohomes standard, he says issues such as
"green" household waste disposal, water recycling, closeness to transport
links - to avoid car use - and the incorporation of cycle ways, form part of
planning approval, in addition to a requirement for renewable energy.
Misunderstanding
So why do more councils not embrace sustainability? Taylor says: "They
sometimes think the requirements we demand will stop developments taking
place, but in the south-east particularly there is so much profit in
housebuilding that the standards can be incorporated. There is probably a
lot of misunderstanding. You need enthusiasts who want to make it happen and
developers who want to make it work."
Philip Sellwood, chief executive of EST, says its research confirms
widespread awareness of the key sustainable policy areas and an appetite to
tackle climate change. "It does, however, paint a challenging picture for
our local authorities and it is clear that they need more support to
translate willingness into action."
Significantly, 67% of the councils surveyed cited a perceived lack of
leadership from the government as an obstacle to progress. Others blamed a
lack of funding and a shortage of staff. But as councils such as Merton and
Croydon have shown, if there is political will across parties, local
government can drive through changes and give national government a lesson.
Finally, there is the benefit to the wider economy. Some suggest that if 250
councils adopted Merton's positive planning policy, a 750m market in
renewable energy could be unleashed. The current UK market for these
technologies is 35m
8/2/06 * Guardian *
http://society.guardian.co.uk/societyguardian/story/0,,1704119,00.html
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