Planning matters

The UK has committed to Net-Zero carbon emissions by 2050. Transport is currently the largest carbon emitting sector of the UK economy, responsible for 27% of total UK greenhouse gas emissions, and so transition to electric vehicles (EVs) will be one of the most important actions to achieve this target.

In May 2019, the Committee for Climate Change (CCC) suggested that all new vehicles should be electrically propelled by 2035, if not sooner, to achieve the Net Zero target. Following this, in November 2020, the Prime Minister announced as part of the Government’s 10 point plan for a green industrial revolution, that the sale of new petrol and diesel cars would be phased out by 2030 and that all new cars and vans would be zero emission by 2035. This target was then reaffirmed at COP26 in November 2021 when the UK Government alongside other countries, cities, manufacturers, and others committed to the 2035 target for leading markets and globally by 2040. 

But how to get there?

Great strides are already being taken to achieve this EVs ambition with a variety of initiatives employed to encourage the uptake of EVs. For example, in July 2021, alongside the transport decarbonisation plan, the Government published a 2035 delivery plan which outlines the policies and investments the Government is taking to support the transition to zero emission cars and vans. This includes exemptions from Vehicle Excise Duty (or car tax as most of us know it) and favourable company car tax rates continuing until at least March 2025 alongside an investment of £1.3 billion to accelerate the rollout of charging infrastructure on motorways, on streets, in homes, and in workplaces. Meanwhile, others are also working hard on strategies to ensure that the network grid itself can service the uplift in electricity demand from EVs as they become more common. Another example is ensuring additional capacity for battery manufacturing that are critical to electric cars. Lichfields recently played a central role in securing planning permission, on behalf of Envision AESC UK Ltd, for a new Gigaplant capable of producing world-leading lithium-ion batteries for more than 100,000 EVs per year at the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) in Sunderland. Better infrastructure and extending battery range are key to dealing with issues of ‘range anxiety’ which has been holding EV car ownership back.

From a planning and development industry perspective, much of the focus has been on ensuring new development schemes are fit for purpose now and in the future. Most Local Plans have for some time required that car parking provision within new developments includes a proportion of EV spaces, alongside passive provision for future conversion. However, the Government has recently announced its plans to accelerate the installation of electric charging infrastructure across the country. In November 2021, the Government announced what it refers to as ‘world leading regulations’ requiring that new homes and buildings such as supermarkets and workplaces, as well as those undergoing major renovation, install EV charge points from 2022. The details of this are still emerging but reportedly this will ensure up to 145,000 extra charge points will be installed across England each year, helping ready communities for the all-electric future.  

But what about existing communities? In the zero-carbon discourse generally there is increasingly a recognition of the importance of retrofitting existing buildings and communities to ensure they are also fit for purpose for the net zero carbon future. A case in point is in the City of Westminster, where as part of its 2040 Climate Emergency Action Plan, it is planning to deliver 1,500 charge points across the city in 2022. Another example is Cotswold District Council which has prepared a Net Zero Carbon Toolkit which includes a section on retrofit to help homeowners looking to implement energy efficiency measures, including steps to plan for EV charging.

For individual homes or property assets, permitted development rights can be used to install EV charging infrastructure which meet certain size and height conditions. Schedule 2, Part 2, Class D of The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) states that planning permission is not required for the installation of a wall mounted electrical outlet for recharging of EVs as long as the area is lawfully used for off–street parking. In addition, Class E of the Order allows the installation of an upstand with an electrical outlet mounted on it. Increasingly we are helping our clients that manage existing assets such as shopping centres and industrial parks review the use of these permitted development rights or secure planning permission for charging points where permitted development rights cannot be used.

There is still much work to be done. For example, these permitted development rights cannot be used by those who live in a listed building and so planning permission and listed building consent is needed. For some this will be a hurdle too far and so as an industry we need to find a way to make this easier for those affected to embrace EVs whilst protecting the historic environment from unintended harm where listed buildings are concerned. Similarly, for those who don’t have the privilege of off-street parking, alternative solutions need to be found. In some cases, such as in Brighton and Redbridge, lamp post charging points are available but demand in the future is likely to far outstrip supply, and so other options are likely to be needed. On a broad scale, this could include the redevelopment of petrol stations, replacing petrol and diesel pumps with EV charging points alongside the development of entirely new infrastructure stations. In many rural communities, these stations would provide an essential top-up service alongside associated shopping facilities.

Infrastructure planning has always been a big part of our work over the last 60 years, whether that’s been assisting with obtaining planning permission for Stansted Airport or our work on new Woodsmith polyhalite mine, the deepest mine in Europe. EVs present an entirely different set of issues and challenges, potentially affecting every street and home in and beyond the UK. The car industry has got the bit between its teeth now with a rush of new models and much extended battery range. The Government has a plan and whilst it’s not clear how it’s all going to be implemented, there is already much momentum behind EVs. Whilst much of the focus has been on ensuring new development schemes are fit for purpose, there is still work to be done to fully embrace EVs and help realise our net zero carbon future.

 

Shortly after last week’s Spring Statement (see our summary blog), the Government launched the second round of the Levelling Up Fund (LUF), with an updated prospectus inviting eligible applicants to submit bids by Wednesday 6th July.

The second round follows the same criteria and investment themes as applied in the first round, which awarded £1.7 billion of the total £4.8 billion that has been allocated for the LUF. Our earlier analysis of Round 1 awards revealed that first round funding allocations were weighted towards northern parts of the country and the Midlands, but with some notable exceptions in the form of the North East (which has been awarded a much smaller share than its neighbouring regions) and the South East (which secured almost as many successful first round projects as the North West). There was also a particular focus on town centre regeneration projects, equivalent to 57% of projects and 53% of total investment value awarded.

A significant change in this second round has been the addition of 19 local authorities moving up into Priority Category 1, and 14 local authorities moving to Priority Category 2. These changes are the result of an update to the ‘Index of Priority Places’, which the government uses as an overall measure of ‘need’ for levelling up, whereby Category 1 has the greatest priority. This reflects that the Index has been updated using the latest available datasets. 

The core function of the Index to measure places' need for investment based on the scope of the Fund's investment priorities (unchanged for the second round) and considers the following:

• Need for economic recovery and growth (considering productivity, skills, and unemployment)
  
  
• Need for improved transport connectivity (England only)
  
  
• Need for regeneration (considering commercial and dwelling vacancy rates) (England and Wales only)

The original Index used the latest year or point-in-time estimates of places' characteristics, which provided a 'snapshot' of their level of need. However, since the original Index was developed more recent data has been published showing the sudden economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic in certain areas across the UK.

The potential problem with updating the Index is that the sudden and significant impacts of Covid-19 may have caused temporary fluctuations in the Index's underlying data for some places, and that may not be fully representative of the places' longer-term levels need. However, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUCH) has sought to counterbalance this by using two-year averages for all metrics where the updated datasets cover the post-2019 period. Using two-year averages instead of the latest year or point-in-time data provides a less volatile picture of places' level of need while still capturing Covid-19 impacts where they remain meaningful.

As a result of the updates to the Index, the scores for individual places have changed relative to the first round, and some have moved category. It is emphasised within the prospectus that no local authorities have been allowed to move down to a lower category despite this update. Also, the updated Index accounts for local government restructuring in Northamptonshire, resulting in seven district councils merging into two larger unitary authorities (West Northamptonshire and North Northamptonshire). The updated index categorisations and those authorities which have moved categories are shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Of the local authorities that have moved up to Priority Category 1, the majority (14 out of 19) are located in the north and Midlands, two are located in Wales (Gwynedd and Vale of Glamorgan), and three are within London (Hackney, Waltham Forest and Brent). On the other hand, more than half (8 out of 14) local authorities that moved up to Priority Category 2 are located in the south of the country, three of which were London boroughs, including Hounslow, Tower Hamlets and Redbridge.

Taken overall, the Index now allocates 139 local authorities to Priority Category 1, 117 local authorities to Priority Category 2 and the remaining 107 local authorities to Priority Category 3. The results of Round 1 show that these categorisations are important – our analysis indicated that some 60%  of successful first round projects were located within Category 1 local authority areas, amounting to £1.2 billion of the total £1.7 billion awarded. However, lower priority areas still received over £423 million.

With the Spring Statement not allocating any further funding towards levelling up, and the arrangements for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund still to be confirmed (Government has indicated further details will be published this spring), LUF Round 2 represents a significant and more immediate opportunity for local authorities to access funding in support of local projects. Some £1.7 billion remains available to be allocated.

Lichfields has been working with local authorities and scheme promoters across the country to help develop bid proposals and to prepare the necessary supporting business case and due diligence. To find out how we might be able to support, please do not hesitate to get in touch.