Environment - Planning Permission Easier for Green Projects

Businesses planning to install eco-friendly technology such as solar heating panels and wind turbines will find themselves given the ‘green’ light to proceed if recent proposed changes to planning rules go ahead.

The government recently announced planning hurdles will be minimized for offices, retail premises, and leisure businesses wishing to create renewable energy. The new rules are the result of plans to encourage more businesses to adopt eco-friendly equipment for micro-generation by removing many of the current barriers which have hitherto made many reluctant to embrace new green technologies.

Central to the revised planning procedures is a move towards allowing such technology to be classed as ‘permitted developments’ – which means they can be installed without specific planning permission. Hazel Blears, Communities Secretary, has asked environmental and planning consultancy firm Entec to assess the viability of the changes and to draw up new rules aimed at enticing more businesses to follow the route to renewable energy.

Until now, installation of small-scale renewable energy options and low carbon technology equipment has been a costly and often lengthy process which has, not surprisingly, put many off. Ms Blears hopes the planned changes will take the UK a step closer to her vision for the year 2050: that up to 40% of the UK’s electricity will come from microgeneration equipment installed on all types of building.

Meanwhile the UK Green Building Council have been asked to investigate ways of improving general energy efficiency of non-domestic buildings. The instruction comes from Housing Minister Yvette Cooper who’s aim is to promote substantial reductions in carbon emissions from new buildings over the next 10 years. Technologies like wind and water generation or ground sources like heat pumps and biomass boilers look set to become more and more commonplace in the years to come.

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