The councils failing to encourage renewables

from Sunday Herald, 24 February 2008

Plans to cut climate pollution by boosting the use of renewable energy in new building developments are being thwarted because most local authorities are failing to follow government planning guidelines.

A survey has revealed that 60% of Scottish councils have no policy to encourage solar, wind and other clean technologies in new homes and offices - despite being asked a year ago by ministers to introduce one.

This could mean that major flagship developments in the pipeline could be deprived of vital energy-saving measures. They include the Commonwealth games village in Glasgow, as well as new towns planned for Ravenscraig and near Inverness.

Inaction by councils has prompted attacks from environmentalists and the renewable industry. Councils have responded, however, by pointing out that the issue is more complicated than they realise.

In March 2007 the then First Minister, Jack McConnell, launched Scottish Planning Policy 6 (SPP6), requiring all new developments to cut climate-wrecking carbon emissions by at least 15%. Local authorities were told to oblige builders to incorporate renewable technologies in any developments with more than 500 square metres of floor space.

Around the same time the Scottish National Party leader, Alex Salmond, also made a commitment to enable a million Scottish households to take advantage of home energy generation schemes. "From wind turbines on the scout hut to solar heating on the church roof, the opportunity is there to be seized,” he said.

But one year on, it looks like the ambitions of both leaders are being stymied by dilatory local authorities. As many as 19 of Scotland’s 32 councils have so far failed to respond to SPP6, including Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Highland.

According to a comprehensive survey by the environmental group, Friends of the Earth Scotland, only eight councils are in the process of developing a policy. A mere five councils, including Edinburgh, have actually implemented one (see map and table).

This is despite that fact that all 32 councils last year signed a wide-ranging ‘Climate Change Declaration’ with the government. This promised to “ensure that greenhouse gas reduction and climate change adaptation measures are clearly incorporated into our new and existing strategies, plans and programmes”.

Now councils should be “ashamed of their lack of progress”, said Friends of the Earth campaigner, Stuart Hay. “Swathes of Scotland could miss out on innovative green housing and new technologies, because there is no requirement on developers to incorporate renewables into new buildings.”

Hay warned that it could now take until until 2009 to introduce the necessary changes, putting most Scottish councils five years behind leading English authorities. “Scottish manufacturers and installers could miss out on a multi-million pound market because developers won't have to install these low carbon technologies”, he argued.

“Without this stimulus, it will be very difficult for the government to make all new homes carbon neutral by 2016, or to fulfil Alex Salmond’s ambition to give a million households green energy schemes.”

Jason Ormiston, chief executive of the industry body, Scottish Renewables, agreed that action by councils had been “disappointing”. He said: “A few local authorities have made good progress but most have been lackadaisical.”

But the criticisms were dismissed as “far too simplistic” by a spokesman for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. “It is not a question of councils not developing policy,” he said.

“Planning authorities use SPP6 as a material consideration when dealing with planning applications. There are issues with lack of guidance on the 15% increase in building energy efficiency and how it is dealt with in planning terms.”

LACK OF PROGRESS BY COUNCIL ON RENEWABLES

Local authorities with no policy to encourage renewables:

Aberdeen City
Angus
Argyll and Bute
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Dumfries and Galloway
Dundee City
East Dunbartonshire
East Lothian
Glasgow City
Highland
Inverclyde
North Ayrshire
Orkney Islands
Perth and Kinross
Renfrewshire
Shetland Islands
South Ayrshire
South Lanarkshire
West Lothian

Local authorities developing policy to encourage renewables

Aberdeenshire
Clackmannanshire
East Ayrshire
Falkirk
Fife
North Lanarkshire
Stirling
West Dunbartonshire

Local authorities with policy to encourage renewables

City of Edinburgh
East Renfrewshire
Midlothian
Moray
Scottish Borders

source: Friends of the Earth Scotland