Planning Committee
7th September 2010
Agenda Item No 6
Fife Sustainability Checklist
Report by: Keith Winter- Head of Development Services
Wards Affected: Applicable to all
Purpose
One of Fife Council’s ‘Big 8’ priorities is to become Scotland’s “Leading Green Council”. A
major aspect in meeting this aspiration will be to improve the standards of all new
development with the particular ambition of ensuring that all future development contributes
to sustainable principles. This project is linked to Fife’s Sustainable Strategy which is being
progressed by the Head of Development Services. GAIA Research was commissioned on
behalf of Development Services in 2008 to prepare a Sustainability Guidance document
which would allow Fife Council to create its own Checklist for use in assessing new build
developments.
This report provides an overview of the work undertaken in progressing Fife’s Sustainability
Checklist and to present the final document for approval by the Planning Committee.
Recommendation(s)
It is recommended that Committee:


Approve the Sustainability Checklist Supplementary Planning and Customer
Guidance.
Remit the Head of Development Services to implement the approved Sustainability
Checklist Supplementary Planning and Customer Guidance.
Resource Implications
Development Services will be required to resource the implementation of the Fife Council
Checklist using existing staff in the Development Promotion and Design Team and Building
Standards. In order to make the best use of staff resources it is proposed to only assess
“major development” types using the Sustainability Checklist.
Costs for the document will be met from the existing Strategic Policy & Tourism revenue
budget.
Legal & Risk Implications
It is not considered that there are any legal or risk implications associated with implementing
this document.
Policy & Impact Assessment
Fife Council is now required to integrate the elements of the document into planning policy
for mainstream use by Development Services. The document will be a material consideration
in the assessment of all major development applications.
Consultation
The following have been consulted in preparation of this report:
1. The Executive Director of Finance and Resources
2. The Executive Director of Performance and Organisational Support
3. The Head of Environmental Services
A participation statement (copies of this, along with copies of the main sustainability checklist
document have been provided in the Fife House members lounge and on the FifeDirect
website) sets out the process by which Fife Council has promoted public consultation and
community engagement in the preparation of the Sustainability Checklist Supplementary
Planning and Customer Guidance (SPG). It outlines the main processes involved, the
organisations and groups consulted and how they have influenced the outcome of the
alteration during its preparation. The Draft SPG was published for consultation on 24 March
2010 along with the draft Strategic Environmental Assessment. The consultation ran for a
period of 6 weeks until 5 May 2010.
The City of Edinburgh Council has produced and has been successfully operating a
sustainability checklist now for two years. Fife Council has engaged in dialogue with
Edinburgh Council for collaboration and to provide learning opportunities. Edinburgh Council
is currently reviewing its checklist with the intention of updating it. Dialogue between the two
authorities will continue to gauge best practice in implementation and delivery.
1.0 Background
1.1
The Scottish Government has proposed targets for all new builds to meet the
requirements for a 30% drop of CO2 emissions for domestic properties, and 50% drop
for non-domestic properties by 2010. By 2013 it is proposed to increase this to a 60%
reduction for domestic and 75% for non-domestic properties1. A target of at least an
80% reduction in Scotland’s total carbon emissions by 2050 has also been set 2.
Improving guidance on sustainability will make a significant contribution to Fife
meeting the Scottish Government’s targets.
1.2
Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) requires Planning Authorities to ensure all new
developments contribute to the sustainable agenda and actively encourages improved
standards in design and build quality of all new development. The production of a
Sustainable guidance document would streamline the process in achieving improved
design and build quality by providing clear Fife Council standards in sustainable
design.
1
“A Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy for Scotland” (Sullivan Report) 2007
2
“Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009”
1.3
Fife Council has set the objective of becoming Scotland’s Leading Green Council. It
was therefore deemed appropriate to produce robust guidance on sustainability
allowing the Council to meet this aspiration whilst the Scottish Government drives
forward its sustainable agenda aided by the updated Planning System. The
production of this guidance demonstrates a proactive response by Fife Council to
improve design standards and to address Climate Change.
1.4
Fife Council commissioned GAIA Research to produce a detailed academic report in
2008. Copies of this document were provided in the members lounge in December
2009 prior to a report being presented to the Planning Committee. The document
provided a robust framework for identifying the elements necessary to create
sustainable communities and demonstrated ways to encourage sustainable practices
without being onerous on development.
1.5
Since this time Development Services has developed a Fife Council equivalent
Sustainability Checklist (copies have provided in the all members lounges, have been
emailed to the committee members and are available to view on the FifeDirect
website), using the GAIA report as its primary information source. A draft was
released for consultation at the end of March 2010 for six weeks and comments
received have informed the final draft.
1.6
The document outlines the benefits of using sustainable design principles and sets
out clear guidance for developers on how to engage with Fife Council on use of the
checklist, how the document will work in practice and identifies a series of policy
drivers. A series of elements in the later section of the document comprise key
sustainable principles which fall under a series of key themes. These are; managing
the process, supporting the community, enhancing biodiversity, creating healthy
environments, minimising pollution and using resources effectively. A broad range of
development types can be assessed against this checklist. Each element within the
document provides a benchmark and three higher levels of standards; Silver
Standard, Gold Standard and Platinum Standard. This allows flexibility and
transparency in how the expected standards can be applied.
1.7
The use of such a checklist will be used in the assessment and delivery of major
developments, particularly the planned Strategic Land Allocations. It will provide
Development Services with a tool to encourage and educate developers to adopt
sustainable practices in the design and build stages of their developments. The
document has been designed to complement other strategic planning and
transportation documents including the Fife Masterplans Handbook, the ‘Designing for
Streets’ supplementary transportation guidance and the Urban Design Guidance. It
also fully complies with the Council’s Development Plan policies which seek to
enhance design quality and ensure developments are sustainable.
1.8
A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) was undertaken as part of the process
of developing the Sustainability Checklist. The findings of the SEA are outlined in an
Environmental Report, copies of which have been made available in all members
lounges and are available to view electronically on the FifeDirect website.
2.0 Issues and Options
2.1
Planning Policy
2.1.1 The recently approved Fife Structure Plan sets out an ambitious development
programme which will be implemented over a 20 year period. In order to maximise the
quality of sustainable design of the proposed schemes it was necessary to introduce a
guidance document outlining sustainable design principles. This will be used in
conjunction with the Council’s Masterplans Handbook and its Urban Design Guidance
and the Development plan policies.
2.1.2 Once approved the Supplementary Planning Guidance will be integrated into Fife’s
development plan policies and will be a material consideration in the assessment of
planning applications. The document will assist in improving on current planning and
development standards while ensuring an enforceable and defendable policy stance.
2.2
Team Roles
2.2.1 The Fife Sustainability checklist provides an important opportunity to allow better joint
working between multi-disciplinary members of staff within Development Services
teams in assessing development proposals.
2.2.2 Development Services will have primary responsibility for implementing the document.
This will include facilitating pre-application discussion to set parameters prior to
submission of a planning application and providing general advice on sustainable
principles which will be expected within proposals.
2.2.3 Joint working will also allow for follow up and feedback actions upon completion of
developments which can be fed back to individual teams ensuring that sustainable
principles have been applied and are being maintained post-development.
2.2.4 Development Services will use the document as a basis for negotiations with
developers on development proposals.
2.3
Implementation
2.3.1 The guidance document is an additional assessment tool to be used in assessing
planning applications. It does not replace other processes such as strategic
environmental assessment (SEA) and environmental impact assessment (EIA),
ground investigations; including mineral workings and contaminated land
assessments, flood risk assessment, design and access statements and other urban
design considerations. These will all still be undertaken where required in addition to
the sustainability appraisal.
2.3.2 The goal of ensuring all new development in Fife contributes to sustainability will only
come about through the use of a framework which is functional and practical with
minimum proscription. For each identified performance standard benchmark
requirements have been set. Above these benchmarks are three higher levels of
standards; Silver Standard, Gold Standard and Platinum Standard. For each the
standards targets are raised in line with the best practice known to be achievable.
Designers and developers are required to address as many areas of the checklist as
economically, environmentally and socially possible, and relevant.
2.3.3 The elements in the checklist are cross ranging between different professional skill
sets including planning, building standards, transportation and environmental.
Developments will be assessed based on the sustainability statements submitted to
Fife Council Development Service’s Staff, supported by a Sustainability Working
Group, and will be graded based on a points system. Point caps will be agreed and
set at pre-application stages allowing individual developments to be assessed on their
own merits based on elements that are relevant to the project. Projects will receive
one point for meeting a Silver Standard, two points for a Gold Standard and three
points for complying with a Platinum Standard.
2.3.4 Applicants are required to submit a sustainability statement in support of their
planning application demonstrating that they have accounted for all the elements
identified in the checklist. These will be assessed and will be a material consideration
in determining planning applications. Following approval, conditions will be attached
to the decision notice to ensure proper implementation and delivery. Sustainability
Statements must clearly demonstrate the extent to which the development complies
with the relevant standards and meets the set points cap. At a minimum development
will be expected to meet the equivalent of a Silver Standard in all relevant elements.
2.3.5 ‘Major’ developments, as defined in the Schedule of the Town and Country Planning
(Hierarchy of Development) (Scotland) Regulations 2009, will only be assessed using
the sustainability checklist in the short term, to allow the best focus for staff resources.
However the policy in the document requires all development types to at least aspire
to meeting the sustainable principles of the Checklist. Once the checklist is
established there will be the opportunity to review and alter the development
thresholds of the checklist if required. Following this there will be the opportunity to
potentially produce other checklists to assess other smaller forms of development,
such as house extensions in the medium to long term.
2.4
Communication and Training
2.4.1 Progression has been made for the communication and training of staff and elected
members on the Sustainability Checklist and this will continue through organised
future workshops. Marketing and Communications to developers and the general
public has also been progressed and this will also continue. A high profile introduction
to the document was made to the Fife Construction Forum in June. The Checklist will
also be promoted at the upcoming House Builders Forum in September 2010.
2.5
Summary of Changes from GAIA checklist report
2.5.1 The Fife Sustainability Checklist subject of this report is based largely on the content
of the GAIA academic report which was presented to committee in December 2009.
However a number of changes have been made to produce the current Fife Council
checklist since this time and following the consultation period. The main changes can
be summarised as follows:

Policy SUS1 has been included in the document to provide Development Services
with a robust and defensible policy in the assessment of planning applications.

A clear explanation of the checklist process and procedures, assisted by a flow chart
demonstrating how the checklist fits into the assessment process, has been included
upfront in the checklist document to ensure legibility.

A list of Fife Council contacts and key agency contacts such as Historic Scotland,
SEPA and SNH has been provided directing readers to the relevant parties for
specialist knowledge.

Some of the individual sustainability elements have been amended or replaced;
particularly the “Publicly useable green space” element which replaces three former
open space elements.

Updated hyperlinks and additional sources of reference have been provided.
2.5.2 Changes to the document made following the public consultation are outlined in the
participation statement which has been made available in the members lounge.
3.0 Conclusions
3.1
Development Services has produced and now wish to progress the implementation of
a Sustainability Checklist Supplementary Planning and Customer Guidance as set out
in this report.
Background Papers
The following papers were relied on in the preparation of this report in terms of the
Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1973:

Identifying Elements Required to Secure Sustainable Communities and
Sustainability Checklists for Fife Council- GAIA Research- April 2009

A Low Carbon Building Standards Strategy for Scotland- Sullivan ReportScottish Government- August 2007

Climate Change (Scotland) Act- Scottish Government- August 2009

Renewables Action Plan- Scottish Government- June 2009

Sustainable Design Guide- Edinburgh City Council- May 2007

Creating Sustainable Communities and Buildings- Sustainability Checklist - Fife
Council- September 2010
Report Contact
Michael Westwater
Planner
Strategic Policy & Tourism
Telephone: 08451 555555 + 442397
Email – michael.westwater@fife.gov.uk