9.4 The impacts of climate change are predicted to increase over time, with winters getting warmer and wetter, while summers become hotter and drier. It is expected that there will be more extreme weather leading to impacts including intense rainfall, floods, heatwaves, droughts and increased risk of subsidence. These impacts will affect people’s lives, homes and businesses as well as essential services and supplies such as transport, hospitals, water supply and energy. There will also be significant impacts on biodiversity and the natural environment.

9.5 There is a need to ensure that new development seeks to reduce factors that contribute to climate change, and that new development is adapted to future climate change to make sure future communities can live, work, rest and play in a comfortable and secure environment in the face of inevitable climate change. Given the anticipated level of growth in the District, it is important that development takes place in a sustainable manner, incorporating climate change reduction and adaptation technologies and that these are flexible to accommodate technological advancements throughout the plan period. Buildings, services and infrastructure need to be able to cope easily with the impacts of climate change. Part of this ability to cope relates to ensuring that new development is designed to adapt to more intense rainfall, the possibility of flooding, heatwaves and droughts. The design of developments need to be more considerate to  matters such as shading, insulation and ventilation, surface water runoff and storage and the use of appropriate tree and other planting.

9.6 Planning can have a key role in shaping places to help minimise vulnerability and provide resilience to the effects of climate change. This policy is an overarching policy, designed to ensure the impacts of climate change are fully considered from the onset of early design and to ensure that development is future proofed and able to recover from extreme weather events such as flooding, drought and heatwaves.

9.7 There is an expectation that developers will demonstrate how they have incorporated measures to adapt to climate change into development design. In addition to this policy, reference should be made to transport policies, and minimise the need to travel, and contributing to the electric vehicle network.

District Heating

9.8 Without mitigation, there is potential for future development in Horsham District to have a significant impact on the consumption of energy and resources, which in turn will contribute to climate change, including global heating. 

9.9 Electricity production in the UK is currently dominated by a centralised electricity generating system. Centralised electricity generating stations are not efficient: on average around 65% of the energy used to produce electricity is lost as heat before it even reaches consumers. If better use could be made of this waste heat, and the transmission distances reduced, there would be major benefits in tackling climate change and improving security of supply.  It is considered that decentralised energy systems such as combined heat and power can help address these issues – these systems are considerably more efficient.

9.10 This policy seeks to ensure that developments consider the most appropriate energy use as a means of improving efficiency into their design. There is an expectation that developments will be constructed to energy performance standards that push beyond Building Regulations and where this is not met on site, it is expected that there will be a contribution to a carbon offset fund in order to work towards achieving carbon neutrality.

9.11 The Planning and Energy Act 2008 allows local planning authorities to impose reasonable requirements for:

1. a proportion of energy used in development in their area to be energy from renewable sources in the locality of the development;
2. a proportion of energy used in development in their area to be low carbon energy from sources in the locality of the development;
3. development in their area to comply with energy efficiency standards that exceed the energy requirements of building regulations.

9.12 At the current time, the Government are consulting on their intention to repeal part (c). Should this proceed, part (a) and (b) will remain. Therefore, in order help reduce carbon emissions all major development should incorporate renewable and low carbon energy production equipment to meet at least 10% of predicted energy requirements. Such energy generation could take the form of photovoltaic energy, solar-powered, heat pumps and geo-thermal water heating.

9.13 Although completed some time ago, the West Sussex Sustainable Energy Study 2009 provides a resource assessment of the capacity of each of various renewable technologies. As the District is a largely rural area with a number of areas of high landscape sensitivity, the study found that there were limited opportunities for energy installations which require extensive land areas such as large scale wind farms.

9.14 Given the relative lack of opportunities for large scale renewable and low carbon energy generation in Horsham district, the West Sussex Sustainable Energy Study recommended a hierarchical approach be applied to the use of energy and energy technologies such as combined heat and power. Using these hierarchies will ensure the lowest carbon outcomes are achieved in any given context.

9.15 The main focus of the policy is the provision of a hierarchy to ensure that development that comes forward is connected to the most efficient source of energy available. In addition, there will be a new requirement for all new strategic scale developments to combine heat and design into their master-planning. The aim of this is to ensure that the development mix, density and layout of large developments is optimal for connection to district heat networks. Designated Heat priority areas indicate the key locations in the District where there is the greatest potential to connect to localised heating sources.  This is particularly important given the suggestion by the Committee on Climate change that new homes should not be connected to the gas network by 2025.

9.16 The development of District heating networks in new developments will be encouraged. New development in Heat Priority Areas will be expected to maximise opportunities for the development of a District heating network which may include the incorporation of sites and buildings in areas where district heading has yet to be developed.

Renewable Energy

9.17 The development of renewable and low carbon energy is a key means of reducing the District's contribution to climate change. Renewable and low carbon energy can encompass a wide range of technologies including combined heat and power (CHP); combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP); district heating, energy from waste, wind (large and small scale), biomass, solar (thermal and photovoltaics) and heatpumps.

9.18 Due to the variations in the suitability, type and scale of energy resources which could be used throughout the District, a flexible approach to energy targets should be applied, in order to ensure opportunities for greater carbon savings are maximised where they exist, without placing undue pressure on areas where savings may not be technically or financially feasible.

9.19 The Renewable Energy Study identified the use of district heating including CHP and CCHP as a cost effective means of providing low carbon energy in identified Heat Priority Areas. Outside these areas the focus should be on other types of renewable and low carbon technologies such as solar thermal, photovoltaic and ground source heat pumps.

9.20 Support will be given to community initiatives which are used to deliver renewable and low carbon energy, especially when considered as part of a Neighbourhood Plan.

9.21 The evidence base supporting this plan (the West Sussex Sustainable Energy Study), identified limited capacity for wind turbine development due to the landscape constraints of the District. Any wind turbine proposals will be considered against the written Ministerial Statement concerning Energy and Climate Change, published on the 18th June 2015 or latest government guidance thereafter.

9.22 Renewable energy proposals will need to take into account the impact that they may have on protected landscapes. This includes the need to take into account views from protected landscapes to proposals which lie outside the South Downs National Park or High Weald AONB. Applicants should also refer to Policy 30 - Protected Landscapes.

9.23 Sustainable design has a key role to play in mitigating the environmental impact of new development, at the time of construction and in the future. This policy seeks to ensure new development is designed and constructed in a way that minimises its impact on the environment, however it now also includes the requirement that ‘Non-domestic floorspace must achieve a minimum standard of BREEAM ‘Very Good’ with a specific focus on water efficiency’.

9.24 Water is a key resource in the District and has a fundamental part to play in contributing to the economy, ecosystems and overall health of the District's population. Much of the South East has now been designated as an ‘area of serious water stress’ by the Environment Agency. This is something which is recognised in the Water Resource Management Plans (WRMP) of the two water companies operating in the District; Southern Water and Thames Water. Climate change has the potential to place further stress on this supply, causing longer periods of drought and reducing river flow which could impact the quality of the District's rivers. On this basis , Horsham District Council  propose that all new housing should meet the tighter level of water efficiency in line with Southern Water’s ‘Target 100’ objective for reducing water use to 100 litres per person per day by 2040 as set out in its Water Resources Management Plan 2020-2070 document.

9.25 The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) is an accredited, independent method for assessing the environmental performance of non-domestic development. Non domestic development should be assessed against the BREEAM standard and all new non-domestic development should achieve the level ‘Very Good’ under this standard. The Council will require the BREEAM standard to be verified by an independent assessor at the applicant or developer’s cost.

9.26 The policy also seeks to deliver flexibility in development design to enable buildings to be easily adapted, either to respond to a changing climate or to reflect changing lifestyle needs. Where traditional or historic buildings are retrofitted to reduce emissions, applicants are advised to refer to Energy Efficiency and Historic Buildings (or any relevant updates) published by Historic England.

9.27 This policy is designed to ensure development adapts to the likely changes in the future climate and flood risk is not increased. It also accords with the ‘Wilder Horsham’ objective to maximise opportunities from protecting and enhancing wildlife to tackling climate change and to reduce the impacts of a changing climate.

9.28 Flooding is a natural process that can happen at any time, in a variety of locations. It can arise from rivers, the sea, directly from rainfall on the ground’s surface or from rising groundwater levels, overwhelmed sewers and drainage systems. In the future the risk of flooding is likely to increase as a result of climate change, which is predicted to bring more intense rainfall events that could lead to more frequent flooding events occurring and new areas becoming vulnerable to flooding.

9.29 The Council has undertaken a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) which covers the Adur and Arun catchment areas, and with neighbouring local authorities as part of a Gatwick Sub Region Water Cycle Study. The recommendations of the revised 2019 SFRA and Water Cycle Study have informed this policy to ensure flood risk is appropriately managed in the district.

9.30 Approximately 6% of the District is classed as flood zone 3a or 3b which is considered the 'functional floodplain'. Development activity should be located away from these areas and in addition will need to undertake site specific flood risk assessments (FRAs) that

• Meet the recommendations of the revised 2019 SFRA
• Assess the risk of all forms of flooding
• Investigate groundwater flooding in detail in the south of the district or where a site is located in groundwater emergence zone
• Identify options for mitigation

9.31 The impact that development can have on flood risk as a result of increased run-off or changing drainage patterns must also be considered. To ensure development does not increase flood risk, developments will be required to incorporate measures such as Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) to help manage flood risk. SuDS manage surface water and groundwater sustainably and help to reduce flood risk, minimise diffuse pollution, maintain or restore natural flow regimes, improve water resources and enhance amenity. It is important SuDS are appropriate in scale and location. They should be incorporated into the Council's Green Infrastructure network where appropriate.

9.32 The West Sussex County Council Local Flood Risk Management Strategy identifies the responsibilities for flooding within the county and enables a range of organisations to work together to improve the management of flood risk. Early discussion with the appropriate flood risk management authority on SuDS for appropriate management techniques will be required.

9.33 Where appropriate, development will be encouraged to look for ways to improve water quality to ensure the objectives of the Water Framework Directive can be met.