{"id":33054,"date":"2022-04-12T17:00:36","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T16:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogsnew.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=33054"},"modified":"2022-04-12T17:00:36","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T16:00:36","slug":"new-developments-must-start-with-net-zero-and-nature-recovery-says-rtpi-and-rspb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=33054","title":{"rendered":"New developments must start with net zero and nature recovery, says RTPI and RSPB"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) are calling for a new generation of design codes, which puts net zero, nature recovery and equality in planning and development.<\/h3>\n

image: RTPI website<\/em><\/h6>\n

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\u2026 \u2018Cracking the Code: How design codes can contribute to net-zero and nature\u2019s recovery\u2019\u2026<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

RTPI writes:<\/p>\n

Emma Marsh, Director of RSPB England, said, \u201cClimate change is the greatest long-term threat to wildlife and humans, and nature is in freefall. This research shows how the location and design of future growth must be informed and directed by the impact that it has on carbon emissions and on habitats, green and blue infrastructure and our amazing wildlife that depends upon them.\u201d<\/p>\n

All local authorities in England are expected to provide design guidance for development sites. However, the potentially transformative role of design codes are often introduced towards the end of the development process to set standards for building heights, typologies and aesthetics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe planning system is responding to the imperative of net zero, but we must, at the same time, act to arrest an unprecedented decline in nature and biodiversity,\u2019 said Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the RTPI. \u2018This guidance and the illustrative design codes will make sure that local developments deliver nature-rich places and meet England\u2019s net zero goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The RTPI\u2019s research \u2018Cracking the Code: How design codes can contribute to net-zero and nature\u2019s recovery\u2019 was conducted in partnership with the RSPB and led by planners at independent consultancy LDA Design. The project benefitted from support by data, climate and transport specialists, City Science, and ecologists, BSG.<\/p>\n

Frazer Osment, Chair of LDA Design, noted the serious ramifications of the research. \u201cIt shows that national policy needs to be more strategically integrated, with climate, smart energy and nature being given equal weight to housing, transport and economic growth. The National Model Design Code needs to put far more emphasis on climate and nature and what this means for design characteristics and good design.\u201d<\/p>\n

Researchers identified five key themes that can help design codes contribute to the success of new developments:<\/p>\n