The Climate Change Skills Programme for Planners was completed in 2012 but information, resources and presentation materials will remain on the Your Climate website as an archive of resources for Planners.
The CCSF was announced with draft Planning Policy Statement: Planning for a Low Carbon Future in a Changing Climate (March, 2010). To help deliver new planning policy, as part of wider actions on climate change, DCLG confirmed a package of measures worth £9.75 million nationally. This consultation bought together the Planning and Climate Change Supplement to PPS1 with the Planning Policy Statement 22: Renewable Energy and emphasised policy measures to reduce carbon, to adapt to a changing climate and on helping local communities to bring forward renewable energy projects.
Moving to a low carbon economy in a changing climate will be central to planning strategies and decisions made on planning applications.
The Climate Change Skills Fund (CCSF) programme in the Yorkshire and Humber region will build the skills and capacity of officers helping them to better tackle climate change. The CCSF was announced by Central Government as part of a policy package to deliver actions on climate change. Here in the Yorkshire and Humber region we aim to enhance the skills and knowledge planners have to deal with climate change mitigation and adaptation and encourage communities to take positive action on climate change.
Broadly speaking, the funding is to support the decentralisation of power to the local level by enhancing the skills and knowledge planners need, including in planning for increased renewable energy supply, and encouraging local communities to take positive action on climate change. The Fund will be used to support local authorities for the following purposes:
- Facilitating the delivery of increased renewable energy supply through the activities of local authority planning departments;
- Helping local authorities more broadly, including training for members and on adaptation and mitigation; and
- Allowing planning departments to promote better community
engagement in the planning process, including on renewables.
What is happening in the Yorkshire and Humber?
In the Yorkshire and Humber the overall CCSF programme consists of four
project areas:
- Leadership, Skills and Support Service - covers elected Member development, planning officers and related professionals’ accredited training. The Support Service will focus on policy development, e.g. further streamling of permitted development rights, supporting LAs to deliver their policy targets (e.g. % of renewables in new development), improve transparency of decision making and reducing appeals.
- Best Practice Hub - focuses on built environment best practice mitigation/adaptation work and learning.
- Heritage Assets and Low Carbon Renovation - improving planning policy to improve energy efficiency and renewable energy generation in historical/listed buildings.
- Community Engagement Programme - working with all localities to support realisation of the benefits of renewables, how to get them installed, and how to be well adapted to a changing climate.
Who is the Fund designed for?
The Programme is designed to help:
- Local Authorities;
- Planning Officers (both Policy and Development Management);
- Building control officers;
- Conservation Officers;
- Sustainability Officers;
- Developers;
- Elected Members;
- House builders and local communities.