Sandwell Local Plan - Issues & Options Consultation

2. Tackling Climate Change

The issue of climate change is at the forefront of international, national and local environmental, ecological and political thinking. In March 2020 Sandwell Council declared a Climate Emergency. Council Members agreed that greenhouse gas emissions needed to be reduced to a level compatible with keeping global warming below 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. To achieve that, the Council committed to becoming carbon neutral in its own activities by 2030 and to seeing Sandwell become a carbon neutral borough by 2041. The emerging SLP will contain a suite of new policies designed to help Sandwell mitigate and adapt to the changing climate at a strategic level, in line with the Council's adopted Climate Change Strategy^[6].

One of the main ways of combatting climate change is through promoting decarbonisation. Decarbonisation is the term used to describe the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by utilising low and renewable sources (solar, wind etc.), thereby achieving a lower output of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The aim of decarbonising is to achieve something called 'Net Zero'. Net zero means that any carbon emissions created are balanced by taking the same amount out of the atmosphere. We will reach net zero when the amount of carbon emissions we add is no more than the amount taken away. This in turn helps to control global warming by ensuring that no extra carbon is released overall.

Net Zero will tolerate some emissions however, providing they are balanced out elsewhere. This allows for some industries to continue to operate where it would be difficult for them to reach zero emissions, such as aviation, with their emissions being offset by other sectors where it is easier to reduce emissions or find alternatives for energy consumption. In addition, carbon offset can be helped by industrial or natural processes that consume carbon, such as planting trees for example.

The Government's ambitious Net Zero Strategy: Building Back Greener (October 2021) proposes a decarbonised economy by 2050 and identifies various approaches and policies to achieve this

"… this strategy sets out our plans for reducing emissions from each sector of our economy, while hoovering up any remaining emissions with greenhouse gas removals – either natural, like trees, or technological, using carbon capture."

Building Back Greener Executive Summary (October 2021)^[7]

The government's intentions for industry set out in the document include decarbonising it in line with net zero goals whilst simultaneously transforming industrial heartlands by attracting inward investment, future-proofing businesses, and securing high-wage, high-skill jobs. To achieve this will involve supporting industry to switch to cleaner fuels; helping it improve resource and energy efficiency; and through fair carbon pricing to drive the deep decarbonisation of industry.

Sandwell, with its wealth of experience in developing manufacturing and engineering solutions, is well-placed to deliver green and carbon reduction-supporting technologies that will help to meet these requirements and targets, which in turn will help revitalise local markets and employment activity.

Decarbonising the economy by deploying renewable energy and strengthening the grid, together with measures to protect communities and infrastructure from flood risk, also have the potential to impact on the landscape. Continued urban development, new or upgraded transport infrastructure, plans for woodland expansion and potential changes in the way open land is managed will all contribute.

Understanding what makes landscapes resilient is becoming increasingly important. Droughts, rising temperatures, floods and the spread of pests and diseases are already evident, affecting landscapes and species across the country.

The SLP can help to achieve this by making sure its policies and proposals reflect local ambitions and opportunities for growth while delivering the level of carbon and energy savings the government is seeking. To facilitate this, Sandwell Council needs to hear from companies, businesses, educational providers and local people on how they see the future economy and their surroundings developing to fulfil this new role.

Some of the possible issues to be considered are set out below – this list is not meant to be complete and other issues relating to climate change, carbon capture and adaptation can be included where they could be delivered through a land use policy in the SLP.

These policies will not replace nor repeat anything in national planning guidance or legislation. The purpose is to identify if necessary those issues that are of more significance in Sandwell and to provide further guidance through local policies as required.

The Draft Black Country Plan contained a suite of policies relating to climate change and carbon reduction and we intend to adapt and reuse those policies where they are relevant to Sandwell, subject to further public consultation at the next stage of our Plan's preparation. The policies cover the following areas:

• Increasing efficiency and resilience
• Energy Infrastructure
• Managing Heat Risk
• Air Quality
• Flood Risk
• Sustainable drainage and surface water management (SuDS)
• Renewable and Low Carbon Energy and BREEAM Standards

Other policies in the BCP also address issues around greener transport infrastructure, such as electric charging points, improved access to public transport and the need to support and promote active travel initiatives, and these areas will also be reflected and addressed in the Sandwell local plan as necessary.

3) Questions – Climate Change

Heat networks (sometimes referred to as district heating) supply heat from a central source to consumers, via a network of insulated pipes (usually underground) carrying hot water or steam. They can also be used to cool buildings. They can cover a large area or be more local, supplying a development site or small cluster of buildings. Importantly, a heat network removes the need for individual boilers or electric heaters in every building. Ideally, the heat they use should be derived from a low carbon source - this could be from factories / industrial processes, biomass, heat from waste facilities, the ground, renewable sources such as solar or even from rivers.

As part of its own response to reducing carbon and cutting heating bills for residents, Sandwell Council is currently looking at detailed project development work for a potential heat network, located in West Bromwich with a possible extension to the Cape Hill area of Smethwick.

4) Questions - Heat Networks

Some landscapes tend to be more able to retain their key characteristics and qualities than others – they are more resilient to pressure and alteration from external sources. Such resilient landscapes can absorb a certain amount of change without losing what makes them distinctive and special. Less resilient landscapes can suffer disproportionately when changes do occur, sometimes setting off a cycle of decline and ultimately causing a loss of character.

Landscapes that are resilient often include areas where the natural layout or topography of the landscape helps make it visible (so people value it), where habitats are managed sympathetically, where there is variety in terms of tree species, cropping patterns, field boundaries and wider landscape features, and where land uses and activities work with nature, not against it.

Understanding a landscape's resilience can help manage the changes impacting upon it. It can also help maintain the character and diversity that are important to national and local identities and a sense of place.

5) Questions - Resilient Landscapes

Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) are a natural approach to managing drainage in and around properties and other developments. They work by slowing and holding back the excess surface water that runs off from a site and allowing natural processes to break down pollutants. SuDs include

• green roofs;
• permeable surfaces for footpaths and roads;
• infiltration trenches, filter drains and filter strips;
• swales (shallow drainage channels); and
• detention basins, purpose-built ponds and wetlands.

Given the highly built-up nature of Sandwell, and its topography, flooding is evident in several areas following heavy rain. The new local plan needs to address in more detail suitable means of controlling run-off. One option to deal with this would be to include a policy in the SLP on SuDS, which sets proposed run-off rates for development that achieve at a minimum a reduction equivalent to the current climate change ratio. The policy could also require land to be set aside on development sites to manage flooding and drainage, planted up to assist in absorbing excess water.

6) Questions – Sustainable Drainage