New London Plan in Place to Push Green Building

The London Plan has helped to encourage builders and developers to go beyond the bare minimum required by Building Regulations to do as much as possible to cut carbon emissions when submitting schemes to the mayor.

A new report, commissioned by the Greater London Authority, London South Bank University, has found that the average carbon reduction coming from developers, above standard Building Regulations, has risen to 34 percent in mid 2009 from 29 percent in 2006.

A sample was taken from the major planning applications that were submitted to the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, for approval. Half of the applications were looked at, including schemes for tall buildings, 150 homes, retail and office projects.

Energy savings came from a number of sources, including the use of passive lighting and heating, renewable technology, low-carbon sources as well as energy efficient options such as double glazing, to keep heat inside buildings.

The study praised the London Plan for how flexible it has been on achieving reductions in emissions, which has allowed developers to choose solutions that suit their particular project and site.

The replacement London Plan for 2010-2013 was published in October, and will help to push development of more green homes. The aim is to cut down on carbon emissions by 44 percent for all new developments.