Planning and Energy Act 2008

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Planning and Energy Act 2008 [1]
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (variant 1, 1952-2022).svg
Long title An Act to enable local planning authorities to set requirements for energy use and energy efficiency in local plans.
Citation 2008 c 21
Territorial extent  England and Wales [2]
Dates
Royal assent 13 November 2008
Commencement 13 November 2008 [3]
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Planning and Energy Act 2008 (c 21) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Contents

Legislative passage

The London Borough of Merton had introduced a rule where 10% of any new building's energy was required to be sourced from renewable sources and this had subsequently been adopted by more than 100 local authorities. [4] This was known as the "Merton rule". [4]

The legislation was passed as a private members' bill. [4]

Provisions

The legislation expressly allows local authorities in England and Wales to require a proportion of the energy used in developments come from renewable and low-carbon sources, but local authorities must comply with national policies in doing this. [5] [6]

Reception

The legislation was criticised by the British Property Federation for potentially slowing down the fight against climate change. [7]

See also

References

  1. The citation of this Act by this short title is authorised by section 3(1) of this Act.
  2. The Planning and Energy Act 2008, section 3(2)
  3. The Interpretation Act 1978, section 4(b)
  4. 1 2 3 Seager, Ashley (3 December 2007). "Parties unite to stop government backsliding over renewables rule". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 3 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  5. Hoyle, Rhiannon (13 June 2008). "Council power on energy gets cross-party backing". Construction News . Archived from the original on 3 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  6. "How will changes in legislation affect sustainable development planning?". Planning, BIM & Construction Today. 9 March 2022. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  7. Reisner, Alasdair (10 January 2008). "BPF thumbs down for Planning Bill". Construction News . Archived from the original on 3 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.