heat sources and must have an overall carbon content of heat (delivered) of less than 100gCO2e/kWh. All communal or district heating schemes should comply with relevant planning stage ‘heat network technical assurance scheme’ (HNTAS) requirements.

  1. Major developments within an identified “heat network zone” must connect to an existing or planned heat/energy network. Where applicants can demonstrate that achieving the requirements of this policy is technically infeasible or financially unviable, they must address other options for significantly reducing carbon emissions.
  2. New development connecting to a low carbon heat network may be designed to have a higher energy use intensity (EUI) than that specified in policy CR2, with an additional allowance of up to 10 kilowatt hours per square metre per year (kWh/m2GIA/yr) being acceptable. This will be permitted where it can be satisfactorily demonstrated that the proposed heat network will be low carbon, as per clause 1 above.
  3. Development should avoid the need for cooling systems throughout the life-cycle of the development, and green infrastructure should be utilised due to its role in delivering urban cooling. Where cooling systems are required, their capacity and energy consumption should be minimised through building design and the use of passive ventilation. Developments that generate surplus or waste heat must take all practicable measures to utilise that heat to meet local energy needs, including as part of an existing or proposed heat network, and this should be demonstrated in proposals

Explanation

  1. The NPPF explicitly highlights the role of local planning authorities in increasing the use and supply of renewable and low carbon energy and heat. Heat supplied through underground pipes from a centralised energy centre tends to be most suitable for denser urban areas, particularly where there are large numbers of dwellings which are either too expensive or impractical (e.g. due to space limitations) to make suitable for heat pumps.
  2. The Energy Act 202383 provides the powers for government to implement heat network zoning in England, with emerging ‘The Heat Network Zones (England) Regulations’ likely to come into force in 2026. Government analysis84 identifies heat/energy networks as a cost-effective solution to this issue within areas of high heat density, with modelling suggesting that heat networks could be an important part of the least-cost mix of technologies needed to achieve UK-wide

83 See www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/52

84 See www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-future-of-heating-a-strategic-framework-for-low-carbon-heat and www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-future-of-heating-meeting-the-challenge