ADD2252 Technical Support to Create SPCES Guidance

This ADD seeks approval to spend up to £30,000; (£10,000 each from Regeneration, Planning and Environment) for work that LWARB to commission to provide technical support to create spatial planning circular economy statement guidance and refined criteria. The GLA wishes to provide grant funding to the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) as a contribution to costs associated with guidance it is drafting to help developers meet a new London Plan Circular Economy policy requirement.

GLA and the Good Growth by Design Programme

London is entering a period of rapid growth with the population projected to increase to 10.5 million by 2041. The Mayor’s draft new London Plan sets out the Mayor’s vision for meeting this challenge through Good Growth. Good Growth seeks development that benefits all Londoners and prioritises quality in the built environment. It will ensure London is a city that is socially and economically inclusive and environmentally sustainable. The Mayor’s Good Growth by Design Programme seeks to harness London’s world-leading design talent to make the city work for all its citizens.

The Good Growth by Design programme includes design research and inquiries as a core work strand. Within this, ecological urbanism (urbanism that is more socially inclusive and sensitive to the environment – it should be a more holistic approach to the design and management of cities) is a major investigation priority recognising the role that the development industry must play in meeting environmental priorities.

LWARB’s Circular Economy Programme

LWARB is developing a suite of programmes aimed at catalysing and co-ordinating circular economy activity across London, using a blend of policy, demonstration projects and investment to drive private sector collaboration.

In June 2017, LWARB published its ‘Circular Economy Route Map for London’ report. This Route Map sets out action plans for five areas for initial focus. These areas are built environment, electricals, textiles, food and plastics. The focus areas have been identified by looking at their environmental impact, the retained value of the products involved and their re-use/recycling potential. They are also items which can be seen in high volumes in London’s residual waste.

One of the focus areas identified in LWARBs circular economy route map for London is the built environment. The latest estimates for net benefits of implementing circular economy opportunities in London’s built environment are the most significant of our five focus areas. These opportunities could lead to GDP growth of between £3bn and £5bn annually by 2036. The construction industry in the UK consumes more than 400m tonnes of materials every year, making it the nation’s largest consumer of natural resources.

By integrating circular economy principles into development of the built environment through planning policy we can aim to ensure developments utilise existing buildings and materials, are designed for deconstruction and reuse, and reduce the environmental impact of London’s built environment.

Circular Economy Statement

The draft London Plan introduces a new Policy SI7 requiring major development applications to produce a Circular Economy Statement demonstrating how circular economy outcomes will be achieved to deliver resource efficiency and waste reduction benefits. We wish to grant fund LWARB as a contribution of costs associated with drafting guidance to help developers meet this new policy requirement.

LWARB works with the GLA to help embed circular economy principles and provides expert advice to a range of stakeholders. Building on the draft London Plan - LWARB, the GLA and a Sounding Board of the Mayor’s Design Advocate (MDA) members are now seeking a consortia of consultants and/or institutions to develop guidance and refine the criteria proposed to support developers to complete a circular economy statement requirement and to set out best practice in this respect.

Objectives

The technical consultants selected for this project will produce a document which could be used as guidance to create a circular economy statement. The report will include the following;

• The process used to assess and refine the criteria for the Circular Economy Statement
• The final Circular Economy Statement criteria –possibly in template format
• How the contractor identified what guidance and best practice examples are needed to allow developers to complete circular economy statements
• The guidance and best practice document in an easy to use format
• An estimate of the cost to produce a Circular Economy Statement
• Information on how the circular economy statement can ensure appropriate outcomes are measured, recommendations for evidence that the statement should include, and what process should be used to monitor outcomes, including how, and what to report, to whom and at which stages in the process.
• Recommendations on how to inform and create support for the guidance within the built environment sector.

Expected Outcomes

The technical consultants will produce a report and guidance for LWARB that is used to produce the Circular Economy Statement. The expected outcomes from the technical consultants include;

• Refined circular economy statement criteria with supporting circular economy statement guidance
• Recommendations for developers in achieving a quality response to a circular economy statement
• Engagement and inter-disciplinary activity (including workshop facilitation) with stakeholders including architects, engineers, designers, developers, investors, construction, demolition and public sectors to ensure the statement and guidance is fit for purpose
• Communication and dissemination exercise to promote and publicise the circular economy principles to the built environment industry in London

The draft London Plan has had a full integrated impact assessment undertaken. The S17 draft London Plan policy on the circular economy and Good Growth by Design agenda of this policy statement and guidance aims to improve the design and environment quality of the built environment for all Londoners.

The sounding board group, which is cross cutting across the GLA, are advising on the procurement specification to ensure equalities and diversity are considered.

Assistant Director’s approval is sought for expenditure of up to £30,000 as a contribution to LWARB’s Circular Economy statement project. LWARB will also be providing £10,000.

This will be funded equally from Planning, Environment and Regeneration’s 2018-19 budgets.