Sustainable construction and energy efficiency

BREEAM Assessment

BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is a method used to assess sustainability for buildings and large scale developments.

All planning applications for new non-residential development must refer to the West Berkshire Core Strategy and include, as a minimum, a BREEAM pre-assessment estimator (a tool to calculate the rating a development is likely to achieve for sustainability and energy efficiency under a formal BREEAM assessment), or equivalent. The pre-assessment estimator should demonstrate that the proposed non-residential development will meet the BREEAM excellent rating. If your proposal does not achieve the required level then your application could be refused permission.

Sustainable construction data and energy efficiency data (in the form of the pre-assessment estimator) is a  local validation requirement [99KB] for planning applications, in line with our Core Strategy policy "CS 15 - Sustainable Construction and Energy Efficiency" [181KB] .

It is likely to be included within your Design and Access Statement that accompanies the planning application.

You can find guidance on the BREEAM credit requirements on the BREEAM website. For free BREEAM briefing papers, see the BREEAM tools page on their website.

Energy efficiency

Planning Policy CS 15 sets out that both residential and non-residential development requires a 20 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions.

You can find further details in the  Core Strategy policy CS 15 document [181KB] .

Code for Sustainable Homes Assessment (CSH) and National Technical Standards

Policy CS15 requires new residential development to achieve a given standard in the Code for Sustainable Homes. This was an environmental assessment method for rating and certifying the performance of new homes.

In the Ministerial Statement of March 2015, the government withdrew the Code for Sustainable Homes in England. It was replaced with a change to Building Regulations and the introduction of new National Technical Standards.