Energy statements
All applications for major development must be supported by an Energy Statement that demonstrates compliance with Policy 36 in the City Plan 2019-2040, the supporting advice provided in our Environmental Supplementary Planning Document (ESPD) and the relevant policies in Chapter 9 of the London Plan, including Policy SI2 Minimising greenhouse gas emissions, Policy SI3 Energy infrastructure and Policy SI4 Managing heat risk.
The Energy Statement should be prepared following the Mayor of London’s latest 2022 Energy Assessment Guidance and be accompanied by the relative supporting documents such as the GLA Carbon Emissions Reporting Spreadsheet and the 'Be Seen' Reporting Spreadsheet.
We have also prepared a checklist to assist applicants in preparing their energy statement. This guide brings together relevant advice and policy requirements and should be used alongside the Mayor’s Energy Assessment Guidance to ensure applicants have considered and addressed all relevant issues at an early stage, avoiding delays at the application stage.
Building regulations
Building Regulations Part L covers the conservation of fuel and power in domestic and non-domestic buildings in England and establishes how energy-efficient new and existing developments must be to achieve compliance.
On 15 June 2022, the new version of the Building Regulations Part L, which was published by the Government in 2021 (‘Part L 2021’) came into force.
Part L 2021 introduces more stringent targets for new residential and commercial buildings in terms of energy efficiency and carbon emissions savings.
A reduction of circa 30% in carbon emission is required for dwellings and a reduction of circa 27% is required for commercial buildings when compared to the previous 2013 version of Part L.
London Plan 2021 and energy statements
The Mayor’s Energy Assessment Guidance was updated in 2022 to explain how the policies contained in the London Plan 2021 should be applied using Building Regulations Part L 2021.
The updated guidelines continue to require a minimum 35% improvement in on-site regulated carbon emissions relative to Building Regulations Part L. However, all major applications received from 1 January 2023 onwards must demonstrate that the minimum 35% improvement will be achieved relative to the new 2021 version of Part L, rather than the old 2013 version.
Residential developments are expected to be able to exceed this minimum. Therefore, the Mayor has also set a new benchmark target of a 50% reduction, which residential developments should be aiming to meet or exceed.
Future standards
Building Regulation Part L 2021 is a stepping stone towards new regulations called The Future Homes Standard (for dwellings) and The Future Buildings Standard (for non-domestic buildings), which are currently being developed by the government and are expected to be adopted in 2025. These standards will introduce more stringent carbon reduction requirements than in the recently introduced version of Part L 2021 and are intended to support the Government’s ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
