Planning and Energy Act 2008

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

Planning and Energy Act 2008^[1]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
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Text of statute as originally enacted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

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

• Planning Acts