“Good” and “Best” practice standards
Why does the Checklist have good and best practice standards, why not just give a minimum?
Minimum standards should be the “catch all” for new developments, but they are exactly that – the least that should be aimed for. Many developers are already doing better than minimum standards on some aspects, however considering sustainability issues is new territory for some developers, particularly those building smaller developments.
The Checklist is following the lead of other tools such as BREEAM/Ecohomes and the Code for Sustainable Homes in that it shows what better practice looks like, as well as setting out the minimum standard. This provides pointers for developers and local planning authorities who wish to create more sustainable developments. In this Checklist, providing scores for good and best practice also enables developers to be acknowledged where they have gone beyond the minimum – useful for the development control process, but also in demonstrating the quality of the development to potential purchasers and land owners.
As in the Code for Sustainable Homes, the Checklist also uses Good and Best practice scores to show the likely future direction of policy to enable developers to up-skill and plan for the future.
Where do the “good” and “best” practice standards come from?
Where quantitative standards are given they are, as far as possible, drawn from experience on other sites and from delivered projects. We have also drawn on the other tools and guidance, opinions of experts in the particular fields and taken the opinions of planners and other regional stakeholders.
Why don’t some questions have “best practice” standards?
Where the question is process-based, or where performance on the issue covered by the question is particularly dependent on the site context, it is not always possible to give a “Best practice” standard.
If you get mostly “best practice” answers, is the development completely sustainable?
Since the Checklist is designed to be a tool for use within the Planning System, there are elements of sustainable developments it is unable to address. These include Building Control issues, the construction process itself and the operation of the development once it is complete. We provide references to tools which may assist in these areas.
The Checklist is designed to apply to the majority of planning applications, but it does not set an upper limit for performance. Exemplar and demonstration sustainable developments are likely to exceed the standards set in the Checklist.