Sustainable Design

Green wall at the Athenaeum Hotel

In addition to the problems of adapting to and mitigating future climate change, Westminster faces local environmental challenges which are affecting us now. The urban heat island effect leads to overheating and poor air quality is a problem across Westminster. The design of our buildings must evolve to tackle these issues as well as reduce water and energy consumption, minimise flood risk, and protect and enhance wildlife.

Through the development of sustainability policies in the Local Development Framework the City Council will ensure that future development is environmentally sustainable by setting standards that are both achievable and realistic for development in Westminster. 

Policy and Guidance

The Council is producing a user-friendly Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) on Sustainable Design to set out standards and how to go about meeting them, with specifications, good practice guidance, case studies and details relating to the Westminster context.

Design Brochure

The City Council has produced a Sustainable Design Brochure, which shows examples of refurbished listed buildings that achieve high environmental standards. These demonstrate how our City’s rich heritage can serve the future as well as it has the past.

With 75% of the City in a conservation area, striking a balance between environmental sustainability and heritage conservation is important. The Council is developing some best practice case studies to demonstrate the kinds of energy efficiency measures that are possible when retrofitting buildings which are typical of the historic Westminster context.

Further Details

To find out more, contact Nina Miles at 020 7641 1081, or nmiles@westminster.gov.uk .