These pages provide a one-stop shop to help you reduce the environmental impact of the buildings you plan to build, extend or refurbish, as well as those you currently spend time in.
These resources are useful to everyone who lives in or manages a building in the city.
Sustainability is rapidly evolving and we will be updating this page regularly to reflect changes in guidance and the law.
The guidance
This guidance does not hold any statutory weight in decision making. It signposts to material consideration, particularly if it is referenced within the adopted local plan and is therefore expected to be complied with policy. Our development plan is currently made up of:
- City Plan (2019-2040)
- London Plan
- Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan (2018)
- Mayfair Neighbourhood Plan (2019)
Both the City Plan and London Plan are now adopted. Three neighbourhood plans are also currently undergoing examination (Fitzrovia West, Soho and Queen’s Park) and will likely be adopted later this year. Our new Environmental Supplementary Planning Document (ESPD) is also open to public consultation from 17 May to 28 June. This guidance will be updated once new plans come into force.
You will find in Section A: overview
Section A offers an overview of planning and building regulations, along with brief information on licensing and sustainable procurement, including:
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Planning overview
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Building regulations
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Licensing
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Sustainable procurement
You will find in Section B: detailed guidance
Section B provides detailed advice, best practice and statutory and regulatory requirements underpinned by the Environment chapter of our City Plan, including:
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Air quality
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Sustainable transport
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Local environmental impacts
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Green infrastructure
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Flood risk
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Energy
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Waste management
Why this matters
Harmful greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) trap heat in the atmosphere and cause extreme global temperatures that impact us all.
If everyone works together, we can avoid the worst impacts of climate change and build the city’s resilience to these changes.
Westminster has some of the highest carbon emissions in the UK, most of this is generated from the energy used to heat and power buildings.
Our guidance offers an insight into concepts that are beginning to be understood outside of a technical setting.
More information
For more information about our wider climate programme, visit our climate emergency pages.