(Education) A change to the Building Regulations which came into force on 1 January 2019 means that all new buildings owned and occupied by public authorities must be ‘Nearly Zero Energy Buildings’, and policies and specifications of all buildings reflect this. To achieve compliance, the Council’s preferred policy is a combination of different mechanisms including achieving at least 6 BREEAM energy performance “Ene01” credits, designing buildings to achieve an EPC rating of A or better and/or installing on-site renewable energy generation sized to meet a significant proportion (>80%) of the building’s expected energy use. Policy CC/NZ is less flexible with specific targets set for non-domestic buildings, including schools.
Delivering schools which are ‘Nearly Zero Carbon’ buildings has increased the capital cost of construction by 10%. With further, and more specific targets, such as those above, and notwithstanding advances in technology, additional cost is likely to be incurred. The Council would therefore require associated policies to make clear the expectation on developers meeting such costs through section 106 agreements.