City of London demands alternatives to demolition for new schemes

The advisory planning note adopted on Tuesday (7 March) aims to reduce the whole-life carbon emissions of new developments in the Square Mile by requiring proposed schemes to show the impact of different development options with respect to carbon emissions.

Developers must carry out detailed studies before submitting schemes for planning, the corporation says, and consider alternatives to demolition.

The guidance applies to buildings with more than 1,000m² of floorspace and those ‘which propose knocking down most of the existing structure’.

Developers will also be expected to ‘provide details of how their proposed building will operate as energy efficiently as possible’ when submitting projects to the City, which aims to be net zero by 2040.

Praising the move, campaign group The Twentieth Century Society tweeted: ‘A very welcome change of direction from City of London on planning policy. The City is home to some of Britain’s most extraordinary twentieth and twenty-first century architecture, which deserves conservation or modernisation, not demolition.’

BREAKING NEWS // @cityoflondon will insist developers give 'substantial, detailed consideration to retaining & refurbishing bldgs rather than knocking them down & starting from scratch'