LES e-Newsletter Issue 2

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Welcome to the second edition of the Low Emission Strategies (LES) e-Newsletter!

In our second newsletter we aim to give you all the latest news from Sefton, Sheffield, Mid-Devon and Leeds and also an update on our ‘Response to Consultation on Planning Policy Statement Eco-Towns’. We also have a feature profile from our LES Champion Martin Williams, Head of Atmospheric Quality and Industrial Pollution Programme at DEFRA.

Our launch newsletter has been subscribed to by more than 460 of you so far, which is excellent news! We want to continue to reach all Planners and Environmental Practitioners across the country, so please subscribe directly if you want to keep informed on all the latest developments. We also welcome your ideas for future editions of the newsletter and feedback on the content and benefits of this edition and any ideas for questions you would like us to answer in the FAQ.

Other news from around the sector includes the recent final public meeting of the London Assembly’s Environment Committee, which discussed a range of policy initiatives to improve air quality where it was suggested that the costs of not tackling poor air quality far outweigh the costs of taking action! The summary of the findings will be published in the spring.

John Finally we would like to send out our congratulations to our LES Survey winner, John from Tunbridge Wells! John was the lucky winner of a luxury organic hamper. A big thank you from LES to all of you who took part!

Rob Pilling - (LES Partnership, Programme Manager)

The LES Partnership are working with 15 local authorities across England in the development of LES. Please click the links below for updates on our current projects. We hope you can see where the approach being taken may be similar and/or assist you in making related decisions. We'll keep you posted on how they develop.

Mid Devon – Using their own Formulas to Assess Developer Contributions to Low Emission Strategies
Read more...

Sheffield – Approval Granted to Prepare a Low Emissions SPD
Read more...

Leeds – An Innovative Approach Through Two Projects
Read more...

Sefton - Developing a Low Emissions Strategy
Read more...

Keep an eye out for our next newsletter for updates on these and other case studies!

Martin Our latest feature profile comes from Martin Williams, Head of Atmospheric Quality and Industrial Pollution Programme at DEFRA. Martin has championed the LES Partnership and commented that:

“All this work is very important and I am pleased to be able to promote it and would like to take the opportunity to support everyone who is working hard to deliver Low Emission Strategies on the ground!”

Read more for Martin’s response to our questions below

Why are low emission strategies important?
How do you see your role to champion them?
What would you want to see planners and environmental practitioners doing to support LES?
Are there any exemplars you know of?

Update on the CLG consultation: Planning Policy Statement Eco-Towns

The LES Partnership responded to the recent consultation on proposals for a new Planning Policy Statement (PPS) for Eco-towns. The intention of the new PPS is to ‘precisely define[s] what constitutes an eco-town; what environmental, social, and economic standards these developments should achieve; and how eco-towns relate to the planning system’.

We welcome the opportunity to comment on the draft, though our analysis raises concern over its limited treatment of transport emissions and for the lack of support it provides for LES.

To see our full response please follow this link

LES Partnership to Promote New Low Emissions Strategies Across England

The Low Emission Strategies (LES) Partnership is working with local authorities to promote low emission strategies across England following the recent release of new guidelines from Defra for local authorities on improving air quality.



	2nd & 3rd April Environmental Protection UK Spring Workshop www.environmental-protection.org.uk 5th June World Environment Day 9th June Investigation of Air Pollution Standing Conference (IAPSC) www.iapsc.org.uk 17th September Care4Air/Low Emission Strategies Partnership Conference For more information on any of these events please click here to email us



	How does the use of Low Emission Strategies sit in relation to the revised Defra air quality guidance? The Low Emission Strategies Partnership (LES) is working with local authorities to promote low emission strategies across England following the recent release of the guidance from Defra for local authorities on improving air quality. The LES Partnership are very keen to work with Defra to promote the adoption and use of low emission strategy approaches and to produce further guidance and run joint events around improving air quality in planning. The LES Partnership already works with several local authorities and our approach is achievable and effective, especially when planners and environmental practitioners work well together. The LES model ensures that developments are designed with the lowest environmental impact. Now we hope to develop this model within Defra’s new guidelines and roll out the approach across all of England.



	To find out more about the Partnership visit the website, or if you have any question, comments please click here to email us You can also join our mailing list by visiting our website and entering your email address in the newsletter panel.