LES Policy and Practice SeminarRoyal Horticultural Halls & Conference Centre

London SW1P 2PE12 May 2009

Ogo Osammor

Air Quality Officer

Sheffield City Council

Putting the Fundamentals in Place

Introduction / Background

• Purpose – share information on: work done, achieved, challenges, lessons learnt

• Sheffield’s Local Development Framework clear signals to protect and improve air quality

• Core Strategy – adopted 4 March 2009: Policy CS 66S11.19 “Protection and improvement of air quality will be achieved particularly through decisions about planning applications for uses that give rise to significant amounts of traffic, through the Air Quality Plan and through successive Local Transport Plans.”

Air quality gains achieved

• Vantage Park – distribution centre• Tesco - Retail• Eon – Biomass Plant development• Northern General Hospital

Examples of LES achieved through Planning Gain

• Installation of electric charging points• Funding to support Transport brokerage• Funding for air pollution monitoring• Provision of low emission vehicle priority parking by signage• Set minimum Euro standards for HDVs• Employing a travel plan coordinator• Funding contribution towards signal optimisation at junctions to improve traffic flows and reduce localised congestion.

Challenges

• Limited knowledge about how the planning system works

• Establishing precedence

• Developing management and political buy-in

• Establishing funding strategies

• Developing relationship with planning colleagues: Making LES accepted

Lessons Learnt

• Use committee reports to establish LES, raise profile, gain support

• Role of Forward and Area planners – organise family of SPDs; S106 Agreements

• Low emission strategies can be realised via a number of established routes

• Be mindful of Outline applications

THANK YOU

Contact details -

Tel: 0114 2734655

Email: ogo.osammor@sheffield.gov.uk