News and Events

Climate Change Training for Planners

[Posted:30 June 2010]

The planning system has a key role to play in addressing climate change. Across the UK, local authority planners are dealing with stretching targets for renewable energy and sustainable buildings, getting to grips with the implications of emerging technologies and evolving government policies. The new Government has confirmed that key elements of the policy will remain, including possibly increased targets for renewables, the move to zero carbon for new buildings, and the provision of feed in tariffs.

The South West Sustainability Training Network, led by CAG Consultants, offers training on planning for climate change in the South West. The training could be easily adapted for use in other regions. A set of training modules has been developed with funding from South West Councils and the South West RIEP. The modules will be updated to reflect policy changes from the new Government. They can be combined to provide full or half-day courses for different audiences. The training menu is outlined in detail here and on the Planners Toolkit website.

In summary, we can provide:

• Training for planning policy officers and development managers on the process of evidenced-based planning for climate change - linked to the Planners Toolkit being launched by RegenSW.


• Training for elected members on shaping planning policy and determining planning applications in relation to climate change.


• Training for local authority officers and elected members on technology-specific planning issues that are likely to arise.

Training can be organised in three different ways:

• In-house courses run for an individual local authority or group of local authorities


• Regional or sub-regional courses for specific audiences


• Support for a local trainer to run one or more courses

For more information, please contact the team manager Gerard Couper, South West Sustainability Training Network/CAG Consultants on 01364 653003 or gc@cagconsult.co.uk.