Testing energy efficiency in urban regeneration

One of the main objectives currently pursued in planning sustainable urban environments is the reduction of energy consumption. Strategies for energy and the built environment are given in UK planning policies. Yet the application of such strategies at a local scale requires careful contextual analysis, since local conditions may inhibit, or enhance, benefits that these strategies intend to deliver. More importantly, the permanence of such benefits over time can be disrupted if local conditions are undermined by unpredicted future events. This paper analyses the application of three energy conservation strategies recommended in planning guidance developed by Lancaster City Council for a flagship regeneration project. The strategies are energy-efficient building envelopes, the utilisation of passive solar design principles and the generation of renewable energy. Results from the analysis suggest that each one of these solutions could be vulnerable to unpredicted future events and that conditions to improve their resilience need to be built in today. The appraisal elicits interdependencies between solutions for energy efficiency and other sustainability solutions such as the quality of the public realm, the local microclimate, air quality and more. The discussion of these links leads to a series of recommendations designed to inform planning guidance.