Climate Action Plan

Building on the regional shared planning policy principles on climate, foster collaboration among planning authorities in the region to establish complementary policies and pooled resources for climate-responsive development, raising the standards of development to minimise energy demand, provide resilience against future climate impacts, and incorporate space for nature.

Harness the higher standards of development to stimulate training, skills and supply chains in the construction industry that can deliver sustainable buildings at scale.

Implement placemaking policies (such as design codes) which prioritise nature recovery and active travel choices, to protect people from climate impacts, provide open spaces that are accessible, healthy and biodiverse, and create walkable neighbourhoods that encourage non-car travel for local journeys.

Case study: Imagining a future where car ownership isn’t necessary

To reduce emissions and adapt to a changing climate, upgrade existing buildings through ambitious retrofit programmes that:

• include a ‘deep retrofit’ programme targeted at pre-1930s semi-detached housing and pre-1919 terraced housing

• encourage greater action on retrofit in the private rented sector, through lobbying government on new standards, resources for enforcement and rights for tenants, and the development of new financial instruments for landlords

• support social housing providers to deliver retrofit at scale, which will in turn support relevant skills and supply chains

• for commercial and public buildings, support innovative green leases, financial mechanisms and energy management standards to secure climate-ready upgrades

• make housing retrofit an attractive and realistic prospect for owner-occupiers, through initiatives such as whole house retrofit models, ‘one stop shops’ for retrofit, or new financial mechanisms

• create new policies, standards and pilot projects to enable heritage buildings to be sensitively upgraded to improve resilience and reduce emissions.

Case study: Making the retrofit journey simple for York residents

Harness the wealth of evidence for the public health, inclusion and productivity benefits of a major shift towards public and active transport, to enable leaders to make bold investment and policy decisions, including:

• prioritise the development and expansion of mass transit schemes in our urban areas and focus development opportunities and investment appropriately to optimise their success

• deliver real improvements to the interconnectivity, reliability and affordability of rail and bus services for both urban and rural areas, taking advantage of mechanisms such as bus franchising where locally appropriate, and lobbying government for greater investment to address regional disparities in transport funding

• develop the high-quality infrastructure needed to reach the target where 50% of trips in our towns and cities are walked, wheeled or cycled by 2030, with every transport authority in our region scoring at least three in Active Travel England’s active travel capability ratings.

Integrate nature-first approaches into infrastructure and placemaking projects, by protecting and introducing wild areas, tree planting and healthy, inclusive green and blue spaces – demonstrating how these approaches contribute to biodiversity, to adaptive and climate-resilient places, and to people’s connection to the ecological systems we rely on.

Introduce policies to incorporate urban food growing and natural play spaces into the public realm and ensure that rural areas also benefit from restorative and nature-first placemaking.

Enable the transition to electric vehicles, especially for rural homes and businesses, through infrastructure and community-led initiatives.