The One Planet Centre

Above: the One Planet Council 2015 annual gathering

The Welsh Government has a unique policy to support One Planet Development. Here is how it works:

Through Technical Advice Note 6 (TAN 6) and Planning Policy Wales (PPW) it sets out land use planning policies to support sustainable communities, at present in a rural context.

Section 4 of TAN 6 defines One Planet Developments as applying Low Impact Development principles in the Welsh context and being exemplars of sustainable development. It stipulates the following characteristics of a ‘One Planet’ Community:

1. Affordable housing for various sizes of household;
2. Buildings that are at least Zero Carbon throughout their entire life-cycle;
3. An initial ecological footprint of 2.4 global hectares per person or less and clear potential to move towards 1.88 global hectare;
4. Carbon analysis;
5. Close-to-zero waste;
6. 100% renewable energy;
7. Land-based enterprises to satisfy around 65% of the minimum needs of the occupants;
8. Rainwater harvesting, both for fresh water drinking and for other purposes;
9. Greywater and Blackwater ecological treatment with nutrient recovery;
10. Provision to protect against extreme weather events such as flooding or drought;
11. Low or zero carbon transport plan;
12. An increase in biodiversity caused by the planting of more native species;
13. Assessment of impact on the local community;
14. Encouragement of the use of Welsh language and culture.

This is a link to a PDF briefing paper on how One Planet Development supports the duties of public bodies under recent Welsh legislation.