Sustainability Assessment
in Ebbsfleet

This document sets out EDC’s approach to assessing the sustainable performance of planning applications within the urban development area of Ebbsfleet.

This guidance provides two key tools for applicants;

• Sustainable Performace Assessment tables provide a framework for defining sustainable performance within a planning application. They have been developed to interpret local planning policy into clear performance levels that are consistent with national industry best practice, and to ensure delivery of quantifiable ambitions set out in Ebbsfleet’s Sustainable Framework.

• Design guidance is intended to provide a basic framework for demonstrating project sustainability performance within the application documentation. The guidance will also be used during pre-application meetings to ensure key design approaches and technologies have been tested and incorporated where appropriate into projects at the earliest opportunity.

Step 1 > Select a Project Type

Choose your project type to download your Sustainable Performance Assessment;

Step 2 > Consult Assessment Tables

The assessment tables are split into the six sustainability themes as set out in Ebbsfleet’s Sustainability Framework; Carbon and Energy, Water, Waste and Materials, Health and Wellbeing, Natural Environment and Inclusive Growth and Community Growth.

Applicants should work through each performance measure, and use the guidance where necessary to better understand how they can achieve the performance level

Step 3 > Use the design guidance

Each performance measure has supporting design and submission guidance that sets out key design principles and submission requirements for evidencing the performance of your planning application.

The guidance sets out

  1. Relevant polices in the local plans that require performance for that sustainability theme

  2. General best practice design principles

  3. Submission requirements

  4. Links to more detailed guidance

Step 4 > complete sustainabilty assessment summary table

Applicants are required to submit a Sustainability Summary Assessment Table as part of their planning application, which will be presented to the Planning Committee as part of the Planning Officer’s Report (where applications are determined by committee).

Complete the relevant summary assessment table based on the type of project, by ticking which of the three boxes the scheme achieves for that performance measure. Only one box should be ticked for each performance measure

Step 5 > provide supporting evidence

Planning applications should include the following documentation, to provide the supporting evidence of performance of the project as set out in the Sustainability Assessment Summary Table. Further information on submission requirements can be found in the guidance pages for each performance measure.

The expectation from EDC is that applicants will aim to meet the measures set out in the dark green box for each performance measure to achieve carbon net-zero performance and deliver the vision and planning policies for Ebbsfleet.

However we also recognise that technologies and practice is changing rapidly, and the performance level that can be achieved may also be dependent on the specifics of a site’s context and brief. Where applicants are unable to meet the dark green performance level, they should evidence in the supporting documentation listed to the left the reasons why dark green can not be achieved, with any supporting calculations to support this.