Kettering Central Neighbourhood Plan

Policy KET9 Energy Efficiency

  1. Proposals for new and refurbished buildings must demonstrate that the building(s) have been designed and constructed to minimise the performance gap between predicted and actual energy use. A planning condition will be imposed requiring the submission of a Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) Report to the Local Planning Authority within an agreed period following first occupation for each building type, unless exempted by Clause B. Where the Report identifies poor energy performance and makes recommendations for reasonable corrective action, the applicant must demonstrate that those actions have been implemented before the condition is discharged.
  2. The requirements of Clause A will not apply to:
  1. buildings which are to be certified to the Passivhaus standard (or equivalent) with a space heating demand of less than 15kWh/m²/year; or
  2. non-residential or mixed-use buildings which are to be independently assessed and certified to achieve a minimum BREEAM rating of “Excellent” overall and a rating of at least “Outstanding” (or, where this category is updated, the highest available rating) for the Energy section.

In such cases, pre-construction compliance checks and post-construction certification shall be secured by condition.

  1. Major non-residential development (and non-residential elements of mixed-use development) should be designed to achieve as a minimum BREEAM “Very Good” and will be strongly encouraged to achieve “Excellent” or higher. Where it is demonstrated through a proportionate viability and/or feasibility assessment that this cannot reasonably be achieved, proposals must show how the design has nonetheless maximised performance in the BREEAM Energy, Water, and Health & Well-being sections.
  2. All development should be ‘zero-carbon ready’ by design, minimising the amount of energy needed to heat and cool buildings through landform, layout, building orientation, massing and landscaping. Consideration should be given to resource efficiency at the outset, including whether existing buildings can be re-used as part of the scheme to capture their embodied carbon.
  3. All planning applications for major development are required to be accompanied by a Whole Life-Cycle Carbon Emission Assessment, using a recognised methodology, to demonstrate actions taken to reduce embodied carbon resulting from the construction and use of the building over its entire life.
  4. A Climate Change Statement should be submitted to demonstrate compliance with this policy (except for householder applications). The statement will include:
  1. a passive-design capacity assessment showing how opportunities to reduce the energy use intensity (EUI) of buildings over the plan period have been maximised in accordance with the energy hierarchy;
  2. an evaluation of operational energy use using realistic information on the intended use, occupancy and operation of the building to minimise any performance gap; and
  3. for non-residential and mixed-use proposals, the target BREEAM rating and a BREEAM pre-assessment (where applicable), with an undertaking to submit the final BREEAM certificate to the Local Planning Authority following completion.
Appendix D: Post-Occupancy Evaluation (weblink)

Supporting Text

  1. The policy is in six parts, the combination of which is intended to deliver a step change in the energy performance of all new developments in Central Kettering and, in doing so, encourage and incentivise the use of the Passivhaus or equivalent standard of building design. The policy has been informed by the Ringwood Neighbourhood Plan Policy R11 and clarification has recently been given by The Court of Appeal (25 July 2025) R (Rights: Community: Action Ltd) v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2025] EWVA Civ 990 which held the 2023 Written Ministerial Statement doesn’t prevent LPAs from setting higher standards than National policy which is only guidance and can be departed from in local circumstances. Whilst this policy does not set a higher standard, it is intended to incentivise, not require, higher standards, by releasing such schemes from a post-occupancy evaluation. The post-occupancy clause of the policy is intended to try to deal with the performance gap, not set a particular standard. Schemes can continue to choose whichever energy efficiency standard they see fit. Post-occupancy evaluation simply provides a procedure for schemes to demonstrate that their schemes are performing the way in which they anticipated at the design stage. The purpose of the policy is to incentivise developers to choose higher standards, such as Passivhaus which are guaranteed will not fail in this way.
  2. Similarly, for larger non-residential developments, BREEAM is used as a recognised route to high performance. A minimum expectation of BREEAM Very Good, with a clear policy preference for Excellent, ensures that schemes systematically address energy, water, health and wellbeing and other sustainability criteria from the outset, while allowing flexibility where site-specific viability or feasibility constraints are demonstrated.
  3. There is a growing evidence base to suggest that buildings do not perform as well as anticipated at design stage. Findings demonstrate that actual energy consumption in buildings will usually be twice as much as predicted. This passes on expensive running and retrofitting costs to future occupants. Clause A of the policy therefore requires that every building design type in a consented development scheme of any size is subject to Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) including actual metered energy use, and to submit the report to the local planning authority. It will be implemented by attaching a planning condition, which will only be discharged once the report has been submitted and any recommended actions to rectify any performance gap with the design stage assessment are carried out by the developer.
  4. Please note building design type refers to each of the different designs of terrace, apartment, semi, detached or bungalow within a scheme and the size and layout of the property. This is intended to reduce any resourcing constraints, enabling the developer to undertake a POE on a single property within each category, i.e 2 bed detached, 3 bed semi etc..
  5. For non-residential and mixed-use schemes, BREEAM provides a widely-used, independent framework for assessing environmental performance. The policy therefore uses BREEAM both as a benchmark for higher-performing buildings and as an incentive, by exempting non-residential developments achieving BREEAM Excellent overall and Outstanding in the Energy section from the POE requirement in Clause A. In those cases, the BREEAM process itself provides robust design and post-completion checks on performance.
  6. There is no current adopted development plan policy which seeks to deal with the performance gap. In the absence of supplementary guidance from NNC on POE, guidance has been included in Appendix D Passivhaus or BREAAM certified schemes will not fail in this way and they are therefore exempted from this policy requirement. PassivHaus is the most common and rigorous design approach, although the build cost is slightly higher than normal, the ongoing energy cost to occupiers is a fraction of the cost now (so avoiding fuel poverty).
  7. A condition requiring the submission of a Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) report can satisfy all six tests in the NPPF, provided it is clearly worded, proportionate, and aligned with local planning objectives. It is a justified and effective mechanism for supporting sustainable development and ensuring continuous improvement in housing quality, matters which are sought as part of NNC’s corporate responsibilities and within the adopted development plan.
  8. Clause D of the policy requires developers to ensure they address the Government’s climate change targets and energy performance at the very initial stages of design. ‘Zero Carbon Ready’ by design means making spatial decisions on layout and orientation of buildings at the outset to maximise the passive design benefits (‘free heat’) of a site and avoids leaving this to technical choices and assessment at the Building Regulation stage, by which time the opportunity may have been lost. Applicants are directed to the Net-Zero Carbon Toolkit created by Cotswold District Council and two partner councils, WODC and Forest of Dean District Council. The toolkit is available as a resource for private and public sector organisations to use .
  9. Proposals seeking to apply the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP) must be able to demonstrate that the Passivhaus standard can be achieved. Prior to commencement a ‘pre-construction compliance check’ completed by a Passivhaus Designer accredited by the Passive House Institute (PHI) will be required and secured by condition. Upon completion a Quality Approved Passivhaus certificate for each building will be required prior to occupation, again secured by condition
  10. Clause E requires all development proposals that are not householder applications to be accompanied by a Whole Life-Cycle Carbon Emissions Assessment (use if the RICS methodology is preferred). The assessment will enable the design team to understand and respond to the lifetime consequences of their design decisions and to design for adaptability, longevity and disassembly; contributing to resource efficiency and contributing to the ‘circular economy’. This requirement will be added to the NNC Council Validation Checklist for outline and full planning applications applying to proposals in the Neighbourhood Plan area until such a time that there is a local authority wide requirement.
  11. In respect of Clause F, North Northamptonshire Council’s validation list currently requires sustainability and energy information for certain applications. The Climate Change Statement requested by Policy KET9 is intended to subsume these requirements where applicable, ensuring a single, proportionate submission rather than multiple separate documents. The Climate Change Statement should cover the following:
    • an assessment of the proposal to minimise regulated and unregulated emissions, the embodied emissions and the emissions associated with maintenance, repair and replacement of the new building(s), as well as its dismantling, demolition and eventual material disposal.
    • a calculation of the energy and carbon emissions covered by the Future Homes Standard and Building Regulations and, separately, the energy demand and carbon emissions from any other part of the development that are not covered by the Future Homes Standard or Building Regulations.
    • that the proposal aims to reduce carbon emissions beyond the Future Homes Standard and Building Regulations through the energy efficient design of the site, buildings and services
    • that the proposal seeks to further reduce carbon emissions through the use of zero or low emission decentralised energy where feasible.
    • that the proposal seeks to further reduce carbon emissions by maximising opportunities to produce and use renewable energy on-site, utilising storage technologies where appropriate.
    • the proposal includes a demand-side response, specifically through installation of smart meters, minimising peak energy demand and promoting short-term energy storage.
    • an analysis of the expected cost to occupants associated with the proposed energy strategy.
  12. For non-residential and mixed-use schemes, the Climate Change Statement is also the vehicle for setting out the target BREEAM rating, accompanied by a pre-assessment at application stage and a commitment to submit certification post-completion. This keeps the BREEAM process integrated with the overall energy and carbon strategy, rather than as an add-on.
  13. Every new build or redevelopment project in the Neighbourhood Plan area provides an opportunity to make a difference and a contribution towards meeting our climate change targets for 2050. This new information requirement need not be an unreasonable expectation of even the smallest schemes for new buildings.

Policy Map

To see the full Kettering Central Neighbourhood Plan Policy Map, please visit our Policy Map page.

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