The Merton Rule and Coventry

Coventry City Council has to respond by 9th March to two government consultations on climate change and planning.

It highlights a few interesting facts:

1) "In January 2006, the Council committed itself to ensuring that from January 2008 all new build would make provision for onsite renewable energy and recycling facilities."

2) Four months after the Council signed up to the Nottingham Declaration, an "internal officer group is currently developing a discussion paper to consider what further initiatives could be contemplated including the installation of on-site renewable energy systems for all new build on Council property."

This refers to the "Merton rule", named after the London council that required all new development to have at least 10% renewable energy provided on-site.

- Why hasn't Coventry required a 10% minimum already, especially when Merton was a Tory council?
- Why a 2-year phase-in?
- Why is an "internal officer group" only at a discussion paper stage 4 months after the Council signs up to the Nottingham Declaration?

My worry is that millions of square feet of development is going to be green-lighted (the Swanswell, the developments near the train station, the Belgrade's developments) without on-site renewable energy production being built into their planning approvals.