Planning and Energy Act 2008
A Bill to enable local planning authorities to set requirements for energy generation and energy efficiency in local plans
The Bill would allow local councils to set targets in their areas for on-site renewable energy, on-site low carbon electricity and energy efficiency standards in addition to national requirements. The Bill would cover England and Wales.
Key areas
- It would also require developers to source at least 10 per cent of any new building’s energy from renewable sources, implementing nationwide the so-called ‘Merton Rule’, named after the sustainable planning policy first adopted by the London Borough of Merton
- The Government has implemented policies in this area, notably the Planning Policy Statement on Climate Change, issued by the Government on 17 December 2007 after public consultation. Some councils, such as Merton and Woking, have already adopted environmentally friendly strategies but the picture across councils in England and Wales is mixed.
Last fetched 25 Apr 2026 · parliament.uk
Progress through Parliament12 stages recorded
Commons
1st reading
05 Dec 2007
Commons
2nd reading
25 Jan 2008
Commons
Committee stage
20 Feb 2008
Commons
Report stage
09 May 2008
Commons
3rd reading
09 May 2008
Lords
1st reading
12 May 2008
Lords
2nd reading
13 Jun 2008
Lords
Committee stage
04 Jul 2008
Lords
Report stage
21 Jul 2008
Lords
3rd reading
08 Oct 2008
Commons
Consideration of Lords amendments
17 Oct 2008
—
Royal Assent
13 Nov 2008
DocumentsOpen on parliament.uk →
Act of ParliamentAct of ParliamentBill proceedings: CommonsBill
Planning and Energy Act 2008. c.21. PDF version
application/pdf · 14 Nov 2008
Planning and Energy Act 2008. c.21. HTML version
text/html · 14 Nov 2008
Proceedings on Consideration of Lords Amendments as at 17 October 2008
text/html · 20 Oct 2008
Lords Amendments to Bill - pdf version
application/pdf · 14 Oct 2008