Comment
The role the Arc can play en route to Net Zero
The welcome publication of the National Infrastructure Strategy (NIS) has brought the prominence of the role of infrastructure in achieving net zero to the fore. Not referencing the role of the Oxford to Cambridge Arc in the plan is, however, an oversight.
With this in mind we have considered the role and opportunities presented by the Arc as we work towards a net zero future.
With the recent recruitment of a number of new roles at MHCLG related to the Arc, including a Head of Spatial Framework, it appears that the next few years will be a key period of action for the Arc to move from concept to meaningful delivery.Place and environment are essential components of the Arc, alongside the crucial social and economic contributions it can make to the region and the country as a whole. The UK Government has already aimed to be seen to put clean growth at the heart of its industrial and growth strategies. The Prime Minister has recently outlined his Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution for 250,000 jobs, covering clean energy, transport, nature and innovative technologies. There is a clear opportunity, and indeed synergy, with the emerging thinking around the Spatial Framework for the Arc.
The recent publication of the ‘The Oxford-Cambridge Arc Economic Prospectus’ (read our previous comment) and the Arc Universities Report – Building A Green Economic Region reflect these aspirations.
Much of the Arc development will therefore need to occur within the context of a transition to net zero carbon as the UK moves towards bringing all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net zero by 2050. The Arc presents an opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation and delivery, and an exemplar of how this can be achieved.
Of the 26 local planning authorities within the Arc region, over three quarters have to date declared climate emergencies and are at different stages in developing action plans to help meet zero carbon aspirations by or before 2050. They acknowledge that preparing the Arc region for net zero will require large scale investment in technology and innovation, and realise that significant intervention from central Government will be necessary [1]. It will be critical that these requirements form a central part of the Spatial Framework for the Arc, and we foresee them being the catalyst for meaningful change through firm sustainability commitments.
We set out below our thoughts on what these need to include.
Technology and innovation
Energy efficiency and use of wide scale renewable technologies are central pillars of achieving net zero, but additional technologies will also be required. Innovative technologies include advanced storage technologies (batteries); carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS); hydrogen and hydrogen-related fuels; and bioenergy [2]. Figures show over 200,000 people already work directly in the low carbon economy in the UK [3].
Given that the Arc’s knowledge-intensive industries already benefit from the presence of highly skilled workforces across the region, there is an opportunity to capitalise on this. Furthermore, access to R&D facilities within the prestigious local university network can encourage more inward investment to help the region become a centre of excellence for green technology and innovation.
Investment
For the first time ever, perhaps, the economic and environmental advantages of investing in green technology and innovation are very closely aligned. In order to ensure the pace and scale of investment required, the Government need to use policy to incentivise private sector investment at scale whilst complementing with direct and targeted support across the Arc.
Clean energy offers communities and businesses real opportunity across the Arc. According to the Oxfordshire Energy Strategy, the low-carbon economy has the potential to grow by 11%, per year over the next decade to 2030, four times faster than the projected growth of the UK economy [4].
With a clear sense of direction and the right regulatory mechanisms, many of the companies operating within the Arc are well placed to further invest in green infrastructure. Such investments would not only help to create and sustain new jobs in the Arc but would also deliver long term supply chain benefits for the region and the UK as a whole.
Built environment
With the built environment contributing approximately 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, tackling the energy efficiency of homes, offices and other buildings across the Arc is critical to net zero aspirations.
In relation to the existing building stock, approximately 80% of the housing that will exist across the region in 2031 (according to Local Plans) has already been built, so addressing carbon emissions from existing stock is the bigger challenge [1]. Research has identified that about 4,000 current homes per annum in Oxfordshire alone would need to be retrofitted to help us meet the 2050 ambitions. This will require significant intervention and investment from the Government to enable large scale local retrofit programmes.
Addressing the carbon efficiency of new developments is also vital. The Government’s Future Homes Standard will establish requirements from 2025 for all new build homes to have low carbon heating. Given the number of projected homes to be developed across the region, this will require regional supply chains to gear up, develop and invest in cleaner commercial alternatives to gas boilers.
Such new low carbon and retrofitting requirements will result in significant demand. The Arc needs anticipatory investment ahead of need to ensure that the region’s infrastructure can cope. According to the Oxfordshire Energy Strategy, such investment could help to spearhead a further £1.35bn annually to the local economy, creating over 11,000 new jobs by 2030 [4]. Many of these will be highly skilled jobs such as plumbers, electricians and engineers to convert the region’s homes and streets to a low emission economy.
Infrastructure
Central to achieving the Arc vision is the completion of the new East-West Rail line connecting Oxford and Cambridge by 2030 and accelerating the development and construction of the Oxford-Cambridge Expressway. Development of rail infrastructure is critical to getting people out of their cars and onto public transport; while any road infrastructure will need to be closely linked to the roll out of electric vehicle (EVs) infrastructure as the UK Government’s pledge to phase out diesel and petrol cars has recently been brought forward to 2030. However, as the National Infrastructure Strategy is somewhat light on specific initiatives within the Arc, the Government need to help accelerate measures to stimulate take up of EVs by ensuring the roll out of EV charging happens fairly across the region. Scottish Power has estimated that the UK will need more than 25 million private and public charging points on its path to net zero [5]. Most of these new chargers will need to be installed in residential developments, but many will also need to be located within publically accessible areas across the towns and cities of the Arc.
The planning process will also need to facilitate the delivery of responsible renewable infrastructure projects throughout the Arc region. Research is required within the Arc region to investigate the most effective ways to integrate renewables into a smart, low carbon energy system for the region. This could include for example, the co-location of battery storage and solar projects alongside onshore wind developments. Investment in large scale renewable technologies and networks will result in further decarbonisation of grid infrastructure and help to deliver cleaner transport and heating solutions to the Arc. Local agencies and authorities are already working together to drive the economic vision for the Arc in order to capitalise on its current £107 billion annual GVA figure [6].
The Strategic Transport Forum from England’s Economic Heartland (EEH), (the sub national Transport Body for the region) have committed to producing a 'decarbonisation roadmap' by the end of 2021 which could include setting a regional carbon budget, against which future investment requirements would be prioritised. They argue that there is a need to go 'harder and faster' on reaching net zero emissions from transport before the nationwide legal requirement of 2050 [7].
Next steps
The Arc represents a clear opportunity to be at the forefront of the move to net zero to ensure it is delivering on environmental goals and opportunities, as well as those in relation to social and economic factors. The scale of the net zero challenge within the ARC region is, however, still not completely clear. The Spatial Framework for the Arc will need to be based on best practice across the UK, and indeed the world, to ensure sufficient and appropriate provision is made.
The path to net zero carbon is complex and challenging, with much of the detail still unknown. However, by taking a proactive approach now, the agencies and authorities within the Arc can play an important role in the pathway to net zero carbon development of low carbon homes, production of cleaner energy, development of more sustainable infrastructure and incentivising private investment, creating jobs, boosting the regional supply chain, to drive collective action in the hope of overcoming such challenges together. This will provide benefits not just within the Arc but for the country as a whole as best practice is developed and can be applied.
For more information please contact Lesley Treacy in our Sustainability team or Donna Palmer in our Planning team.
More information on the NIS is available at the below links.
7 December 2020