LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE MERTON RULE

That this House supports the Merton Planning Rule requiring onsite renewable energy in all major new developments where viable; notes that onsite renewables such as solar hot water, solar photovoltaics, biomass boilers, small wind turbines and ground source heat pumps are proven technologies with rapidly expanding European and global markets; recognises that the UK languishes unnecessarily near the bottom of the European league table of installed micro renewable energy capacity; acknowledges that onsite renewables will need to make a significant contribution to the EU's 2020 20 per cent. renewable energy target if that target is to be met in the UK; congratulates forward thinking councils for adopting and implementing local planning rules requiring onsite renewable energy in new developments; believes that the Merton rule makes the delivery of the Government's 2016 zero carbon homes timetable more rather than less likely; and therefore urges ministers to ensure that the rights of local planning authorities to set borough-wide Merton rules and other local energy efficiency and renewable energy planning requirements are promoted unambiguously in the forthcoming Climate Change PPS.