I am pleased to introduce the Partnership’s Net Zero Carbon New Build Policy Document. The document was endorsed and adopted at the Partnership meeting on 23 July 2021.  It sets out a proposal that to meet the city’s plan to be Zero Carbon by 2038, all new buildings in the city from 2023 should be Zero Carbon.  

A Task Group of private, public and third sector representatives was brought together to develop the policy. It was ably chaired by Stephen O’Malley of Civic Engineers, supported by John Alker of the UK Green Building Council and involved representatives from the City Council. It also explored the enabling issues of Finance and Skills with key contributions from the banking and education sector. It included a number of progressive developer partners including Muse, Urban Splash and Bruntwood and I am confident that there is an appetite amongst the development community to respond positively to the proposed ‘Manchester Standard’.

The policy document has been well received and a good deal of expertise, experience and professional rigour has been applied in producing a ground-breaking piece of work that will continue to enhance Manchester’s leadership in addressing the pressing issue of climate change.

Over the autumn of 2021 we will continue dialogue with all those involved in commissioning new buildings in the city to further refine the proposed Manchester Standard, and to work with those who could be involved in its implementation.  

The Partnership understands that there is still a journey to be undertaken from declaring an innovative policy statement to implementing it in practice and see it embedded as a mainstream standard for all new domestic and non-domestic new build property. The Task Group will therefore maintain its commitment and work collaboratively with Manchester City Council officers to promote the policy as the new Local Plan is developed and issued for consultation.

I am gratified at the initial response received from the City Council, Cllr Luthfur Rahman OBE, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, said:

"Manchester is committed to becoming a zero carbon city. The Partnership's Roadmap, including the proposed Manchester New Build Standard, is a welcome contribution to the important discussion about how we will achieve this goal.

The issue of climate change will be at the heart of the forthcoming refresh of Manchester's Local Plan. We will look at how our planning and development system can support zero carbon objectives, and we will consider the Partnership's proposals as part of this process."

I would particularly like to thank all those who contributed to the work of the Task Group, particularly the UKGBC which provided secretariat support. All organisations listed below provided pro-bono support through donation of time. This acknowledgement and use of logo do not imply endorsement of every aspect of this report, which has been arrived at through a collaborative process.

Mike Wilton, Chair of Manchester Climate Change Partnership