Monitoring and reviewing

Both PPS22: Renewable Energy (paragraph 3) and the PPS1 Supplement: Planning and Climate Change (paragraphs 34-37) expect monitoring to be undertaken to ensure the successful implementation of targets and policies.

The monitoring of sustainable energy is dealt with in some detail in the monitoring and reviewing section which includes a description of your responsibilities as a local authority in reporting against relevant national indicators and summarises monitoring activity at each of the following levels:

• National level
  
• Regional level
  
• Local level
  

Adaptation

Currently the only official monitoring of adaptation action at the local level is the process based indicator NI188, though this does not specifically cover adaptation planning policy.

You may consider developing a measurement metric which allows you to understand whether adaptation policy has been implemented. It is still very difficult to quantify the benefits of adaptive actions though it may be possible to develop a simple monitoring tool which logs the type of adaptive action that has been incorporated into a new development, across each risk area. This may help you build up a picture of how your area is adapting to climate change through planning and help to determine whether the policy is working effectively.

It may be possible to develop a basic understanding of the effectiveness of the adaptive actions themselves by talking to other departments and agencies. A good approach may be to speak to them at the early stage of policy development to understand the type and level of data which might be available.

You should also keep a close watch on various websites, such as the South West Climate Change Impacts Partnership for any updates on monitoring at the regional level.