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A Blue Print for the Planning and Purchasing Policies for Sustainable Built Development: The SUSPURPOL Project Executive Briefing Summary
1. Introduction
The SusPurPol (Sustainable Purchasing and Planning Policy Blueprint) Project is a cross-European region initiative funded under the GROW Programme of the European Union. It has three primary partners:
• the Partnership of Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) lead by the Environment Centre (tEC) (Southampton based charity);
• Cracow University of Technology (Cracow)
• The Andalusia Institute of Technology (Seville).
In addition, non formal partners include Solent Centre for Architecture + Design and the Environment Agency.
All partners in this project are fully committed to devising and testing a set of common standards for purchasing and planning policies in relation to sustainable built developments. In addition, the project and its results will be of interest and benefit for all European regions looking at facilitating the use of sustainable construction techniques in their built developments. Looking towards the future, the continuation of the network proposed in this application will provide practical examples of sustainable developments allowing for the feasibility of using a certain process to be assessed and enhanced – and acting as a basis for continued research and development into purchasing, planning and possibly wider issues involving sustainable development and growth.
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2. Project Goals and Objectives
The project will follow the partnerships’ agreed plan of actions with the aim to achieve the resulting ‘Blue Print’ of sustainable planning and purchasing policies and strategies to be initially implemented in South Hampshire and then promoted, discriminated and implemented across the European partners’ regions. It is envisioned that each partner will implement their agreed actions in the most appropriate region(s) to achieve the findings/solutions. Due to the developing nature of the project, that being the resulting barriers found in action 1. requiring specific solutions have not yet been concluded, the most appropriate region in which to research/source solutions and expertise may change to achieve the desired results, therefore only the regional partner who will take responsibility for investigating the proposed actions is stated.
The planned actions proposed are;
a) Understand the barriers
b) Find solutions
c) Joint cross-district commitment
d) Create a ‘blue print’ for sustainability
e) Promoting the ‘Blue Print’ for the benefit of other proposed developments
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3. Current Situation
The Suspurpol Project signed a contract with the EU in April 2006. A precursor to this was a joint commitment of the 11 PUSH local authorities to sign up to allow staff time from the authorities to be consolidated with project funds from the EU via the GROW Secretariat to cover its development. The key aspect of this work is to develop solutions to delivering the PUSH Sustainability Policy SH 14.
PUSH Sustainability Policy SH 14
Click here to see the SH 14 Policy in the South East Plan for the South Hampshire sub-region (see page 9).
Contributions of PUSH local authority staff time allocated to these tasks is used as a matched funding source of resource necessary to do the work. The work is seen as strategically important by all PUSH consortium members. By collaborarting in this way, as delivered by a signed Letter of Intent from all 11 PUSH members will enable the extra money required to be released by the EU to undertake the work.
Policy benefits in terms of procurement and sustainability will be joined up in a consolidated approach to development across the sub-region. The added value benefit of EU partner state membership in the project enables best practice and validation of the approach to be undertaken at no extra cost.
Suspurpol Project Presentation To SEEDA
For more information contact:
Chris Watkins, Chief Executive
the Environment Centre (tEC)
14-15 Brunswick Place
Southampton
SO15 2AQ
Tel.: 023 8033 6172
DDI: 023 80336217
chris.watkins@environmentcentre.com
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