Requirement
In the Mat 01 Methodology, M1.2 requires the early design phase LCA to be completed and submitted to BREEAM within 20 working days of submission of the planning application.
Intent
This requirement is in place to ensure that the LCA is carried out during the early design stages and can meaningfully influence material selection and key design decisions, before the planning application fixes significant aspects of the external specification.
The timeframe of 20 working days post-planning submission is a concession to allow project teams to collate the LCA evidence for submission to BREEAM.
Submission of the planning application
In this context, this is the application that specifies and fixes the external products and materials that are considered in the LCA. By default, this is considered as the first application.
However, it may also be:
- A supplementary modified application, where a staged submission process is used
- A replacement modified application, due to a major redesign
Where the requirement is applied to a supplementary or replacement application, the project team must provide additional evidence to demonstrate that the intent is met.
Additional evidence
- Confirmation of the date of the original planning application and the date of the modified application.
- A description of what the modified application changes, with reference to the relevant submission documents.
- Evidence that the modification significantly affects external products or materials specification, e.g. revised elevations, façade specification, external material schedules
- Justification of how the early design LCA submitted in relation to the modified application was still capable of influencing relevant design decisions
