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Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) 2024 -2028

What prompted the strategy?

The Scottish Parliament passed the Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (Scotland) Order in May 2022.

The LHEES Order places a duty on local authorities to prepare, publish and update a Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy and Delivery Plan.

Consultative draft

We are consulting on our first LHEES and Delivery plan and are keen to hear from the public and stakeholders on the proposed content. The consultation will remain open until Friday 12 April 2024 with the final strategy and delivery plan to be submitted to the council's Executive Committee in June 2024.

View Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy

View Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Delivery Plan

Purpose of the strategy

The LHEES is a long-term strategic framework for the improvement of the energy efficiency of buildings in South Lanarkshire, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the heating of buildings.

It sets out how each segment of the building stock needs to change to reach net zero, identifies strategic heat decarbonisation zones, and sets out the principal measures for reducing building emissions within each zone.

The LHEES will prioritise areas for the delivery of heat decarbonisation actions.

It covers all building sectors – domestic, non-domestic and public buildings and sets a strategic framework for decarbonising the heat in these buildings over a 20-year timeframe.

Period covered by the strategy

An updated Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy and Delivery Plan is to be published at intervals of no more than 5 years after the date of publication of the previous Strategy and Delivery Plan.

Screening Report and Determination

We consider that there should be no new significant environmental effects that have not already been identified and dealt with in either the national Heat in Buildings Strategy or the council-led plans, for example, the Local Housing Strategy, Council Plan, Community Plan, Local Development Plan 2, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Strategy. Any new effects should be minor and positive in nature. Where identified, appropriate enhancement or mitigation measures will be considered within the LHEES.

There is a spatial element to the LHEES and accompanying Delivery Plan in terms of heat networks and zones. However, these heat networks/zones are still at an early investigative and feasibility stage and no recommendations for particular options will be taken during the development of the first iteration of the LHEES. Following internal discussion, it has been agreed that any heat networks/zones that are progressed beyond the early stages of consideration will be subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) as part of the assessment of other development sites within the forthcoming Local Development Plan 3 (LDP3). Should timeframes not align between the LHEES and LDP3, we are committed to carrying out further SEA work on any proposed heat networks/zones under a further separate SEA.

In light of this, we seek the views of the Consultation Authorities on the requirement for SEA on the first iteration of the Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy. If SEA is considered necessary, we would appreciate views as to the extent of future assessment.

Read the full Screening Report and Determination.