St Edmundsbury Core Strategy (December 2010)

4.38 The Code became operational in April 2007 in England, and having a Coderating for new build homes mandatory (with certain exceptions), from 1st May2008.4.39 The Government‟s ambition for the Code is that it becomes the singlenational standard for the design and construction of sustainable homes, and that itdrives improvements in home building practice.Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method(BREEAM)4.40 BREEAM is the Building Reseach Establishment‟s environmental assessmentmethod for commercial buildings. It sets the standard for best practice insustainable design and has become the de facto measure used to describe abuilding's environmental performance.4.41 BREEAM assesses the performance of buildings against a similar set ofcategories to that used by the Code for Sustainable Homes.4.42 Credits are awarded in each area and a set of environmental weightingsthen enables the credits to be added together to produce a single overall score.The building is then rated on a scale of: PASS * GOOD ** VERY GOOD *** EXCELLENT ****4.43 In considering planning applications the Council will adhere to national codesand targets for Code for Sustainable Homes, BREEAM and Building for Life, which,as stated in Policy CS2, will be set out in lower tier Development Plan Documentsto be backed up by viability details.41