For larger schemes in London, a Circular Economy Statement is now a required part of the planning submission. It is one of the less familiar sustainability documents, and applicants often meet it for the first time when the Greater London Authority (GLA) asks for one. This guide explains what London Plan Policy SI 7 requires, which applications it applies to, and how the statement fits alongside a wider sustainability statement.
What is a Circular Economy Statement?
A circular economy is one where materials are kept in use at their highest value for as long as possible, then reused or recycled, leaving a minimum of residual waste. London Plan Policy SI 7 defines that principle and asks development to design out waste from the outset rather than manage it at the end.
A Circular Economy Statement is the document that demonstrates how a scheme will do this — across the whole life of the building, from how it is designed and built to how it is eventually adapted or taken apart. It sits close to whole life-cycle carbon assessment, which we cover in whole life carbon assessments in planning.
Which applications need one?
Under the London Plan 2021, a Circular Economy Statement is required for referable applications — the larger and more significant schemes that must be referred to the Mayor of London. Outline, detailed and hybrid applications that meet the referable thresholds all fall within scope. Smaller applications outside those thresholds are not usually required to submit a full statement, though individual boroughs increasingly expect circular economy thinking in their own validation checklists.
Outside London there is no direct equivalent of SI 7, but the principles — designing out waste, reusing materials and reducing embodied carbon — are becoming a standard expectation nationally and appear throughout the National Planning Policy Framework’s sustainability aims.
What the statement must show
The GLA’s Circular Economy Statement guidance sets out the expected content. In practice a statement should:
- Set out how the design retains, reuses or refurbishes existing buildings and materials where possible.
- Show how the scheme is designed for longevity, adaptability and disassembly, so components can be recovered later.
- Aim to be net zero-waste, managing as much material as possible on site and providing accessible space for recycling and reuse in operation.
- Include bills of materials and recycling/reuse rates for both demolition and construction waste.
- Commit to targets and monitoring that can be reported and verified.
The three reporting stages
A distinctive feature of SI 7 is that the circular economy information is submitted to the GLA at three stages, not just once: at pre-application, at the planning submission stage, and again post-construction to confirm what was actually achieved. That final step matters — it moves circular economy from a paper commitment to a measured outcome, and applicants should plan for the record-keeping it requires.
How it fits with your sustainability statement
The Circular Economy Statement is one strand of a scheme’s wider sustainability case. A sustainability statement typically pulls together several requirements — biodiversity net gain, water efficiency, urban greening and BREEAM where required — and for referable London schemes the circular economy and whole life-cycle carbon assessments sit alongside them. Getting these documents to tell one coherent story, rather than contradicting each other, is what keeps an application moving. For the greening strand, see our guide to the Urban Greening Factor; for BREEAM, see BREEAM in planning.
Practical steps to prepare one
A strong Circular Economy Statement starts early, because the biggest circular economy gains are locked in at concept design. Practical steps that help a statement stand up to GLA scrutiny include:
- Test retention first. Before assuming demolition, assess whether existing structures or foundations can be kept or reused — retention is usually the single biggest saving in both waste and embodied carbon.
- Design for the future. Favour standardised components, accessible service routes and mechanical fixings over adhesives, so the building can be adapted or disassembled rather than demolished.
- Choose materials deliberately. Specify recycled and responsibly sourced content, and materials that can themselves be recycled at end of life.
- Set measurable targets. Commit to recycling and reuse rates you can actually monitor and report at the post-construction stage.
The common pitfall is a statement written after the design is fixed, which can only describe waste management rather than genuine circular design. Bringing the thinking in at pre-application, alongside the whole life-cycle carbon assessment, is what turns SI 7 from a box-ticking hurdle into a credible part of the application.
How Fortress Associates can help
Fortress Associates prepares automated sustainability statements for UK planning applications, covering energy, water efficiency (the 110 l/p/d Part G calculator), 10% biodiversity net gain, urban greening and BREEAM where required. The report is free and ready in minutes, and for London schemes it addresses the Urban Greening Factor under London Plan Policy G5. See our full services or contact us to discuss a referable scheme.
Sources & further reading
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