For developers and building owners, decisions about heating are increasingly becoming decisions about planning, compliance and long-term asset strategy too. 

Across England, national planning policy, Building Regulations and emerging heat network regulation are all moving in a broadly consistent direction: away from fossil fuel heating and towards more efficient, low-carbon energy infrastructure. 

Heat networks are increasingly part of that picture. In the right locations, connecting to a heat network can provide a practical way for new developments and existing buildings to respond to planning requirements, meet higher building standards and prepare for further changes to heat policy. 

So, what are the main policy drivers – and what do they mean in practice? 

Planning policy is increasingly supportive of low-carbon infrastructure 

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets the overarching framework for planning decisions in England. While it does not mandate connection to heat networks, it establishes a clear expectation that the planning system should support the transition to a low-carbon future. 

It states that planning policies and decisions should help to “shape places in ways that contribute to radical reductions in greenhouse gas emissions”, while also supporting renewable and low-carbon energy and associated infrastructure. 

This national framework is then reflected – and often developed further – through Local Plans and other local planning policies. 

For developers, this means the proposed energy strategy for a new development can be an important part of demonstrating how a scheme responds to planning policy. Where a low-carbon heat network is available or planned, connection can provide one route to meeting those objectives without every building needing to provide its own standalone heat generation. 

New buildings face increasingly stringent standards 

Planning policy is only one part of the picture. Building Regulations are also changing the way new buildings are heated. 

The Future Homes and Buildings Standards will introduce significantly higher energy-performance requirements for new homes and non-domestic buildings, with the amended regulations due to come into force for most new buildings from 24th March 2027. 

A central principle is the move away from fossil fuel heating in new development. Importantly, Government has explicitly recognised heat networks as part of the solution. 

Its Future Homes and Buildings Standards work states that the standards will enable new homes and non-domestic buildings to connect to existing and new heat networks where those networks are incorporating low-carbon technologies or making use of low-carbon heat that would otherwise go unused. 

This can be particularly relevant for high-density residential schemes, mixed-use developments and large commercial or public-sector buildings, where shared energy infrastructure can provide an alternative to installing individual heating systems building by building. 

It also means the question for developers is increasingly not simply “what heating system meets today’s requirements?”, but “what solution will remain appropriate as standards continue to evolve?” 

Local planning policy can go further 

The NPPF establishes the national direction, but the detail experienced by an individual development will often come from local planning policy. 

Local authorities can use Local Plans, supplementary planning documents and planning conditions to establish requirements or expectations around energy and carbon. In areas where heat networks already exist or are being developed, local policy may encourage developments to investigate connection or design buildings so that future connection remains possible. 

This makes early consideration particularly important. 

Understanding whether a development sits close to existing or planned heat infrastructure – and what the relevant Local Plan says about heat – can help inform an energy strategy before key design decisions have been made. 

For building owners, the same local policy context can also be relevant when considering major redevelopment or refurbishment of an existing estate. 

Heat Network Zoning will strengthen the role of heat networks 

Perhaps the most significant change is the introduction of Heat Network Zoning in England. 

Established through powers in the Energy Act 2023, zoning is intended to identify areas where heat networks are expected to provide the lowest-cost, low-carbon solution for decarbonising heat. 

Government has been clear about its ambition. Its zoning proposals describe the policy as a means of accelerating the rollout of heat networks and fundamentally changing how networks are developed in towns and cities. 

Crucially, zoning also introduces the potential for certain buildings within designated areas to be required to connect to a heat network within a prescribed timeframe. This is expected to include categories such as new buildings, larger non-domestic buildings and communally heated buildings, subject to the final regulatory framework and applicable requirements. 

For developers and building owners in areas likely to support heat networks, that changes the long-term context in which heating decisions are being made. 

A heat network connection may therefore be relevant not only to today’s planning application or building standards, but to how an asset fits into the future energy infrastructure of the surrounding area. 

A more established and regulated part of the energy system 

These changes are taking place alongside a broader shift in the status of heat networks. 

The Energy Act 2023 created the legislative framework for heat networks to become a regulated utility market, including statutory consumer protections and Ofgem oversight. 

The Government’s 2026 Warm Homes Plan has also reinforced its long-term ambition for the sector, setting a target for heat networks to meet 7% of England’s heat demand by 2035, with networks expected to provide around a fifth of heat by 2050. 

This matters because heat networks should increasingly be considered alongside other major utility infrastructure when developments and estates make long-term investment decisions. 

Rather than each building having to solve the challenge of low-carbon heating independently, a heat network can enable multiple buildings to access shared infrastructure and a range of heat sources – potentially including large-scale heat pumps, waste heat from data centres or industry, energy from waste and other locally available sources. 

What should developers and building owners consider? 

The right heating solution will always depend on the building, location and development. A heat network will not be the answer everywhere. 

But as planning policy, Building Regulations and heat regulation evolve, there are some useful questions for developers and asset owners to consider early: 

• Is the site close to an existing or planned heat network? 
• What does the Local Plan say about heat networks, low-carbon heat or decentralised energy? 

• Could the development fall within a future Heat Network Zone? 

• How will the proposed heating strategy perform against incoming Building Regulations? 

• Could connection avoid the need for significant onsite heat-generation infrastructure? 

• How easily could the chosen solution adapt to further regulatory and decarbonisation requirements over the building’s lifetime? 

Considering these questions early can help avoid designing a development around a heating solution that later needs to change. 

Planning for the long term 

There is no single policy that requires every building in England to connect to a heat network. But taken together, the direction of national policy is becoming increasingly clear. 

Planning policy supports low-carbon infrastructure. Building standards are moving new development away from fossil fuel heating. Heat Network Zoning will give heat networks a much stronger role in designated areas. And the sector itself is moving towards a more established, regulated utility model. 

For developers and building owners, the opportunity is therefore broader than simply reducing carbon emissions. 

Where a suitable network is available, heat network connection can form part of a long-term approach to planning, building compliance and energy strategy – helping ensure that today’s buildings are designed around the energy system that England is moving towards, rather than the one it is moving away from. 

1Energy works with developers and building owners across the UK to understand where heat network connection could support their long-term energy and development plans. If you’d like to find out more about our networks reach out to our team at info@1energy.uk