Step 1: Establishing the principle of development

The first step in BREEAM Communities assesses the constraints and opportunities relating to sustainability on the site and requires consideration of how the development will impact on the wider community. All of the issues in this section contain mandatory criteria which underpin decisions for how the development will be designed. Interim certification is awarded on a 'pass or fail' basis depending on whether or not the mandatory criteria have been achieved. At this stage, a site is already selected for development. Detailed surveys regarding flood risk, ecology, energy, transport and the local economy will be conducted. The surveys will result in strategies or commitments made by the developer that will be implemented in detail in Steps 2 and 3. For this reason, the evidence requirements in Step 1 are divided into two sections. Some evidence of preliminary plans and commitments is required at this stage; however, the implementation of these commitments is assessed in the final assessment. Furthermore, it is still possible to carry out a BREEAM Communities assessment where a number of these surveys have already been carried out, provided it is possible to demonstrate that the mandatory criteria have been met or will be met through subsequent work. The issues in Step 1 reflect and bring together processes and outputs that are often considered as standard practise as part of the master-planning process and required as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment. Therefore, there is unlikely to be an additional burden of information required in order to achieve the mandatory assessment criteria set out in this step of BREEAM Communities.