The wind microclimate guidelines for new development was published yesterday by the City of London Corporation and will provide a more robust framework for assessing the impact of planning applications on wind conditions.

Wind tunnel studies and computer simulations will be used to test roads and footways, in an effort to create safer and more comfortable conditions for those on foot or in the saddle.

The guidelines will require that wind impacts are tested at the earliest point of a scheme’s design development to avoid the need to retrofit wind mitigation measures. They will also require that two separate consultants are commissioned for a new scheme, one to carry out wind tunnel testing and another computational fluid dynamics techniques.

Publication of the guidelines come ahead of a draft City Plan – to be finalised in the coming months – and are in line with the City of London Corporation’s transport strategy which aims to prioritise active travel. The City worked with specialist wind engineering consultant RWDI in preparing the guidelines.

City of London Corporation’s planning and transportation committee chair Alastair Moss said: “With the number of tall buildings in the Square Mile growing, it is important that the knock on effects of new developments on wind at street level are properly considered.”

He added that the guidelines could form the basis for national or international standards for wind microclimate studies. “We hope these groundbreaking guidelines can create a blueprint for others.”

Cycling UK welcomed the new guidelines. Its policy director Roger Geffen said: “Anywhere there are tall buildings going up, there is increased risk of encountering walls of wind as you ride. It makes cycling more of a struggle, but can also increase the risk of cyclists being suddenly blown off course, making their movements more difficult to judge for other road users.

“It’s great that the City of London is considering how to minimise these risks in the design and siting of tall buildings in the future. We would urge other city authorities to follow suit.”

(Image: RWDI)