Comment
Sustainability on the Conservative agenda
Is blue turning green?
This week’s Conservative Party Conference in Manchester has seen a raft of announcements, publications and consultations on new development and climate change as the Government seeks to address key policy gaps and enhance its credentials ahead of a general election.
Future Homes Standard
Foremost is the launch of the Future Homes Standard consultation which seeks views on how, as part of the UK’s 2050 net zero target, changes to Building Regulations can drive down the carbon footprint of homes from 2025. Homes built to the Future Homes Standards are expected to have 80% lower CO2 emissions than those built to current Building Regulations, achieved through a combination of high fabric efficiency, low carbon heating (e.g. heat pumps) and solar panels.
To help the industry deliver these standards and technologies in 2025, an interim standard is proposed from 2020 as a stepping stone for which two options are consulted. This first option is to achieve a 20% CO2 improvement on Part L 2013 through high energy efficiency measures alone e.g. triple glazing. The second option (the Government’s preferred option) is to target a higher 31% CO2 improvement through a combination of energy efficiency, low carbon heat and solar PV, with slightly lower fabric standards than option 1 (e.g. double rather than triple glazing). Whilst higher costs are forecast for option 2, it would result in lower CO2 emissions and energy bills for residents.
Changes to transitional arrangements are also set out to speed up the implementation of these standards. Where work is started later on some homes within a development, for example, these will need to comply with the latest standard rather than those in force at the start of the project. Removing the ability of local planning authorities to set higher energy efficiency standards than those in the Building Regulations is also proposed to address the disparate standards currently in force across the country, and to promote certainty and consistency. This re-opens previous debates and puts this policy at conflict with many adopted (such as London) and emerging local plans where zero carbon is the ultimate target.
National Design Guide
The new National Design Guide was also published, setting out a blueprint for how local authorities can achieve quality design. The guide explains how well-designed places and buildings conserve natural resources such as land, water, energy and materials whilst responding to the effects of climate change including increased heat and flooding. Good design also means mitigating climate change impacts through carbon emissions reduction, including embodied carbon in construction.
Overheating in new homes
Finally, two Government research reports into Overheating in new homes were published in response to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) recommendations. The first part of this research finds that both houses and flats built to current standards fail to meet future overheating tests across the UK, but with houses in the Midlands and North exceeding a key criteria (the proportion of hours at overheating risk) by only 10% for which relatively simple and low-cost remedies are envisaged. For the worst affected properties (flats in London), where this criteria is exceeded by up to 600%, more extensive remedies are needed.
The research identifies legislation as the best route to influence industry practice, with the need for mitigation to be proportionate to the level of overheating risk given this varies by dwelling type and location. Clear and simple guidance is recommended for industry professionals to inform design choices at an early stage, and to influence occupant behaviour to ensure positive benefits are maximised.
We are pleased to see many of these announcements, although with a general election looming there will be similar policies from all of the political parties. Climate change will, quite rightly, be an important issue to the electorate.
For more information, please contact James Blake, Colin Morrison or Paul White.
3 October 2019
