Sustainable development and planning news

Housing Standards and the Performance Gap set to widen! As the Department for Local Government (DCLG) is set to cap all housing standards and consolidate them within Building Regulations within the next year, it also intends to reduce the ability of Local Authorities...

Zero Carbon “light” Policy comes through Commons untouched The government’s recent commitment to watering down the zero carbon homes policy moved another step closer after the coalition government’s Infrastructure Bill passed through the House of Commons with no...

Summer overheating risk in new and retrofit properties now a reality! Building designers and energy professionals have, for some time now, warned of the risks of overheating in some homes retrofitted with energy efficiency measures and new homes built to more...

Government relief of Zero Carbon policy on small developments from 2016 The government’s green credentials have been questioned once again in a new consultation document  Next Steps to Zero Carbon Homes: Small site exemptions. The document published yesterday sets out...

Government Heart Massage for Green Deal dying duck! The Energy Secretary, Ed Davey,  in another attempt to resurrect the government’s heavily criticised and ailing flagship home energy efficiency policy, The Green Deal.,  is about to announce another boost of £100m to...

Materials shortages and labour costs rising! - An Opportunity to review building techniques? With the growth in building continuing this quarter, construction firms are finding it progressively more difficult to purchase the building materials they require, in...

Property investors need government clarity to improve their Assets’ energy performance before 2018 As the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) met with industry stakeholders earlier this month to consult over the forthcoming Non-Domestic Private Rented...

Ouch! - Green Deal slated by Savage MP’s A recent report by the Energy and Climate Change Committee has called for the government to rethink the failing Green Deal Scheme. In the report , MP’s savaged the Scheme stating that  it was “flawed”, “failing” and “Poorly...

Government Minister outlines zero carbon small site exemptions The government is creeping closer to defining what will be deemed a “small site” when Zero Carbon legislation comes into play in 2016. The government has stated that small sites will be exempt from...

Committee on Climate Change Slams government exemption for small zero carbon developments The government’s own climate watchdog has made it clear that the plan to exempt small housing developments from the zero carbon homes standard when it is introduced in 2016 makes...