The Northern Housing Consortium announced details of an efficiency savings schemes, which it hopes will be of sufficient interest to its members to make progress viable.
The favoured approach is to tackle fuel costs by negotiating rates direct with the major petrochemical companies. The Consortium favours a model, developed by leading haulage firms, which has proved capable of savings of up to 12p per litre on the price of petrol. Key to the scheme is the bulk buying power of housing associations in the north, which could open the door to attractive discounts through large-quantity advance fuel purchases.
Department of Trade & Industry Minister Malcolm Wicks expressed concerns that local authorities are not doing enough to include policies that plan for renewable energy sources in new developments. In response, Housing Minister Yvette Cooper promised an urgent review by the ODPM, to ensure that local plans do fully incorporate planning guidance on renewable energy.
The Government announced that from April 2006, new regulations require a 20% increase in the energy efficiency of all new buildings. Initially, it was proposed to introduce the new energy efficiency requirement in two-years time.