Housing Minister Yvette Cooper hailed an agreement with house builders and councils that will make zero carbon housing a reality within 10 years, and urged other partners in the industry to follow suit and 'sign the green pledge' by emailing her department.
Key members of the home building industry, councils, green groups and homelessness organisations have given their support to the Government's housing agenda by signing up to Communities and Local Government's 2016 Commitment, joining with it in an ambition to build 240,000 new zero carbon homes a year by 2016.
The broad cross-section of support for the Commitment will help ensure the homes produced over the next decade are designed and built in sustainable ways, helping to reduce carbon emissions while still delivering the types of communities where people want to live. The Commitment formalises ongoing work between ministers at Communities and Local Government and those involved in the housing sector.
By signing up to the agreement, parties have agreed:
Yvette Cooper said:
"We desperately need to tackle the threat of climate change - and we desperately need new homes for young families and first time buyers. Our homes currently produce 27% of all carbon emissions. We were the first country in the world to announce a zero-carbon target for new homes.
"We have to build more sustainable homes and more affordable homes at the same time. This can not be achieved without the commitment and support of local councils, homebuilders, the construction supply industry, other housing groups and local communities across the country.
"I strongly welcome the number of groups who have signed up to this shared ambition. No-one underestimates the scale of the challenge but this shows the extent of the support for more affordable and sustainable housing. I urge others to join with us in this shared commitment to the future of the nation's homes."
Organisations can sign up to the Commitment by emailing 2016Commitment@communities.gsi.gov.uk with their name, title, and name of the organisation.
The 2016 Commitment can be found at communities.gov.uk.
Click here to download a full list of signatories from communities.gov.uk.
English Heritage published interim guidance to help better understanding and interpretation of home improvement recommendations in the Energy Performance Certificates, which is a mandatory feature of Home Information Packs.
Energy Performance Certificates assess the likely energy performance of homes and are generated by a software package that takes data from a survey completed on site by the Domestic Energy Assessor. The software is designed primarily with modern dwellings in mind and makes generalised assumptions about all homes based on standard, usually modern methods and materials of construction. Most importantly, it automatically assumes all traditional building types are less energy efficient than modern ones, an assumption that has yet to be empirically validated.
In the guidance, English Heritage advises homeowners to adopt such recommendations with caution and urges Domestic Energy Assessors to override them if necessary. Only those recommendations that the assessor is certain will cause neither damage to the long-term performance of the building nor diminish its appeal should appear as final recommendations on the certificate. Individuals carrying out recommended work to a listed building should also secure consent before carrying out any works.
Bill Martin, Conservation Director at English Heritage, said:
"We all have a responsibility to make our homes more energy efficient and no building type should be exempt from this. Energy Certificates will help to raise awareness, but it is important for the public to know that the ways to achieve energy efficiency in modern housing are different from that in traditional houses.
"The current system of certifying all housing types using a standardised method which does not consider the fundamental differences in the fabric between old and modern buildings can produce incorrect and highly misleading assessments. Traditional buildings are likely to be rated low in energy efficiency and given a high estimate of fuel consumption under the present system, and we are concerned that the public will rush to make changes. We hope with these guidance notes home owners will have a better understanding of what the certificates really mean and be in a better position to judge how valid the recommendations are, avoiding costly and potentially illegal mistakes along the way."
English Heritage's Home Information Pack guidance includes Energy Performance Certificates for historic and traditional homes, Advice for Domestic Energy Assessors, and SAP ratings for historic and traditional homes. All three are downloadable from english-heritage.org.uk/homeimprovementpacks.