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UK Green Building Council responds to House of Lords Select Committee report on National Policy for the Built Environment

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The UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) has today responded to the House of Lords Select Committee report on the built environment. The report highlights concerns that the Government’s emphasis on speed and quantity of housing supply is threatening sustainable planning for the long-term, quality and design standards.

The Committee recommends a range of steps to improve building quality including reintroducing the Zero Carbon Homes policy and the promotion of green infrastructure through planning. UK-GBC gave oral evidence to the Committee inquiry and strongly welcomes these recommendations.

John Alker, Campaign & Policy Director of the UK Green Building Council, said: “The Government’s U-turn on the zero carbon standards for new homes threw away a decade of planning and investment by progressive developers, designers and manufacturers and made our carbon targets even harder to hit. The houses we build today need to stand the test of time, and it is perfectly reasonable to expect quality as well as quantity.”

Recommendations in the report include:

  • Government reinstating the requirement for the Zero Carbon Homes policy and the Code for Sustainable Homes, in order to set out a viable trajectory to energy efficiency and carbon reduction in new homes;
  • more proactive Government support for retrofit of existing buildings;
  • and Government doing more to protect and promote Green Infrastructure in national policy and guidance.
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