Housing a low carbon society: an ODPM leadership agenda on climate change

housing a low carbon society an ODPM leadership agenda on climate change

“green alliance...

Housing a Low Carbon Society An ODPM leadership agenda on climate change

by Joanna Collins Published by Green Alliance, May 2006, £15 Artwork and print by Upstream – www.upstream.coop Printed on Revive Silk – 75 per cent post-consumer waste.

ISBN 0 9549757 8 2 © Copyright Green Alliance 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Green Alliance. Within the UK, exceptions are allowed in respect of any fair dealing for the purposes of private research or study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of the licenses issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

This book is sold subject to condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it was published and without a similar condition including the condition being imposed on subsequent purchaser.

Green Alliance 36 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0RE tel: 020 7233 7433 fax: 020 7233 9033 email: ga@green-alliance.org.uk website: www.green-alliance.org.uk Green Alliance is a registered charity number 1045395 Company Limited by guarantee, registered number 3037633

Green Alliance Green Alliance is one of the UK’s foremost environmental groups. An independent charity, its mission is to promote sustainable development by ensuring that the environment is at the heart of decision-making. It works with senior people in government, parliament, business and the environmental movement to encourage new ideas, dialogue and constructive solutions.

This pamphlet is supported by the following organisations1 Association for the Conservation of Energy BioRegional Bill Dunster Architects British Wind Energy Association Campaign to Protect Rural England Chartered Institute of Housing Combined Heat and Power Association Energy for Sustainable Development Energy Saving Trust Friends of the Earth Greenpeace Groundwork Gusto Homes Labour Housing Group London Borough of Croydon

Micropower Council National Energy Foundation National Trust New Local Government Network SERA Labour Environment Campaign Sponge Sustainability Network The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Wildlife Trusts Town and Country Planning Association UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy Woking Borough Council Woodland Trust WWF-UK

acknowledgements Green Alliance wishes to thank the EsmĂŠe Fairbairn Foundation, the National Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Woodland Trust and WWFUK for their support of this work.

Very many thanks also to Tracy Carty, Guy Thompson, Warren Hatter, James Cooper, Ian Christie, Chloe Meacher, Zoltan Zavody, Paul King, Jo Wheeler, Andrew Allen, Simon Marsh, Hugh Ellis, Leonie Greene, Rob Shaw, Syed Ahmed, David Westbrook and John Perry for their guidance and comments on drafts, and to all the participants of the seminar held in January 2006 to discuss the pamphlet.

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“Across every sector of business, climate change offers as many if not more business opportunities than the world wide web. The opportunity within the housing sector is to create developments which deliver high quality lifestyles with low environmental impacts. These sustainable communities will have the ability to change the mindset of the people living within them and visiting them, leading to a more sustainable lifestyle for all. If government sets the framework and incentivises the market, progressive developers will deliver” Steff Wright, Chief Executive Gusto Homes

“Local government can be pivotal in establishing sustainable practices. Using their powers of community well-being, powers to trade, their developing strategic planning roles, and their ability to coordinate across the full range of public services, local authorities should form the vanguard of the UK’s progression to a sustainable future” Chris Leslie, Director New Local Government Network

“The National Trust is already seeing the impacts of climate change on our gardens, buildings, coast and countryside. The ODPM now has a leading role in helping people find local solutions to the huge challenges climate change poses for communities and the environment” Fiona Reynolds, Director-General The National Trust

“The time is right to bring together policy on regeneration and sustainable development. Disadvantaged neighbourhoods suffer most from rundown local environments, high levels of pollution, fuel poverty and lack of facilities. We now have a once in a lifetime opportunity to revive existing communities and model new ones in a way that makes a significant leap into a more sustainable future” Tony Hawkhead, Chief Executive Groundwork

“Most people now accept that climate change is happening and that the causes are primarily man-made. No longer can it be treated as a side-line environmental issue. The consequences of inaction will affect our economy and society at large.

The planning system is ideally placed, and provides the necessary framework, to start making the transition to low carbon communities” Gideon Amos, Director Town and Country Planning Association

“Working with local government and across central government, ODPM can affect significant change on the journey towards a low carbon Britain. This will include the explicit measures promoted by this pamphlet as well as the simple, albeit hard, work of developing the capacity and understanding of sustainability across government and public services” Hywel Lloyd, Chair SERA Labour Environment Campaign

“If everyone around the world lived as we do in the UK today, we would need three planets to support us. Sustainable, One Planet Living needs to be made easy, affordable and attractive for people.

ODPM can do more than most government departments to make this a reality by delivering a policy framework and progressive regulation that puts sustainable development first. The homes and communities that result from decisions made today will determine the lives of people, and their environmental impacts, for generations to come” Paul King, Campaign Director One Million Sustainable Homes, WWF-UK

“The ODPM has a crucial role to play in tackling climate change, given the significance of the housing sector and of its programmes in investing in it. Housing professionals are keen to see the ODPM take action which reflects the great importance of this issue, and will give it their backing in the work we do” David Butler, Chief Executive Chartered Institute of Housing

“Climate change threatens disaster for the world’s wildlife and for many animal and plant species in the UK, unless we take dramatic action to curb it. The ODPM has a crucial leadership role in ensuring that local government, planners and developers play a full part in tackling the causes and impacts of climate change” Graham Wynne, Chief Executive The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

“Housing affordability has shot up the political agenda, yet little priority has been given to the long term cost of domestic energy use for households and the environment. We should think about homes in the same way we’re starting to think about cars and electrical appliances.

The ODPM needs to take the lead in reducing the environmental impact of housing through energy-conscious planning and investment” Neil Sinden, Policy Director Campaign to Protect Rural England

“The climate change review has shown that the domestic household sector is one of the slowest to make its contribution to meeting the target of reducing carbon emissions by 20 per cent by 2010. It is critical for ODPM to take the lead in putting the UK back on track to meet the 2010 target. An increased emphasis on energy efficiency combined with microrenewables could have a huge impact here” Tim Lunel, Chief Executive The National Energy Foundation

“Homes account for 27 per cent of UK carbon emissions. Some one third of homes that will exist in 2050 have yet to be built, with most adding to, rather than replacing, existing stock. The government has put the UK on a path to reduce its carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2050.

If we are to achieve this in housing, we need to accelerate improvements in the energy performance of both existing stock and new build” Nick Eyre, Director of Strategy Energy Saving Trust

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contents executive summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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an ODPM leadership agenda on climate change . . . .

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goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . affordable low carbon innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . decent homes, decent climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . climate-proof communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . local leadership on climate change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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tools for change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................. ................................. ................................. planning for sustainable communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . local government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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invest-to-save: a spending review for housing a low carbon society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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annex 1 summary of recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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annex 2 notes and references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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building standards new build . . . . existing stock .

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executive summary

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This pamphlet focuses on what the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) can do to tackle climate change through a leadership agenda centred on housing and the communities in which people live.

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the case for action Climate change is the most significant public policy issue we face. The government has committed the UK to reducing carbon by 60 per cent by 2050.

Securing major reductions in carbon emissions from UK households, which are currently responsible for 27 per cent of carbon emissions, is a considerable but critical challenge if we are to meet this target and tackle climate change effectively.

Homes and communities in the twenty-first century need to be designed to help us adapt to a changing climate, but importantly they are also the means by which we can cut carbon out of our lifestyles and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Current policies and programmes are not delivering the carbon emission reductions that are needed in the domestic sector. There is a clear need for government action to bring about a radical reduction in the carbon footprint of our housing stock and communities.

an ODPM leadership role It is crucial to our prospects of tackling climate change that ODPM steps into a leadership role. With responsibilities for housing, planning and local government, the ODPM is in a unique position to deal with climate change on the ground in the UK. The way our homes and communities are designed and built has tended until now to lock us into carbon-intensive lifestyles. In the twenty-first century quality design must be about making low carbon living the easier choice. Section one of this pamphlet gives an overview of the main opportunities within the department for taking this agenda forward. Joining other departments in delivering the Public Service Agreement on climate change will be key to embedding climate change as a central priority within the department.2 Five major commitments are proposed as the backbone of an ODPM leadership agenda on climate change: 1. Join the joint Defra-DfT-DTI Public Service Agreement on climate change.

2. Set a whole house carbon reduction target for all housing stock of at least 30 per cent by 2020, and at least 60 per cent by 2050.3 3. Produce and publish the new climate change Planning Policy Statement by the end of 2006, and launch it through a high-profile, cross-departmental statement by ministers.

4. Declare the Thames Gateway a carbon neutral, climate-proof development.4 5. Introduce a leadership duty for local government on climate change.

goals For too long, concerns about climate change have been regarded as separate from – and even at odds with – the government’s ambition to improve the affordability and comfort of housing. This is changing. Section two identifies how the central goals needed for an ODPM leadership agenda on climate change namely, affordable low carbon innovation, warm homes, local leadership and climate-proof communities - are not only consistent with, but vital to, the

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department’s aspirations to give everyone access to decent, affordable homes, and to promote liveability and sustainable communities.

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tools for change Section three sets out recommendations for the policies needed to mitigate the impact of our homes on climate change and to help communities adapt to its effects. These recommendations are based on the insights of a wide range of organisations consulted in the development of this pamphlet. Building on the five recommendations above, priority actions are identified for building standards (new build and existing stock), planning and local government. In each area, a combination of short and long-term actions are proposed, balancing the need for urgent action with strategic ambition. Many of the measures proposed can be acted upon immediately, such as equalising VAT on new build and refurbishment, and introducing incentives for developers to reach high standards against the forthcoming Code for Sustainable Homes. Other measures, such as introducing a leadership duty on climate change for local government, and committing to a carbon neutral Thames Gateway, are aimed at building the long-term strategic framework for change.

Dealing with climate change is a long-term game, but failing to act now will not only have significant environmental consequences, it will also result in missed opportunities and make future challenges far more costly.

investing to save The Treasury has identified ‘climate change and natural resources’ as one of the five major challenges that are shaping the current Comprehensive Spending Review.

Now is therefore the time for ODPM to underline the leadership role it needs to play on climate change, and to make the case for resources appropriate to this challenge in Spending Review 2007. In the final section of this pamphlet, we make recommendations on the key elements that should be included in the department’s bid.

In the twenty-first century, our comfort and security will depend not just on decent homes, but on a decent climate. The organisations supporting this pamphlet look forward to working with ODPM now and in the years to come, to help the department play a leadership role in housing a low carbon society.

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an ODPM leadership agenda on climate change

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Our homes and communities affect the way we look out on the world. They give us security and the tools to tackle everyday life and its challenges. The way our homes and communities are designed and built also affects our ability to live in an environmentally sustainable way. The opportunity for everyone to live in a decent home is a goal that lies at the heart of the current government. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) is leading the drive to deliver new affordable homes for all and much-needed improvements in long-neglected housing.

In the twenty-first century, however, our comfort and security will depend not just on decent homes, but on a decent climate. Scientists warn that we face farreaching changes in the climate we take for granted and that we must make significant cuts in our carbon emissions within the next decade if we are to avert the risk of irreversible catastrophic climate change.5 Already 150,000 people die every year from the impacts of climate change.6 According to the Hadley Centre, a changing climate is likely to make 30 million more people hungry by 2050. The impacts on biodiversity may be catastrophic. Up to a third of land-based species could face extinction by the middle of the century.7 In Europe we have already had a taste of what is to come. The summer of 2003 was the hottest for 500 years, causing 28,000 premature deaths. But adapting to climate change is already a necessity in 2006, with drought conditions forcing water restrictions in the South East.

All of this has big implications for the built environment and for the leadership role of ODPM. Buildings are responsible for over 50 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions. This “ the way our homes and pamphlet focuses on what ODPM can do to tackle climate change through a leadership agenda communities are designed centred on housing and the communities in which and built affects our ability people live. The Sustainable Communities Plan lies at the core of ODPM’s vision and agenda, and this live in an environmentally pamphlet echoes that focus, looking beyond the ongoing housing numbers debate to consider how sustainable way” new development can make a positive contribution to addressing climate change. Decent homes and communities in the twenty-first century will need to be designed to help us live with extremes of climate. But importantly, they are also the means by which we can cut carbon out of our lifestyles and avert the worst case scenario.

ODPM has demonstrated leadership on environmental priorities before. The department’s commitment to an urban renaissance of our underused, nonbiodiverse, brownfield land represented a visionary break with the over-emphasis on greenfield land of the past, and has become even more important in the context of the housing numbers to be delivered now under the Sustainable Communities Plan.

It is now crucial to our prospects of tackling climate change that ODPM step into a leadership role once more. The government has committed the UK to reducing

to

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carbon by 60 per cent by 2050. Energy use in our homes is currently responsible for 27 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions, and the trend is for this to rise, not fall. The fabric and fittings of people’s homes have a major influence on their ability to use energy sustainably and live comfortably. The location and density of housing can also determine whether people have access to local services, sustainable transport and energy infrastructure, thus enabling them to lead a low carbon lifestyle.

Climate change and rising fuel prices also have implications for the concept of an affordable home. If the focus is on upfront affordability alone, and the opportunity is not taken to design in climate-proof fabric and energy efficient warmth and light then people will be vulnerable to rising bills and discomfort. The good news is that ODPM is in a position to bring economies of scale to the components of low carbon housing and give the market certainty needed for progressive developers to invest in best practice and training programmes to deliver the necessary skills. An ambitious set of standards for the Sustainable Communities Plan, and a carbon neutral Thames Gateway, is the opportunity to end this standoff between upfront affordability and sustainability.

The growth areas will also be a test-bed for the department’s commitment to long-term liveability. While the primary goal remains to avert the worst-case climate change scenario by committing to radical carbon cuts, some degree of climate change is now inevitable, and we must plan to live with it. Most of the public are unaware of the future risks. ODPM has a clear responsibility to ensure that new homes and communities are designed for lifetime liveability, and do not become un-insurable and a source of discomfort with spiralling running and maintenance costs under the impact of climate change.

The other central priority for the department will be in empowering local action. Local government has a clear and powerful role to play in building momentum towards a low carbon society. It is only when people see leadership and tangible change in their own communities that they will understand, and feel they have a stake in, the steps that can be taken by all towards a low carbon society.

One of the first steps that ODPM can take towards housing a low carbon society is to join with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Transport (DfT) in the government’s Public Service Agreement on climate change.8 However, it is also important that the department raises its sights to more ambitious carbon cuts and adaptation plans in the years beyond. With this in view, this pamphlet sets out a leadership agenda for ODPM with goals for the short and longer-term. Five major commitments are proposed as the backbone of this leadership agenda: 1. Join the joint Defra-DfT-DTI Public Service Agreement on climate change.

2. Set a whole house carbon reduction target for all housing stock of at least 30 per cent by 2020, and at least 60 per cent by 2050.9 3. Produce and publish the new climate change Planning Policy Statement by the end of 2006, and launch it through a high profile, cross-departmental statement by ministers.

4. Declare the Thames Gateway a carbon neutral, climate-proof development.10 5. Introduce a leadership duty for local government on climate change.

goals

affordable low carbon innovation The government’s £38 billion Sustainable Communities Plan is the UK’s largest house building programme for decades and represents the single largest development opportunity in Europe. It could also represent the single largest opportunity to make a strategic breakthrough for low carbon living. On the recommendation of the Barker review of housing supply, the government has now committed to increasing the number of new homes built each year to 200,000, largely focused on four growth areas across the South East: the Thames Gateway, Milton Keynes and the South Midlands, London-Stansted-Cambridge-Peterborough, and Ashford. While this scale of development brings with it the difficult challenge of avoiding damage to the character of our existing communities and countryside, it also creates a huge opportunity to generate economies of scale and bring down the costs of low carbon construction once and for all.

A report for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on the environmental impact of 140,000 new homes a year, as proposed before Barker, estimated that they would cause an extra two million tonnes of carbon emissions a year, at an external cost of two to three billion pounds over the next thirty years.11 To lock ourselves into this annual emissions increase would be a big step backwards, particularly given that we will already fail to meet the ten million tonnes a year reduction needed to “ cleaner, safer, greener energy reach the government’s 20 per cent carbon reduction target by 2010. Instead, the ODPM has on our homes and in our the opportunity to take a big leap forwards, by communities is not just an using the Thames Gateway growth area as a flagship to deliver ultra-low carbon developments innovative technological at affordable cost. By transforming supply chains for low carbon technologies, this will change the solution. It can also be a economics of sustainability for the other growth areas and for existing homes too. In section three catalyst for cultural change” we set out how the Thames Gateway can become a model of carbon neutral growth, to the benefit of new and existing residents.

The anticipated lifetime of new build is 60 years or more. Homes built today will still be here in 2050 when we need to be emitting 60 per cent less carbon. At least 6.6 million new homes will be built between 2005 and 2050 to meet the growth in households, representing one quarter of all homes in 2050. The University of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute (ECI) has modelled what we need to do to ensure the average house in 2050 produces only 40 per cent of the carbon associated with a typical home today.12 The ECI modelling shows that all new homes will have to have a space heating demand of close to zero by 2020 at the latest. Therefore the government should set a target to achieve close to zero carbon space heating for new homes by 2015,13 as new homes will have to compensate for the anticipated challenges of delivering carbon savings in existing stock, which will be more difficult to upgrade.

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Close to zero carbon space heating has already been achieved in a handful of developments by good design that minimises heat loss and makes use of solar gain (see Boxes A-C). The installation of zero and low carbon technologies, such as micro-wind, wood-fuel, ground source heat pumps, solar thermal, solar photovoltaics and micro combined heat and power (CHP), on a community and household scale, will need to grow at 30 per cent a year. By 2050 they will be providing the main heating and hot water energy supply in three quarters of our homes.

Generating cleaner, safer, greener energy on our homes and in our communities is not just an innovative technological solution to the challenge of climate change. It can also be a catalyst for cultural change. Recent research has shown that small-scale renewables help ordinary people make the connections with climate change and their own behaviour, and become more aware of how they use energy in the home.14 Young and old people living in social housing with micro-renewables appear to demonstrate an energy intelligence that is markedly greater than similar families in ordinary housing.

ODPM can play a strategic role in making microgeneration technologies affordable for all by increasing the volume of the market. The department has already supported a vanguard of councils in doing this, but in section three we set out what more can be done to allow manufacturers to move from niche to mass production, and to unblock investment in further innovation.

Commercial viability can be increased yet further by integrating renewables, like biomass heating, with community networks of heat and power, which make efficient use of primary energy. Section four describes how local authorities have shown leadership in demonstrating the financial and carbon savings that such schemes can deliver in new and existing communities.

Density can have a big impact on the carbon footprint of new communities, by determining whether sustainable energy and transport infrastructure will be costeffective. Community energy schemes and public transport provision become more viable at higher densities, which may not always be appropriate in rural areas, but fit well with ODPM’s commitment to an urban renaissance on brownfield land. The government’s ideal density of 30 to 50 dwellings per hectare offers a good balance between social sustainability and viability for public transport and community energy.15 Green transport plans are an essential feature of affordable low carbon communities, minimising the need to travel through good provision of local services, and making the bus, tram or tube an easier, more attractive option than the car. Personal transport accounts for 18 per cent of UK carbon emissions and car use is currently growing at an unsustainable four per cent a year.16 A recent survey by the Institute for Public Policy Research suggests that this kind of mixed use community, well served with local shops, transport and services is what people want of the Thames Gateway, and need reassurance that they will get.17 Low carbon communities, with many or all of the features above, have already proved to be attractive, desirable places to live and work (see Boxes A and B).

English Partnerships has played a leading role in establishing the partnerships behind several of these demonstration projects.

Lifetime liveability has been designed into the buildings and the wider community. The concrete frame provides a thermal mass that will moderate indoor temperature and help to avert the need for artificial cooling as summer temperatures rise. Apartments are grouped in communities around a large village green and an artificially created lake, with links to the river and the rest of the Greenwich Peninsula via green corridors. The lake feature brings local biodiversity to the doorstep as well as helping to reduce future flooding risk.

Pressure on the region’s scarce freshwater will be reduced by a built-in rainwater harvesting system which provides water to flush toilets, reducing water consumption by thirty per cent.

The Village is no residential ghetto, incorporating a community centre, a primary school, a health centre, shops, cafes, bars, and offices, and having good bus links and cycle routes to the nearby North Greenwich bus and underground station.18 BOX B: Stamford Brook Stamford Brook, a partnership project between the National Trust, Redrow Homes (North West) and Taylor Woodrow Developments, is a unique development of 710 new dwellings on the edge of the National Trust’s Dunham Massey estate at Broadheath, Altrincham. Work on the development started in August 2003 and the first residents moved into their new homes in April 2005.

Each of the homes being built on this estate will be ultra efficient in their use of energy, water and building materials. They have been designed so the minimum possible number of houses experience shade and all feature waterefficient showers, compost bins for the kitchen worktop and the garden. The development also includes woodland walkways, greenways and cycle paths.

The estate will include a large proportion of affordable housing (ten per cent in the first phase rising to 25 per cent in the final stage). The National Trust claims that there is no reason for the upfront costs of quality, low carbon development to remain prohibitively high. While cost is a factor, as Stamford Brook shows, it is in fact only marginally more expensive to deliver to high environmental standards.

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BOX A: Greenwich Millennium Village When English Partnerships, the government’s national agency for regeneration and development, took over the peninsula, they asked Richard Rogers, urban renaissance adviser to ODPM, to create a complete infrastructure master plan. Developers Countryside Properties and Taylor Woodrow then won an international competition to develop Greenwich Millennium Village on this public land, supplying nearly 1100 apartments and 300 homes in what now provides a climate-proof low carbon model for the rest of the Thames Gateway growth area. An 80 percent reduction in energy use is achieved through a combination of local electricity generation, improved insulation, and energyefficient devices for the apartments. Greenwich Millennium Village was the first UK private housing development to incorporate community heat with a CHP system, which provides central heating, hot water, and electricity. Passive design is also important in minimising energy use. The buildings were purposely shaped and positioned to make full use of the sun for both light and heat.

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Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED), a development by the housing association Peabody Trust, is often held up as the iconic example of carbon neutral liveability, and the direction of things to come. The heating requirements of BedZED homes are around ten per cent that of a typical home built to 2000 Building Regulations, and all heating and hot water requirements are designed to be met by a wood fuel community heating network.19 Regrettably, six years after it was awarded a RIBA Housing Design Award in 2000, BedZED still stands as an isolated example of carbon neutral development. This is in spite of a call from the Mayor of London for all London boroughs to have zero energy developments by 2010.20 Expecting such standards to enter the mainstream market without policy intervention is, perhaps, wishful thinking. Look, layout and location are more front-of-mind for house-buyers than running costs and sustainability, so developers cannot always rely on a premium. House-builders see little business case in raising standards in isolation when they cannot recoup the lifetime savings and competitors are complacently pursuing business as usual. The green mortgage initiative from the Halifax, which favours the best performing developers in the WWF-UK/Insight Investment sustainability benchmarking survey,21 represents one positive move to address this. What house-builders are calling for, however, is future market certainty from ODPM about the Building Regulations trajectory, and clear incentives for adopting higher standards ahead of regulation. Only then will they be able to justify investment in sustainable skills and supply chains as a core business strategy.

“ BedZED still stands as an isolated example of carbon neutral development”

Planners too are often reluctant to insist on standards that neighbouring authorities may not adopt. Sutton Borough Council was a pioneer, using its wellbeing powers under the Local Government Act 2000, to make land available to the BedZED developers at less than market value. This was in recognition of the value for money it offered in terms of integrated workspace and social and environmental gain. The majority of local councils have lacked the confidence or capital to prioritise value for money in this way, in the absence of a widely understood role as leaders on climate change. Affordability is generally understood by policy-makers and planners as being more about one-off capital cost than ongoing affordable living. Only certain leading social housing providers, with an eye on tenants’ bills, have embraced a more long-term view, but rent capping still means it is hard for them to recoup the investment (see section three).

“ house-builders are calling for future market certainty about the Building Regulations trajectory, and clear incentives for adopting higher standards ahead of regulation”

The good news is that there is no reason for the upfront costs of quality, low carbon development to be higher than ‘average’ new build. Firstly, planning for low carbon, climate-proof developments can offset some of the considerable upfront cost of infrastructure for new homes, in terms of grid reinforcement, gas network extension and new reservoirs, and this should be taken into account in the cost-benefit equation.

Secondly, the price of many low carbon components, like super-insulation and microgeneration, is currently high largely because

decent homes, decent climate Within the Sustainable Communities Plan, the ODPM has given emphasis to improving poor quality existing homes, as well as building new ones. This is no small task. One third of all homes in the UK in 2003 could not be classed as ‘decent’. Eighty per cent of these failed the thermal comfort test, meaning that they are draughty and cold in winter.24 This is a disaster for the climate, as well as for the health and happiness of the people who live in them. Overseeing an upgrade of the existing stock to high standards of energy efficiency is probably the single most important thing that ODPM can do for the climate change agenda, and it will pay huge social dividends. The department is already committed to bringing all social housing up to the Decent Homes Standard by 2010, but this standard could do far more in a cost-effective way to save carbon and the bills of tenants,25 (see Building Standards section for recommendations on its revision). On the other hand, requiring the installation of high energy performance gas-fired boilers since 1 April 2005 is a positive step forward.

Homes existing now will make up at least two thirds of the housing stock in 2050, when emissions need to be at minimum 60 per cent lower than today.

According to the Environmental Change Institute, this means that the average energy efficiency of existing homes, as measured by the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) rating,26 will need to increase from 51 to at least 80.27 Taking into account that people who have had to endure cold homes will wish to enjoy enhanced comfort and warmth, thus absorbing some of the efficiency gains, a number of studies have projected what technical measures will be needed to achieve the increase.28 Much can be achieved now through the known cost-effective techniques of draught stripping and insulating lofts and cavity walls. Only 36 per cent of cavity walls in this country are insulated, leaving nine million UK homes that could have their heat loss reduced at a stroke by over a third.29 By 2050, all existing homes will need to have top-up loft insulation over 300mm thick (the Decent Homes Standard generally specifies only 50mm), cavity wall insulation where applicable, and double glazing. A major programme of solid wall insulation will also be needed at a later stage.

With around a fifth of the country’s housing stock in their hands, local authorities and housing associations have a vital role to play. Forty per cent of social housing does not have cavity wall insulation, for instance, leaching 2.5 million tonnes of carbon a year.30 Over two million homes still have a SAP rating below 30.

“ homes existing now will make up at least two thirds of the housing stock in 2050”

Many of the poorest quality houses are to be found in the nine housing market renewal areas of low demand in the North and Midlands, where the ODPM is

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suppliers cannot take advantage of scale economies while the market remains niche.22 The Sustainable Communities Plan, and a carbon neutral Thames Gateway, is the opportunity to end this stand-off between upfront affordability and sustainability. It has been calculated that zero-emission housing could be delivered at a cost comparable to market rates if planners were to specify over a threshold of 2,500-5000 dwellings.23 The upper end of this range is only 2.5 per cent of the number of houses being procured in the Thames Gateway. It will be ambition that enables ODPM to reduce costs and make low carbon homes affordable, not caution.

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championing a process of demolition, rebuild and refurbishment affecting one million homes. Research has found that high standards of energy efficiency and comfort - exceeding 2002 Building Regulations - can generally be built into refurbishment at around a tenth of the cost of rebuilding, which in itself incurs the high embedded carbon cost of new materials.31 While the route chosen should be a matter for the community, and a higher rate of clearance and replacement of the pre-1919 housing stock may well prove necessary, more could be done to remove current perverse incentives to demolition as we describe in section three.

Microgeneration has a useful role to play in cutting carbon and bills in solid walled homes that are hard to improve. National Energy Action is supporting a number of trial installations in fuel poor homes, and suggests that cutting edge technology can also work to boost the esteem of disadvantaged communities.

Together the Decent Homes Standard and the Housing Market Renewal pathfinders, given sufficient ambition, could make real headway in refurbishing social housing to high standards of energy efficiency at least cost, and allowing tenants to enjoy low carbon comfort.

The best opportunity for encouraging upgrades of market housing is when it is changing hands for sale or rental. In 2002, 1.3 million homes were sold or rented to new tenants, far outstripping the number of new homes built.32 Rented housing changes hands roughly every five years, giving nine opportunities to prompt investment before 2050. Owner-occupiers move on average only every 15 years, so there will be only three such opportunities. If the ODPM works with HM Treasury to introduce the necessary levers for change now, then each step will be easier for householders and landlords to take. Postponing leadership could make future steps appear insurmountable.

climate-proof communities Liveability is a new and important agenda for ODPM. The goal is to improve the quality of local environments in order to create places where people will want to live and work. Planning for climate change we cannot avoid will be crucial to making that goal a reality now and in the coming decades. Climate change is already impacting on us, most notably in the catastrophic flooding of 2000, the killer heat of the European summer in 2003 and the drought conditions confronting the South East in 2006. While the primary goal remains to avert the worst case scenario by committing to radical cuts in carbon emissions, some degree of climate change is now inevitable. We need to learn to live with it.

The impacts of extreme summer heat and more intense sporadic rainfall will be most keenly felt in urban areas. It is vital that new development is designed and located to anticipate the likely impact of climate change on liveability over its lifetime, in terms of flood risk, availability of green spaces in which to escape oppressive heat, seasonal water scarcity and the ability of the building fabric to give comfort and shelter from extreme weather conditions. If such issues are ignored then people could find that their new homes prove to be too uncomfortable to live in, too expensive to run and maintain, and affordable insurance may no longer be available.

The growth areas are a test-bed for ODPM’s commitment to long-term liveability.

New buildings generally are built to last 60 to 100 years, so they must be designed

Features of the community that offer visual and physical relief from the urban heat island effect will also be a crucial feature of liveability.34 In London, lucky people with access to parks already line up in them like sardines on a hot day. Access to quality green space and the presence of trees, green roofs, green walls and communal gardens help combat the urban heat island effect, as will surface water features like canals and lakes. ODPM’s recent commitment to earmark ten per cent of growth area funding for green space shows valuable foresight and is to be commended.35 BOX D: Rainham Marshes In early 2004, deputy prime minister John Prescott announced funding of nearly one million pounds to help new and existing communities in the Thames Gateway benefit from a new RSPB wetland reserve in a priority regeneration area on the upper Thames Estuary.

This has since been matched by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to the reserve’s access and education programme, Access for All on the Marshes, helping to build an Environment and Education Centre that will open in mid-2006 as the gateway to the reserve. Field teachers will be on hand to help people learn about the wading birds and other wildlife, as well as the social and industrial history of the site, via a series of Discovery Zones. A network of paths and viewpoints will create access where none existed before, creating a valuable local amenity in an area formerly dominated by pedestrian-unfriendly roads, wire fences and industrial tips and depots. The reserve’s biodiversity profile will draw birdwatchers and other visitors from across London and beyond, representing a welcome boost to the image of the area, and bringing opportunities for further local economic regeneration.

BOX E: The River Nene Regional Park Northamptonshire County Council is spearheading the River Nene Regional Park project, alongside the East Midlands Regional Assembly, Rockingham Forest Trust and the Ise Valley Protection Group. This scheme is pointing the way for green space investment in growth areas and elsewhere, building on a Green Infrastructure Research Project that is developing a shared strategy for green infrastructure within the regional park area. Particular focus is being given to the green links around Corby, Daventry, Kettering, Wellingborough

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to withstand and operate under more extreme climate conditions.33 Crucially, they will need to keep us cool in summer as well as warm in winter. Failure to act on this now will mean widespread uptake of energy-guzzling domestic air conditioning, cancelling out hard-won energy savings and making 60 per cent carbon reduction an impossible goal. Passive design features can do much to remove the need for cooling technology. Incorporating thermal mass, through the use of green roof and green wall technology, for example, helps to moderate temperature extremes and keep it pleasant indoors. Modern methods of construction are at a disadvantage here, although they can be positive in terms of quality control.

External shading from blinds, shutters and trees will be important where thermal mass is lacking. Additional cooling should be restricted to efficient ‘tri-generation’ combined heat and cooling networks, which are being championed by the London Energy Plan.

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and Northampton, to ensure that people’s access to green space and contact with nature is enhanced rather than reduced as new development is added to the existing urban communities. An example of this is the Stanwick Lakes project, in which a former railway line is being turned into a path for walkers, cyclists and horse riders to link a new country park at Rockingham Forest with surrounding towns. The regional scale of the park is important for biodiversity, as it can help ensure a more strategic view of how a network of local nature reserves and community woodlands can be enhanced and interlinked to give wildlife scope to adapt to climate change. Nine projects within the regional park have received a total of £2.4 million funding from ODPM and should be completed in spring 2006.

Such ‘green grids’ will not just be a lifeline for people, but also for the plants and wildlife that people value. If the UK’s biodiversity is to be able to adapt to a changing climate alongside us - many species will not be able to adapt as the speed of change will be too fast - then we will need to provide for creating new habitats as well as linking and extending existing protected areas on the scale of entire landscapes. Regional Spatial Strategies have a key role to play in planning for green grids, including large landscape areas for the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity, to build in ecological resilience and to enable species to move into new areas as others become unsuitable. Urban areas are not the only deserts that will need oases. People and wildlife in intensively farmed regions will also benefit from planning for new high quality spaces for nature and recreation. English Nature has proposed standards for the provision of accessible natural green space and the Woodland Trust has done the same for woodland access. These should be used as the minimum level of provision available to all communities.

As Greening the Gateway, ODPM’s green space strategy for the Thames Gateway, makes clear, designing space for wetland features, woods and parks in urban areas is also a valuable form of flood defence. Climate change will exacerbate the risk of fluvial and tidal flooding by the Thames in many of the areas scheduled for development.36 The Thames Gateway highlights the need for integrated planning to prevent and curb the repercussions of sea level rise for London and areas further down the Thames. Part of the strategy, of course, is to avoid locating development in flood risk areas, as the ODPM has recognised with its recent commitment to call in developments that have not adequately assessed flood risk.37 Where development does go ahead, it will be crucial to design flood resistant buildings and build in sustainable urban drainage features like green roofs, ponds and permeable paving. It is not just new communities that will be in need of them: the Office of Science and Technology estimates that over two million properties in the UK are already at risk of flooding.38 In the South East in particular, problems of flash flooding will go hand-in-hand with the already acute problem of seasonal water scarcity. Full use will need to be made of rainwater and grey-water harvesting on new developments to reduce the impact of supply restrictions.

Central government can create a powerful enabling framework for local action, but it is only when people see leadership and tangible progress in their own communities that they will begin to believe in the possibility and desirability of moving towards a low carbon society. The new localism agenda is highly pertinent to the climate change challenge. Local authorities are in a powerful position to lead action on climate change and create this momentum, through their local strategic partnerships and the many levers at their disposal for creating real carbon reductions that can also promote energy security and pay social dividends.

A pioneering few have done so. Aberdeen City Council chose to deliver affordable warmth for council tenants in multi-storey flats via community CHP, and reduced tenant bills and carbon emissions by 40 per cent in the process. Southampton City Council partnered with the private sector to tap into geothermal energy and provide competitively-priced low carbon heating and cooling networks for housing, shops, offices, a hospital and a leisure complex. Woking Borough Council is famous for having cut carbon emissions from council buildings and housing by 77 per cent since 1990, thanks to its community energy network and private wire system, which has made economic use of CHP and solar photovoltaics.39 The key to the success of these pioneers is the establishment of local energy services companies (ESCOs), which can generate energy and energy savings locally and bill customers directly for an affordable supply. Savings arise for the customer, ESCO and local authority thanks to efficient generation and distribution in local networks, cutting out the energy loss and costs associated with less efficient centralised supply. Profits can be recycled to install more energy generation capacity or energy efficiency measures. Southampton City Council has a profit sharing agreement with Solent Sustainable Energy Ltd, the organisation set up to develop sustainable energy projects in the city. In Woking, energy prices for citizens have fallen every year since 1991 and the council has released ÂŁ5.4 million in energy savings in the past decade.40 The Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has established a new London Climate Change Agency to apply more widely the pragmatic lessons learned from Woking, Southampton and other local authorities.

It is not just in relation to efficient energy supply that councils can show leadership. Woking and Southampton have both set themselves 60 per cent carbon reduction targets, to be delivered across the full range of local authority functions, from upgrading social housing to delivering green transport plans and procuring low carbon products and services. Braintree Council in Essex first partnered with British Gas to offer one-off Council Tax rebates for households that install cavity wall insulation and this scheme has now been expanded to further authorities. Sutton Council is signing residents up to a Planet Pledge, and offering them support, advice and incentives in return for commitments to leave the car at home, install efficient lighting or insulate the loft. East Ayrshire Council is procuring food that is 70 per cent local and 50 per cent organic for ten schools across the county, cutting out the carbon emissions associated with intensive production and food miles.41 Over one hundred local authorities have now signed up to the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change, which commits them to develop plans with their partners and local communities to progressively address the causes and the impacts of climate change.42 To date, however, the situation remains one of lonely islands of

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local leadership on climate change

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excellence, driven for the most part by entrepreneurial individuals. This best practice is unlikely to spread far, until the performance and funding framework within which local authorities operate gives more emphasis to their potential to lead community action on climate change.

ODPM’s concept of double devolution, devolving more power and capacity to local government and down again to communities, is highly pertinent,43 and will be further developed in the forthcoming local government white paper. Community organisations can, with sufficient support, play an important role in helping citizens adapt to new challenges, both in terms of lifestyle change and climate impacts. This is not just about awareness.44 When it comes to converting awareness into action, it is much easier to change behaviour as part of a group or community than on ones own.45 Local authorities also need to actively help prepare communities for the consequences of climate change, especially in areas vulnerable to flooding or coastal erosion. In these areas, there will be tough decisions for communities to take about when to ‘hold the line’ and when to accept the need for managed retreat from flood risk and the inroads of the sea.46

BOX F: Peterborough City Environment Trust Peterborough is a focus for new development within the London-StanstedCambridge-Peterborough growth area. Peterborough City Environment Trust is tending to the people side of the sustainable communities equation through Seeding Sustainable Communities, a project designed to help arrivals to new housing developments embed into their new community, and adopt more sustainable patterns of behaviour before they get locked into new routines. Within six months of moving in, householders will get a household visit and a Sustainable Living Welcome Pack, with free energy efficient goods and information about activities available in the local community like car-sharing, allotments and cycling clubs. The first development to be targeted is the Hamptons, and the focus will shift to new developments as they come on stream over the three-year funded life of the project. Funding comes from Defra’s Environmental Action Fund and Anglian Water.

The Trust is also working with Peterborough City Council and English Nature to enhance and develop a Greater Peterborough Green Grid, to maintain and enhance the attractiveness of the city as a place to live and work, and to ensure space for wildlife.47

tools for change

These goals are all opportunities as well as challenges. Delivering on them will require collaboration at all levels, from land-owners, developers, planners, training bodies, local government, community organisations and householders themselves.

ODPM, uniquely, has the tools at its disposal to get that process happening. It is the policy framework that will give certainty to all players about the priority that must be given to these goals, and the outcomes that are needed, spurring people to find their own preferred solutions. From certainty will come innovation and opportunity.

ODPM has the opportunity to apply levers in three key areas: l building standards; l planning; l local government.

Below we set out what has been achieved in these areas to date, and what more needs to be done.

building standards By 2050, the UK’s homes will need to generate at least 60 per cent less emissions than today. Two-thirds of these will be homes that exist today, one third will be new build. ODPM needs to adopt a strategy for delivering 30 per cent carbon reductions across new and existing stock by 2020, and to use the tools at its disposal to signal how standards will be progressively raised to meet and exceed this and the 60 per cent target for 2050. If sectors like aviation fail to deliver on fuel efficiency and are treated as premium users of carbon absorption capacity, then sectors like housing will need to over-achieve against the 60 per cent target to compensate.

top recommendation: Set a whole house carbon reduction target for all housing stock of at least 30 per cent by 2020, and at least 60 per cent by 2050.48

new build progress made: l Building Regulations Part L 2006: 18-20 per cent energy efficiency improvement. l Commitment to a strengthened Code for Sustainable Homes following a weak early draft. l Housing Corporation and English Partnerships interim commitment to EcoHomes 2006 Very Good. measures needed: Building Regulations Part L: l Further 25 per cent efficiency improvement at 2010 review. l Announce requirement for close to zero carbon space heating by 2015.

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Code for Sustainable Homes: l Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 to require carbon savings of 10, 25, 40 and 60 per cent over Part L 2006. Level 5 to require zero emissions. Link levels clearly to five-yearly Building Regulation Part L reviews. l Revised level 3 (40 per cent saving over Part L 2006) to be minimum requirement for publicly-funded housing. l Strong incentives for microgeneration or connection to a community energy network, which should be ratcheted up so that after one year it should not be possible to reach level 4, and in four years not possible to reach level 3, without microgeneration or community energy. l A Challenge Fund for developments meeting level 5. l A public-private green mortgage fund to support first time buyers of homes scoring level 4 or 5 on the Code for Sustainable Homes. l Stamp Duty rebates on new and existing Code homes at level 3 or above. l Requirement to meet level 3 should be a condition to the contract sale of public land. l Give the Academy for Sustainable Communities a mandate to deliver skills for meeting the Code. l Mandatory assessment of all new homes and zero star rating for homes which do not meet the Code.

existing stock progress made: l Proposed mandatory energy audit of all existing homes. l Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act. l Building Regulations Part L 2006: replacement boiler specification. l Home Condition Reports from 2007. l Green Landlord scheme proposal. measures needed: l Building Regulations to require cost effective improvements at change of occupancy and when homes are extended. l Introduce a Code for Sustainable Homes for existing homes by 2007 and a timetable for upgrade by 2020, as a basis for improved Decent Homes Standard, Home Condition Report A-G energy ratings, Housing Market Renewal and Green Landlord scheme. l Fiscal incentives • Central funding for one-off Council Tax rebates for energy efficiency measures using the £20 million Local Authority Fund announced at Budget 2006.

• Stamp Duty rebates as a complement to Building Regulations to promote more ambitious energy efficiency improvements at point of sale.

• Encourage local authorities to introduce Code-based Council Tax banding system from 2010. l Equalise VAT on renovation and new build. l Revise rent capping rules for Registered Social Landlords, to enable them to recoup savings from energy efficiency investment while sharing these with tenants. l Require the use of community heating with CHP in all high rise blocks over six floors under the Decent Homes Standard. l New target of 100,000 empty homes to be occupied by 2010.

If ODPM signals clearly in advance what minimum standards will be required in future rounds of Building Regulations, the industry will have the market certainty it needs. If the housing stock as a whole is to deliver the necessary 60 per cent carbon reduction by 2050,50 then Building Regulations will need to require close to zero space heating by 2015. This is the signal that needs to be given to the industry now.

To unleash investment in microgeneration technologies and community energy infrastructure it should also be made clear that all new buildings will have to incorporate on-site renewable supply by 2015.

Building Regulations set the minimum standard for new build and renovation. A clear strategy for standards and their enforcement over the next 40-50 years is required. The Code for Sustainable Homes should provide a good way to signal future Building Regulations standards in advance, and to reward those developers that are making a voluntary investment in higher standards. The recent ODPM announcement that the draft Code, widely criticised as being weak, will be strengthened and supported by planning incentives, is very welcome.51 Of key importance are the commitments to make level 1 of the Code stronger than Part L on energy efficiency, and to set minimum standards on energy at each level. Such a system will provide a far better basis for signalling in advance the stepwise tightening of carbon standards to be enacted through five-yearly Building Regulation reviews.

However, the level 3 commitment on publicly funded housing, while a welcome step forward, could and should still be strengthened. The Energy Saving Trust has set good, best, advanced practice standards (previously bronze, silver, gold), which represent carbon savings of 10, 25 and 60 per cent over Part L 2006. The current ODPM proposal is for level 3 of the Code, which will be applied to publicly funded housing, to represent the best standard or 25 per cent additional savings. If government-funded housing is to fulfil the demonstration and market-leading role it can and should play, the commitment should be raised to 40 per cent carbon savings.

This standard should be attached as a condition to the contract sale of public land.

Recommended carbon savings for the Code for Sustainable Homes Level Carbon savings EST standard Policy lever Level 1 10 per cent >Part L EST Good Level 2 25 per cent >Part L EST Best Level 3 40 per cent >Part L Min for public-funded buildings Level 4 60 per cent >Part L EST Advanced Stamp Duty rebates Level 5 Zero carbon Eligible for Challenge Fund

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new build Building Regulations are a tool that can be used strategically to give the construction industry market certainty on future carbon reduction. While Part L 2006 represents a good step forward, it fell short of earlier commitments due to perceived practical constraints on the industry. Certainly, achieving low carbon specifications requires a set of skills that are not yet well developed. The Academy for Sustainable Communities needs a clear remit to deliver the full range of skills needed for low carbon construction. But the essential requirement is for future market certainty to justify industry investment in new supply chains, techniques and training.

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A Challenge Fund should be set up to support housing association developments in reaching level 5. Incentives should also be introduced for market housing in support of higher levels of the Code, in order to deliver the economies of scale needed for low-cost low carbon technologies. First time buyers of homes achieving level 4 or above should receive Stamp Duty rebates. Further planning incentives, with special application to the Growth Areas, are set out in the section on planning below. existing stock The ODPM is currently conducting a review of the sustainability of existing buildings. The Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act is a powerful new enabler, allowing the department to apply Building Regulations to existing homes when they change hands, and when extensions are carried out. This represents a vital opportunity to audit existing homes for energy and implement cost-effective improvements. A requirement for ‘consequential works’ was deleted from Part L 2005 because this would have required energy efficiency work equivalent to ten per cent of the value of any building works over £8000, and ministers were concerned that the public had not been consulted. However, the simple measures needed, like draught-proofing, top-up loft insulation and cavity wall filling, could be implemented at well under ten per cent extra cost, and householders could be directed to support from energy suppliers looking to deliver their Energy Efficiency Commitment. We urge ODPM to consult on a revised proposal as soon as feasible.

ODPM has already made constructive and decisive use of Building Regulations to deliver rapid market transformation and boost efficiency of the existing stock, by requiring all replacement boilers from 2006 to be condensing boilers, at least 85 per cent efficient. The ability shown by the industry to get the skills and supply chains in place to meet this challenge, given adequate warning, should boost the confidence of ODPM in raising carbon and efficiency standards in other areas.

To underpin an ODPM strategy of raising energy standards over time, a version of the Code for Sustainable Homes will be needed for existing homes from 2007, with challenging new energy efficiency and carbon standards, as recommended by the Sustainable Buildings Task Group. The British Research Establishment’s EcoHomes XB (existing buildings) can be used as a foundation. This Code should then be linked to social housing standards and incentive schemes to ensure that improvements are undertaken.

“ a version of the Code for Sustainable Homes will be needed for existing homes”

Home Condition Reports, including an A-G energy rating, will have to be made available from 2007 to buyers or tenants when homes are sold or rented. Energy efficiency standards from the Code should form the basis for this system, giving householders clear information about their likely consumption of, and hence expenditure on, energy. Training should be given to estate agents on the implications of energy ratings for running costs, and a public campaign should highlight the annual savings that householders can make from undertaking the cost-effective measures that an energy audit will recommend. Information alone, however, is likely to have limited influence over buyers preoccupied with capitals costs, look and location. Incentives for A-rated properties in the form of Stamp Duty rebates for

The Code needs to be backed up by a well-funded and effective marketing campaign to raise awareness of the scheme and its benefits to home purchasers, developers, planners, architects and others.

Energy ratings based on the Code for Existing Homes should also be used to establish a new Decent Homes Standard from 2010. The current Standard has so far missed the opportunity to make significant carbon reductions in the existing stock, delivering only an anticipated half a million tonnes of carbon reduction by 2010.52 The Standard can use the levels of the Code to tighten up over time.

Registered Social Landlords are currently discouraged from undertaking energy efficiency investments by rent capping rules, which mean that savings cannot be recouped via rents even where tenants are benefiting from reduced bills. These rules should be revised to allow landlord and tenants to share in the savings.

For private rental properties, the Green Landlord scheme, proposed by HM Treasury for consultation in 2005, offers a chance to overcome the problem of landlords having no incentive to invest in reducing their tenants’ bills. This would build on the existing Wear and Tear Allowance, which allows landlords to offset a fixed rate of ten per cent of rental revenue tax against costs incurred for wear and tear. A flat rate tax incentive should be applied within or alongside this, conditional on achieving an ongoing minimum home energy rating.

Finally, the Code should be used as a basis for refurbishment standards within the Housing Market Renewal areas. The decision to demolish or refurbish will rest on many factors, but energy efficiency need not be used as a justification for demolition except in exceptional cases. Refurbishment to meet Code standards on carbon that are equivalent to new build can be done at a significantly lower cost than demolition and rebuild. However, repair and renovation still incurs 17.5 per cent VAT while new build is VAT-free, a distortion which causes a spiral of decline leading to low demand and unduly favours demolition in renewal areas. Equalisation of VAT for renovation and new build is an urgent priority.

Renovation also avoids the carbon costs associated with the production and transport of construction materials. There are currently 689,000 empty homes, representing over three per cent of the housing stock. About half of these are in the South East where demand for new homes is greatest. Three hundred thousand homes have been empty for more than six months.55 As the government has said in its response to the Barker review of housing supply, “Bringing empty properties back into use has fewer environmental impacts than building new homes as such properties will also be located near to existing facilities and infrastructure.�56

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buyers would have a much larger impact, particularly if it permitted buyers to claim the rebate for improvements made after the sale.

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planning for sustainable communities top recommendations: Produce and publish the new climate change Planning Policy Statement (PPS) by the end of 2006, and launch it through a high profile, cross-departmental statement by ministers.

Declare the Thames Gateway a carbon neutral, climate-proof development.57 progress made: l Commitment to preparing a climate change PPS and revised guidance. l Ten per cent growth area Fund earmarked for green space. l Flooding Direction to call-in proposals with inadequate flood risk assessment. l PPS 22 allows positive planning for on-site renewables. l PPS 1 calls on local and regional bodies to address climate change. measures needed: l Draft climate change PPS to be out for consultation by summer 2006 and launched by ministerial statement with cross-departmental support by December 2006. l Make climate change mitigation and adaptation central to the Barker review of planning, and to Design Coding. l Strengthen and broaden PPS 22 (renewable energy) into a planning statement on sustainable energy that requires positive planning policies for on-site renewables, energy efficiency above Building Regulations and community energy. l Introduce planning incentives for the Code for Sustainable Homes. • PPS3 to require Local Development Frameworks and Regional Spatial Strategies to use Code. • Planning gain supplement rebate for levels 4 and 5.

The Thames Gateway will be a high profile test-case for long-term liveability. As a region it is highly exposed to climate change impacts, in the form of flooding, urban heat island effects and freshwater shortage. With a significant proportion of the new homes scheduled for public land, ODPM also has a real opportunity to make the Gateway a world-class carbon neutral development, setting consistently high standards to help developers employ economies of scale in low carbon supply chains. It should not be just the new homes that benefit from high standards of comfort and low bills. The department has always been clear that it wants to ensure that the growth areas bring improvements to existing communities.

To achieve this, ODPM should ensure that growth in the Thames Gateway is carbon neutral and climate-proofed, making it a world-class sustainable community.

A carbon neutral Thames Gateway would mean there would be no net increase in carbon as a result of development. Developments would be as close to zero carbon as possible but unavoidable carbon increases from growth would be offset via efficiency improvements in existing homes, and linking them to new sustainable energy and transport infrastructure.58 New green spaces and sustainable drainage systems can also be located and designed to benefit existing communities. ODPM

There is also a need to compliment the London 2012 Olympic developments.

The contractual bid documents outline a vision and specific objectives for London 2012 under the theme ‘towards a One Planet Olympics’. This includes a pledge towards a ‘low carbon games’ to showcase how the Olympics are adapting to a world that is increasingly affected by climate change.59 Some progress has already been made. With its recent announcement that ten per cent of growth area funding would be ring-fenced for green spaces, ODPM has renewed its commitment to the liveability agenda. In support of its Greening the Gateway strategy,60 the department has already invested £26 million from its Thames Gateway fund in projects like the new RSPB reserve opening this year at Rainham Marshes, in an area of severe disadvantage and industrial decline (see Box D). There is a welcome new commitment to a Flooding Direction, to call-in proposals with inadequate flood risk assessment, as advised by the Environment Agency.61 However, the challenge, and the opportunity, does not stop with the growth areas and the Thames Gateway. Across the UK, planners can make a major and positive contribution to reducing climate change, whether by promoting microgeneration or reducing our need to travel, ensuring we can adapt in comfort and security. ODPM has taken some important steps towards this. Planning Policy Statement 1 (PPS 1) makes it clear that ‘regional planning bodies and local planning authorities should ensure that development plans contribute to global sustainability by addressing the causes and potential impacts of climate change.’ Brief references to climate change are also to be found in new Planning Policy Statements (PPS) on rural areas, biodiversity, Regional Spatial Strategies and the forthcoming PPS 25 on development and flood control. In practice, however, planning for climate change is still very patchy. Three major applications in Islington Council that were determined during September and October 2005 did not mention climate change at all.62 ODPM reforms could herald a new era of “ across the UK, planners can planning, which aims to be responsive to modern needs, with the development of Regional Spatial make a major and positive Strategies and Local Development Frameworks. It is contribution to reducing crucial that these new frameworks are made fit for purpose in the twenty-first century, affording climate change” climate change due priority in decision-making.

Further leadership from ODPM is urgently needed to ensure this happens, before these frameworks are finalised in 2007. ODPM has already set a useful precedent for such an intervention with the public participation statement Public Involvement in Planning:The Government’s Objectives in 2004.

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should work with the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, South East of England Development Agency, East of England Development Agency and other relevant bodies, to prepare a planning framework for achieving this by 2007.

It should also establish a dedicated climate change agency to coordinate investment and action by energy suppliers, developers, local authorities and community groups to make it work on the ground. A visionary approach to the Thames Gateway will do much to make low carbon technologies accessible to all through economies of scale, and to demonstrate how architects and planners can design for long-term liveability in the face of climate change.

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The recent commitment to a climate change PPS is welcome. In order to be considered as part of the preparation of Local Development Documents however, the PPS needs to be published by the end of 2006. This necessitates a draft by summer 2006. The PPS should also be launched by a strong ministerial statement articulating the importance of climate change to planners, but also the crucial role of the planning system in combating climate change.

For the sake of clarity and consistency it is also crucial that the new Barker review into planning is given a clearer remit to review the adequacy of planning for climate change. This review should include attention to how local and regional planners can work together to ensure strategic provision of green infrastructure.

Features like parks, trees for shade, natural flooding defences and coastline management, as well as a better-linked network of protected areas, are needed to help both people and wildlife adapt to climate change. Some positive commitments have been made to funding green space and planning for biodiversity, but if muchloved native species are to survive a changing climate, it is important that this is done in a strategic rather than a patchy way.

The ODPM took a very positive step towards empowering local community leadership when it used PPS 22 on renewables to encourage local planners to follow the example of Merton Borough Council in requiring the use of on-site renewable energy to supply large new developments. Such policies are an excellent, flexible way to bring economies of scale to microgeneration technologies and community energy schemes and bring power closer to the people in new sustainable communities. In Croydon, 71 developments are now approved which require renewable energy. The largest currently under construction is a 360 unit residential development with 81 solar water heaters, 13 micro-wind turbines and a solar photovoltaics array. However, in practice only a small proportion of authorities are introducing renewable energy policies, and others have indicated that they would need more reassurance that neighbouring authorities are likely to be doing likewise.

At Government Office level, confusing messages are emerging such as GO London’s objection to the draft policy in the London Borough of Waltham Forest’s Unitary Development Plan, on the grounds that “the use of renewables is not considered to be a material planning condition”.63 ODPM is aware of these issues, and has taken a welcome decision to review PPS 22 in this light. To further empower such policies, PPS 22 needs to clarify that local authorities should [rather than ‘may’] specifically encourage renewable energy in new developments through positively expressed policies in local development documents. PPS 22 could usefully be developed into a broader planning policy statement on sustainable energy, as recommended by the Energy Saving Trust, to give planning authorities guidance on developing community heating networks and other sustainable energy infrastructure alongside renewable energy. Planners should use the planning gain principle or the proposed planning gain supplement to ensure that community heating systems are the norm for new developments, given that the high density requirements under the draft PPS 3 (housing) - 35 buildings per hectare – will make such systems more economically viable.

Planning incentives can work wonders for the quality of new development.

Where ODPM is taking a lead in rewarding quality design, the opportunity should be taken to integrate criteria on long-term liveability and low carbon innovation.64 The new Code for Sustainable Homes will need its own set of planning incentives if

local government top recommendation: Introduce a leadership duty for local government on climate change. progress made: l Local Government Act 2000 enables authorities to set up energy service companies. l Commitment to produce new best practice guidance for local authorities on climate change and promoting sustainable energy.66 l Commitment to focus on climate change in the post 2008 local government performance framework.67 measures needed: l Priority to be given to climate change in local government performance framework. l Freedom to raise revenue and invest-to-save in local areas, in the spirit of the Lyons Review. l National procurement facility for micro-renewables in public buildings. l Powers to require owners to bring grossly energy inefficient housing (<SAP30) up to standard with cost-effective measures. l Community heating developers should be given statutory undertaking rights similar to those granted for the operators of gas, water, electricity and telecommunications infrastructure.

As Minister for Communities David Miliband said at the recent Sustainable Communities Conference, “Local government’s role is to help citizens and communities become the masters of change.”68

“

Nowhere is this role more pertinent than in relation to climate change. Local government will be the lynchpin of practical action and community initiatives to cut carbon and help people adapt to change. A few pioneers already are. The majority, however, need to be empowered by government to assign Local government will be the resources and priority to this lynchpin of practical action leadership role. Real action requires upfront investment, even if savings and community initiatives to and local revenue then follow, as the example of Woking, Aberdeen and cut carbon and help people others has shown.

adapt to change”

David Miliband has expressed a determination to ask fundamental questions about the reforms needed to help local government take on the community leadership challenge. As part of the Climate

27 housing a low carbon society

it is to have application beyond social housing. The draft PPS 3 gives only a weak signal to local planners to encourage use of the Code. This should be strengthened to a requirement, and developers who meet higher levels of the Code should be offered rebates on the proposed planning gain supplement.

housing a low carbon society

28

Change Programme Review ODPM made two commitments towards this end: to produce best practice guidance for local authorities on climate change and sustainable energy; and to focus on climate change in the post 2008 local government performance framework. These steps are useful but more will be needed to make action on climate change a principle concern for local authorities.

One central empowering step that would have a significant impact is to give local authorities a leadership duty on climate change. This duty should not be prescriptive in the sense of setting one-size-fits-all carbon reduction targets. Rather it should encourage authorities to develop their own energy strategy and targets, in liaison with the Regional Development Authority, and empower them to give priority and resources to the climate change challenge, thereby turning it into an opportunity. A useful parallel is the proposed duty for local authorities in the Childcare Bill. While this will set a clear requirement that authorities ensure sufficient availability of quality childcare, it will give them scope to adopt a range of possible approaches to delivery.

In theory, the power of well-being enshrined in the Local Government Act 2000 permits local authorities to take steps to promote social and environmental objectives like carbon reduction. However, in practice, this power has been seldom used. Evidence suggests that key leadership challenges like climate change, which the power was designed to encompass, need the status of a duty to command available attention and resources.

The forthcoming Lyons Review, Spending Review and the Local Government White Paper all offer opportunities to help local government take the lead and invest in the most appropriate community solutions to climate change. At present performance policy in the form of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment constrains rather than rewards leadership, by confining investment on the environment to the statutory areas of waste and planning. To encourage councils to follow the example of Southampton and Aberdeen, and invest in energy efficiency to save public money, the Lyons Review should ensure that they are entitled to retain the savings for local spend or tax cuts, rather than be required to return them all to central government as efficiency savings under the Gershon Review.

The leadership potential of local government on climate change lies partly in the levers they can use to get enabling infrastructure in place for communities, such as energy efficient social housing, green havens, cycling and bus routes, community energy schemes and renewable energy. Authorities should be able to apply revenue from the proposed planning gain supplement to help get this essential infrastructure in place. Sustainable energy and transport facilities should also be central to the cross-departmental review of infrastructure needs for growth areas at the next Spending Review.

Councils should be encouraged to use reward funds within Local Area Agreements to spread their influence and lever improvements among local public sector partners like housing associations and schools. They will need to work collaboratively to ensure that house builders are not tempted to use the leverage of lower standards in a neighbouring planning authority to drive a race to the bottom.

Leicester City Council is showing how the limited resources made available by ODPM to help raise the standard of private sector rented housing can be combined

A key catalyst to deep reductions in carbon will be local energy agencies, as pioneered by Woking Borough Council. The Local Government Act 2000, as part of its programme of investing local authorities with the power to promote well-being, enabled authorities to follow the Woking example and set up public-private energy service companies that can finance, design and manage sustainable energy supply networks to reduce fuel poverty, bills and environmental impacts. Few councils have yet taken the opportunity, despite the social, economic and environmental gains to be had. Where councils lack an energy entrepreneur like Allan Jones of Woking, or the cross-party support and in-house expertise he enjoyed, the steps needed to establish energy agencies can look challenging, and they will need more support in the form of dedicated loan finance and well-coordinated practical advice.

The Local Government Association places great emphasis on the need for more and better organised practical support for local authorities to help them show environmental leadership. There is a plethora of initiatives, but little signposting and tools do not always meet the needs of officers and councillors. Forum for the Future, through its Local Authority Partnership Network of 30 authorities and in partnership with the Audit Commission, is piloting a sustainability standard that suggests practical steps for mainstreaming issues like climate change, and permits benchmarking and exchange of good practice. If the pilots are successful this tool will need profile and support in order to be widely taken up and owned by authorities outside the existing best practice networks.

The other side of the leadership potential of local government is their ability to be locally visible and accountable to communities. On climate change, citizens need to see change happening around them in order to feel that their individual actions will contribute to something bigger and worthwhile. The importance of local governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s demonstration role should not be underestimated. A dedicated procurement facility should be established to support councils in getting renewable energy into schools, hospitals and council buildings, so that local citizens can see and be inspired by visible evidence of change.

It is important to remember the vital role-played by local government in ensuring that the planning process supports local engagement and democratic accountability. Nowhere is local action more evident today than in public participation in planning. Kate Barkerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s review of planning must take this into account. If planning reforms aimed at accelerating development have the effect of restricting local participation this could fatally undermine the objectives of double devolution and community empowerment. It will also cut off a key avenue for engaging people in preparing for the impacts of climate change and understanding the local solutions that are needed.

29 housing a low carbon society

to maximum effect with incentives such as Defraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Warm Front Programme to tackle both energy efficiency and fuel poverty for vulnerable groups. Councils should also have their powers to intervene over unsafe or unfit public buildings extended to allow them to require owners to bring grossly energy inefficient housing (<SAP30) up to standard with cost-effective measures.

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4

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The Treasury identifies ‘climate change and natural resources’ as one of the five major challenges that will shape the current Comprehensive Spending Review. Now is therefore the time for ODPM to underline the leadership role it needs to play on climate change, and to make the case for resources appropriate to this challenge in Spending Review 2007.

invest-to-save: a spending review for housing a low carbon society

A first important step will be to join with the Department for Transport, Defra and the Department for Trade and Industry in signing up to the climate change PSA, and its subsequent revisions to reflect targets beyond 2010.

Leadership on climate change will also need to be reflected in the department’s bid for resources. ODPM’s programmes of direct investment in housing, including the more than £2 billion allocation to the Housing Corporation for new affordable housing, and the Decent Homes Programme for existing social and social rented housing, will be a crucial component of an invest-to-save approach to tackling climate change.

As this pamphlet has shown, real action on climate change does require investment, both in mitigation and adaptation. But such investment is an invest-tosave proposition, in three senses. The first concerns the saving that results from improvements in building fabric and energy infrastructure in the form of sustained efficiency gains and reduced energy bills. The second is the saving on expensive damage remediation if we fail to plan now for the impacts of climatic change on health, buildings and biodiversity. The third concerns the saving on the potentially punitive future costs of carbon abatement, as more radical cuts become needed when the threat to our comfort and security becomes impossible to ignore. spending review 2007 In support of this invest-to-save proposition, ODPM should include the following concepts within its departmental bid for Spending Review 2007: l An Invest-to-Save Fund to help the Housing Corporation and local councils partner with energy suppliers to install cost-effective energy efficiency measures in all social housing by 2015, with immediate priority given to homes below a SAP rating of 30. Research should be commissioned now to calculate the capital cost and payback – based on best practice EEC and Warm Front schemes like Gloucestershire Warm and Well and the Northumberland Cavity Wall Project - for pragmatic street-by-street programmes for filling all cavity walls, installing top-up loft insulation and draught-proofing all social housing by 2015. l A Challenge Fund for the Housing Corporation to support developers in reaching level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. l A doubling of resources for building inspection. l A national procurement facility for local authorities to install microgeneration on public buildings or set up community energy schemes. l A national loan facility for local authorities to pump-prime infrastructure

31

l A central fund to enable local authorities to give one-off Council Tax rebates to encourage home-owners to install cavity wall insulation. l A public-private green mortgage fund to support first time buyers of homes scoring level 4 or 5 on the Code for Sustainable Homes. l Funding increase for the Empty Homes Agency to support a new target of 100,000 empty homes occupied by 2010. l VAT equalisation on demolition and new build (alternatively this could be made as a revenue-raiser or revenue-neutral proposal) l Joint with Defra, invest in land management regimes that minimise the risk of flooding.

Many of the above proposals are loan funds. Sources of revenue in support of capital funds could include: l Planning Gain Supplement. l VAT equalisation on demolition and new build. l Community Infrastructure Fund (currently ÂŁ2 million). l Enhanced climate change levy. l Auctioning of allowances for proposed UK emissions trading in the commercial sector.

housing a low carbon society

investment by new local energy agencies in support of a leadership duty on climate change.

32

annex 1 summary of recommendations

housing a low carbon society

1. Join the joint Defra-DfT-DTI Public Service Agreement on climate change.

2. Set a whole house carbon reduction target for all housing stock of at least 30 per cent by 2020, and at least 60 per cent by 2050.

3. Produce and publish the new climate change Planning Policy Statement by the end of 2006, and launch it through a high-profile, cross-departmental statement by ministers.

4. Declare the Thames Gateway a carbon neutral, climate-proof development.

5. Introduce a leadership duty for local government on climate change.

building standards top recommendation: Set a whole house carbon reduction target for all housing stock of at least 30 per cent by 2020 and at least 60 per cent by 2050. new build progress made: l Building Regulations Part L 2006: 18-20 per cent energy efficiency improvement. l Commitment to a strengthened Code for Sustainable Homes following a weak early draft. l Housing Corporation and English Partnerships interim commitment to EcoHomes 2006 Very Good. measures needed: Building Regulations Part L: l Further 25 per cent efficiency improvement at 2010 review. l Announce requirement for close to zero carbon space heating by 2015.

Code for Sustainable Homes: l Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 to require carbon savings of 10, 25, 40 and 60 per cent over Part L 2006.

Level 5 to require zero emissions. Link levels clearly to five-yearly Building Regulation Part L reviews. l Revised level 3 (40 per cent saving over Part L 2006) to be minimum requirement for publiclyfunded housing. l Strong incentives for microgeneration or connection to a community energy network, which should be ratcheted up so that after one year it should not be possible to reach level 4, and in four years not possible to reach level 3, without microgeneration or community energy. l A Challenge Fund for developments meeting level 5. l A public-private green mortgage fund to support first time buyers of homes scoring level 4 or 5 on the Code for Sustainable Homes. l Stamp Duty rebates on new and existing Code homes at level 3 or above. l Requirement to meet level 3 should be a condition to the contract sale of public land. l Give the Academy for Sustainable Communities a mandate to deliver skills for meeting the Code. l Mandatory assessment of all new homes and zero star rating for homes which do not meet the Code. existing stock progress made: l Proposed mandatory energy audit of all existing homes. l Sustainable and Secure Buildings Act. l Building Regulations Part L 2006: replacement boiler specification. l Home Condition Reports from 2007. l Green Landlord scheme proposal.

planning top recommendations: Produce and publish the new climate change Planning Policy Statement by the end of 2006 and make a cross-departmental high profile ministerial statement to launch it.

Declare the Thames Gateway a carbon neutral, climate-proof development. progress made: l Commitment to preparing a climate change Planning Policy Statement and revised guidance. l Ten per cent Growth Area Fund earmarked for green space. l Flooding Direction to call-in proposals with inadequate flood risk assessment. l PPS 22 allows positive planning for on-site renewables. l PPS 1 calls on local and regional bodies to address climate change. measures needed: l Draft climate change Planning Policy Statement to be out for consultation by Summer 2006 and launched by ministerial statement with cross-departmental support by December 2006. l Make climate change mitigation and adaptation central to the Barker review of planning, and to Design Coding. l Strengthen and broaden PPS 22 (renewable energy) into a planning statement on sustainable energy that requires positive planning policies for on-site renewables, energy efficiency above Building Regulations and community energy. l Introduce planning incentives for the Code for Sustainable Homes.

• PPS 3 to require Local Development Frameworks and Regional Spatial Strategies to use the Code.

• Planning gain supplement rebate for levels 4 and 5.

33 housing a low carbon society

measures needed: l Building Regulations to require cost effective improvements at change of occupancy and when homes are extended. l Introduce a Code for Sustainable Homes for existing homes by 2007 and a timetable for upgrade by 2020, as a basis for improved Decent Homes Standard, Home Condition Report A-G energy ratings, Housing Market Renewal and Green Landlord scheme. l Fiscal incentives • Central funding for one-off Council Tax rebates for energy efficiency measures using the £20 million Local Authority Fund announced in Budget 2006.

• Stamp Duty rebates as a complement to Building Regulations to promote more ambitious energy efficiency improvements at point of sale.

• Encourage local authorities to introduce Code-based Council Tax banding system from 2010. l Equalise VAT on renovation and new build. l Revise rent capping rules for Registered Social Landlords, to enable them to recoup savings from energy efficiency investment while sharing these with tenants. l Require the use of community heating with CHP in all high rise blocks over six floors under the Decent Homes Standard. l New target of 100,000 empty homes to be occupied by 2010.

housing a low carbon society

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local government top recommendation: Introduce a leadership duty for local government on climate change. progress made: l Local Government Act 2000 enables authorities to set up energy service companies. l Commitment to produce new best practice guidance for local authorities on climate change and promoting sustainable energy. l Commitment to focus on climate change in the post 2008 local government performance framework. measures needed: l Priority to be given to climate change in local government performance framework. l Freedom to raise revenue and invest-to-save in local areas, in the spirit of the Lyons Review. l National procurement facility for micro-renewables in public buildings. l Powers to require owners to bring grossly energy inefficient housing (<SAP30) up to standard with cost-effective measures. l Community heating developers should be given statutory undertaking rights similar to those granted for the operators of gas, water, electricity and telecommunications infrastructure.

spending review 2007

l An Invest-to-Save Fund to help the Housing Corporation and local councils partner with energy suppliers to install cost-effective energy efficiency measures in all social housing by 2015, with immediate priority given to homes below a SAP rating of 30. Research should be commissioned now to calculate the capital cost and payback â&#x20AC;&#x201C; based on best practice EEC and Warm Front schemes like Gloucestershire Warm and Well and the Northumberland Cavity Wall Project - for pragmatic street-by-street programmes for filling all cavity walls, installing top-up loft insulation and draught-proofing all social housing by 2015. l A Challenge Fund for the Housing Corporation to support developers in reaching level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. l A doubling of resources for building inspection. l A national procurement facility for local authorities to install microgeneration on public buildings or set up community energy schemes. l A national loan facility for local authorities to pump-prime infrastructure investment by new local energy agencies in support of a leadership duty on climate change. l A central fund to enable local authorities to give one-off Council Tax rebates to encourage homeowners to install cavity wall insulation. l A public-private green mortgage fund to support first time buyers of homes scoring level 4 or 5 on the Code for Sustainable Homes. l Funding increase for the Empty Homes Agency to support a new target of 100,000 empty homes to be occupied by 2010. l VAT equalisation on demolition and new build (alternatively this could be made as a revenueraiser or revenue-neutral proposal) l Joint with Defra, invest in land management regimes that minimise the risk of flooding.

Many of the above proposals are loan funds. Sources of revenue in support of capital funds could include: l l l l l

Planning gain supplement.

VAT equalisation on demolition and new build.

Community Infrastructure Fund (currently ÂŁ2 million).

Enhanced climate change levy.

Auctioning of allowances for proposed UK emissions trading in commercial sector.

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A number of organisations signed up to this pamphlet have proposals of their own which go further than those that are recommended here. For these organisations the recommendations in this pamphlet are important but only part of what is needed.

The Public Service Agreement on climate change, which is jointly owned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Trade and Industry and Department for Transport is ‘To reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 12.5 per cent below 1990 levels in line with our Kyoto commitment and move towards a 20 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions below 1990 levels by 2010, through measures including energy efficiency and renewables’.

These targets may have to be scaled up in the future if overall carbon reduction targets change. Moreover, if sectors like aviation fail to deliver on fuel efficiency and are treated as premium users of carbon absorption capacity, sectors like housing will need to over-achieve against the 60 per cent target to compensate.

A carbon neutral Thames Gateway would mean there would be no net increase in carbon as a result of development. Developments would be as close to zero carbon as possible but unavoidable carbon increases from growth would be offset via efficiency improvements in existing homes, and linking to new sustainable energy and transport infrastructure. For a fuller explanation see Sustainable Development Commission, 2006, Home Truths: our advice to Government on UK housing.

Independent Scientific Steering Committee, May 2005, Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change International Climate Change Taskforce, January 2005 World Health Organisation, 2003, Climate Change and Human Health – Risks and Responses www.stopclimatechaos.com See note 2.

See note 3.

See note 4.

Defra, 2004, Study into the environmental impacts of increasing the supply of housing in the UK Environmental Change Institute, 2005, 40% House We have set the target at ‘close to zero’ because we can get close to zero carbon more quickly than zero carbon. Removing the last 5 per cent can be difficult and expensive and efforts would be better spent in other areas, such as refurbishment.

Sustainable Consumption Roundtable, 2005, Seeing the Light: the impact of microgeneration on how we use energy Carbon Trust/Energy Saving Trust, December 2004, Community heating for planners and developers Sustainable Development Commission, 2005, Climate Change Programme Review position paper Institute of Public Policy Research, 2006, Gateway People Architecture Week, November 28, 2001, Erskine’s Millenium Village Building Research Establishment, Energy Efficiency Best Practice Programme, 2001, General Information Report 89 Greater London Authority, 2004, London Energy Strategy http://www.wwf.org.uk/news/n_0000002327.asp Bulk-buy initiatives such as the One Planet Products group set up by WWF and BioRegional aim to improve economies of scale and offer discounts, see

35 housing a low carbon society

annex 2 notes and references

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www.oneplanetproducts.com ZEDstandards, 2005, A Low Carbon Roadmap to a Sustainable Future ODPM, 2003, English House Condition Survey ODPM, 2004, A Decent Home – the definition and guidance for implementation National statistics on energy in housing use the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP), which gives a score of up to 120 – the higher the number, the better the rating (recalibration under SAP 2005 will give a top score of 100). SAP is based on the thermal performance of a building, its heating appliances and the energy prices for different heating fuels used. SAP 2005 will take more account of carbon emissions.

This figure assumes that new homes are built to close to zero space heating from 2020.

Environmental Change Institute, 2005; Johnston, 2004, Energy for Sustainable Development, 2004 Sustainable Development Commission, 2006, Taking Stock, unpublished Energy Saving Trust, press release, 19 January 2006 Cambridge Architectural Research, for Energy Saving Trust, 2003 Statutory homelessness: England second quarter, 2004. Statistical release 2004/2016, September 13th http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2004_0216 GO London, 2005, Consultation document: Adapting to Climate Change: A Checklist for Development EPSRC UK Climate Impacts Programme, 2005, Building Knowledge for a Changing Climate ODPM and HMT, December 2005, The Government’s response to Kate Barker’s review of Housing Supply London Assembly, October 2005, London under threat? Flooding risk in the Thames Gateway ODPM and HMT, December 2005, The Government’s response to Kate Barker’s review of Housing Supply Office of Science and Technology, 2004, Future flooding: executive summary, report of the Foresight programme Town and Country Planning Association, 2006, Sustainable Energy by Design James MacGregor (New Local Government Network), 25 January 2006, The Guardian Sustainable Consumption Roundtable, 2005, Double Dividend? Promoting nutrition and sustainable consumption through school meals The Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change can be downloaded from the Local Government Association website at www.lga.gov.uk/Documents/Briefing/ Our_Work/Environment/Nottdeclaration.pdf Speech by Rt Hon David Miliband MP at Sustainable Communities Summit, February 2006.

Defra’s Climate Change Communications Initiative means that local groups can now apply for funding for promoting climate change messages to raise awareness.

Jackson, T., 2005, Motivating Sustainable Consumption, ESRC O’Riordan, T et al., 2004, Towards Sustainable Flood and Coastal Management: Identifying Drivers of, and Obstacles to, Managed Realignment www.pect.net/index.html See note 3.

The ECI modelling shows that all new homes will need to have a space heating demand of zero by 2020 at the latest. The government should set a target to

51 52 53 54 55 56

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37 housing a low carbon society

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achieve this by 2015, as new homes will have to compensate for the anticipated challenges of delivering carbon savings in existing stock, which will be more difficult to upgrade. We have set the target at ‘close to zero’ because we can get close to zero carbon more quickly than zero carbon. Removing the last 5 per cent can be difficult and expensive and efforts would be better spent in other areas, such as refurbishment.

Ibid ODPM Press Release, March 2006 Defra, 2004, Energy Efficiency: the Government’s Plan for Action www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/726/37/greenlandord010805.pdf Cambridge Architectural Research, 2003, Refurbish or Replace? Context Report Sustainable Development Commission, 2006, Stock Take, unpublished ODPM and HMT, December 2005, The Government’s response to Kate Barker’s review of Housing Supply See note 4.

For a fuller explanation see Sustainable Development Commission, 2006, Home Truths: our advice to Government on UK housing Volume 1 – Theme 5, Environment and meteorology, page 75.

ODPM, 2004, Greening the Gateway ODPM and HMT, December 2005, The Government’s response to Kate Barker’s review of Housing Supply Town and Country Planning Association and Friends of the Earth, December 2005, Climate change and Planning MPs briefing http://www.tcpa.org.uk/climate_change_files/20051214_BriefingNote_MPs.doc Ibid ODPM and HMT, December 2005, The Government’s response to Kate Barker’s review of Housing Supply ODPM, December 2005, Consultation Paper on new Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing Defra, April 2006, Climate Change Programme Review Ibid Speech by Rt Hon David Miliband MP at Sustainable Communities Summit, February 2006.

Green Alliance 36 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0RE tel: 020 7233 7433 fax: 020 7233 9033 email: ga@green-alliance.org.uk website: www.green-alliance.org.uk