8.17

Object

Representation ID: 5370

Received: 03/09/2021

Respondent: Mrs Clare Buddle

Lacks ambition. Why not exceed these requirements?

Support

Representation ID: 7902

Received: 24/09/2021

Respondent: Home Builders Federation

20. The housebuilding industry, through the HBF, recognises that there is a need to improve the environmental performance of new residential development. In order to achieve this, we established with a wide range of partners the Future Homes Task Force. This task force examined how the house building industry can work toward delivering net zero homes by 2050. The initial outcomes of this work can be found at https://www.futurehomes.org.uk/ with a summary of the Delivery Plan resulting from this work attached to this response.
21. The delivery plan published by the task force in July outlines the need to operate on a collective basis recognising the need for housebuilders, their supply network and the trades people building homes to successfully transition to the delivery of low carbon homes. In addition, it recognises the need for both national and local government alongside housebuilders to ensure those people buying new homes are confident in the technologies and systems being used.
22. As such the HBF consider a national and standardised approach to improving the energy efficiency of buildings to be the most effective approach in that it balances improvements to building performance with the continued delivery of housing and infrastructure. The HBF considers such a universal standard is necessary to allow research and development and supply chains to focus upon responding to agreed national targets, and for training providers to plan their programmes to equip the labour force to meet these new requirements. Importantly, a phased approach to delivering these improvements ensures those people buying new homes are fully aware of the new technologies being used in their homes. It is vital that consumers are confident with the technology being used in their new homes and increase the wider appetite for similar standards to be adopted in the existing stock.
23. The HBF considers it important that Councils recognise that it will take time to ensure that the technology and supply chains required to achieve the significant reductions in emission from new homes required by the Future Homes Standard. There is still considerable work to do to ensure that supply chains are in place to meet demand from the housebuilding industry as well as having a workforce with the technical skills in place to deliver and maintain systems such as ground and air source heat pumps on a much larger scale. It is important that these systems when they are used work to ensure that the public are satisfied with the product and can rely on it to meet their needs.
24. As the Council are aware the Future Homes Standard that the Government are proposing to introduce will ensure that from 2025 new homes will emit 75% fewer emissions than current standards. To deliver further reductions and achieve the national commitment of net zero emissions by 2050 will require the decarbonisation of energy supply at a national level rather than from the Council setting additional requirements for new homes above those set by Government. Therefore, the HBF agrees with the approach being proposed by the Council to maintain its current policy recognising that the future homes standard will deliver the necessary changes in future. Such an approach allows the development industry and consumers the time to transition to the Future Homes Standard in 2025 whilst maintaining both delivery and consumer confidence.