Council leaders and developers have made a final rallying call against central government plans to restrict local authorities from setting higher energy standards for new homes.
Whitehall is today closing its Future Homes Standard consultation, in which it is mulling over whether to set national carbon reduction targets for new homes.
Under the Future Homes Standard, the government said it would expect new homes to have 75-80% lower carbon emissions than homes built to current energy efficiency requirements.
It would involve amending the Planning and Energy Act 2008 and would “restrict local planning authorities from setting higher energy efficiency standards for new homes”.
As the consultation deadline looms, councils and developers have urged the government to ditch its plans, claiming it would hinder local authorities from achieving their net zero carbon goals.
Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake told EG that the city will not be able to become carbon neutral by its 2050 target if it does not have the support of central government.
She said: “By taking powers to set standards away from local authorities and creating revised minimum standards that don’t go far enough, these proposals will make it harder for Leeds to tackle the climate emergency and become a carbon-neutral city.
“With additional powers and funding devolved from Westminster, the council and partners could radically improve the city’s housing stock – helping residents to stay warm, save money and cut carbon emissions.”
Angeliki Stogia, Manchester City Council’s executive member for environment, planning and transport, said she was “concerned” about the proposed limitations.
“We have set an ambitious target to become a zero-carbon city by 2038, while declaring a climate emergency,” she added. “New development will have a significant impact on cities being able to meet the UK’s carbon challenges head on, and this will require local areas to be able to set their own high environmental standards and pitch for excellence when it comes to sustainability.
“Manchester is serious about playing its part to tackle climate change, but we need national support to do this. If councils can’t demand higher energy efficiency standards in new developments now, then we don’t have the powers we need to improve the carbon impact of our city’s growth into the future.”
Scarborough Group director Simon McCabe argued that central government should not hold control over regional environmental targets and urged local councils to rally together against the government’s proposals.
“There is nothing wrong with local authorities setting their own standards and targets – I think it is absolutely the right thing to do,” he said. “If a number of local authorities are passionate about it, and hopefully they are, those local authorities that are really lobbying for this need to work as a team to knock on the door of central government, and make their case very clear that they should have certain powers to set environmental targets.”
David Topham, chief executive of regeneration specialist CTP, warned that, should the government follow through with its proposals, it will have a negative impact on developers. “The industry will end up picking up the tab. We will have to innovate to achieve what’s required – and the effect of that is there will be greater capital cost for investments. The question is how we will cope with that.”
Concerns from developers and councils come after mayor of London Sadiq Khan yesterday slammed the government’s proposals. He criticised the national standards for being 25% lower than the city’s plans to be carbon-neutral by 2030.
He said: “Hundreds of local authorities across England have declared climate emergencies – yet these proposals would hold back both the councils and developers who want to go further and faster to decarbonise new homes.”
To send feedback, e-mail lucy.alderson@egi.co.uk or tweet @LucyAJourno or @estatesgazette
