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AUGUST 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Businesses urge
Chancellor to reconsider
scrapping zero carbon
More than 200 businesses from the construction,
property and renewable energy industries have
today urged the Chancellor to reconsider the
Government’s sudden U-turn over the longestablished zero carbon homes policy.
In the Chancellor’s
productivity plan “Fixing the foundations”,
George Osborne unexpectedly axed the policy designed to ensure
that all new homes
built from 2016 meet
zero carbon standards
– together with a sister
policy that applied to
all new non-residential
buildings such as offices, schools and hospitals from 2019.
In an open letter to the
Chancellor, senior leaders
from 246 organisations
warn that the policy U-turn
has “undermined industry
confidence in Government”
and will “curtail investment
in British innovation and
manufacturing”.
They write: “There was a
broad consensus in support
of the zero carbon policy,
which was designed to give
industry the confidence it
needs to invest and innovate, in order to drive
higher energy efficiency
standards and low carbon
energy solutions.
“Abandoning the zero carbon policy will have regressive impacts and be harmful
to British industry.”
Julie Hirigoyen, Chief
Executive of the UK Green
Building Council, which
coordinated the letter, said:
“The speed and the stealth
with which this administration has destroyed some
of the long-term policies
supporting the renewable
and low carbon industries
has been breath-taking. We
have witnessed an unparalleled wave of support from
our members and the wider
industry who are deeply concerned about how
the Government’s sudden,
Zero carbon
scrap to boost
housing supply
Contrary to the UK Green Building Council’s
view, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB)
believe the Government’s decision to remove
unnecessary zero carbon standards for new
homes will boost the supply of housing via small
and medium-sized (SME) house builders.
Sarah McMonagle, Head of External
Affairs at the FMB, said: “The UK’s
new homes have never been so
energy efficient but the target for
all new homes to be zero carbon by
2016 was overly ambitious.
regressive and arbitrary decision to scrap the long established zero carbon policy
will impact their business
and investment.
“This U-turn not only
means our new buildings
will be less energy efficient
and more costly to run, but
it comes at a time when the
UK should be taking strong
action on climate change.
We urge Government to reconsider its position for the
sake of future confidence
in the UK’s low carbon
economy.”
Rob Lambe, Managing Director of the energy services
arm of Willmott Dixon, one
of the UK’s biggest housebuilders, said: “We have
worked tirelessly over the
past ten years, along with
our clients, investing tens
of millions of pounds to
develop detailed solutions
required to deliver against
the zero carbon homes 2016
policy.”
Mike Roberts, Managing
Director at HAB Housing,
added: “It may not have
been perfect but the zero
carbon policy was an attempt to provide confidence
to the construction sector,
setting out future standard