Code for Sustainable Homes is Axed. Its Official reports james

James Blackburn of Carbon Green Consulting - one of our partners, reports that on 20th March 2014 the Government officially confirmed it is scrapping the Code for Sustainable Homes.  

Yesterday, the government officially confirmed the scrapping of the Code for Sustainable Homes. This had been mooted as part of the wider Housing Standards Review Consultation undertaken over the last two years and forms part of the government’s attempt to reduce housing regulations by about 90%.

The decision has been greeted with a mixed response from the industry. Many have hailed it as a release from an arduous and costly “tick box” exercise which added little to the true sustainability of homes. Others have claimed it will lead to a drop in sustainability standards on residential development sites. The major concern of many is that those areas of the Code which will not now be covered by the Building Regulations  may well be lost in local policy or guidance and therefore, developments may become less sustainable in future.

James Blackburn comments 

'As a practicing assessor, my own observations are that many developers have embraced the Code and seen it as a positive step as well as an opportunity to further their own sustainability credentials. Others have seen it as an imposition which should be circumvented where ever possible and delivered to the barest minimum .Clearly, there is a profit argument to be had here, but equally a  wasted opportunity others have embraced! 

Middle ground as usual is the safest path and I been involved in several sensitive applications where a significant demonstration of sustainability commitment in all it’s forms on site  does undoubtedly help set the right tone on behalf of our client.

Moving forward, the National Planning Policy Framework is forcing local authorities to confront these sustainability issues and reflect them in policy. Many authorities already have policies and various specific and detailed guidance notes on sustainable buildings and communities which go far beyond the Code requirements. Development in these areas will be all the better for it.' 

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