Blueprints For Green Homes

Contents
1 Introduction 2
Michael Cashman MEP
2 Housing and Energy –the possibilities 5

Dr Brenda Boardman
‘Sponsored by Pinnacle psg;
modernising public service management' 3 Energy 4 Homes 8
Hywel Lloyd, SERA
www.pinnacle-psg.com
4 Planning for Heat 13
Michael King, CHPA
If you are interested in helping to take this debate forward,

5 The Case for Recycled Houses 17
LHG, SERA and CHPA would be happy to hear from you.
David Ireland
Labour Housing Group
Marianne Hood: Marianne.hood@which.net 6 Promoting Better Practice 20
Marianne Hood, LHG
SERA
Emma Burnell, 2nd Floor, 1 London Bridge, Downstream Building, London SE1 9BG
7 Housing and Sustainable Energy in Wales 26
Emma.burnell@sera.org.uk
Keith Edwards, CIH Cyrmru
020 7022 1985
CHPA 8 Decent Homes in a Sustainable Environment: 30

35/37 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W OBS Priorities for Labour Policy
info@chpa.co.uk Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP
www.chpa.co.uk
020 7828 4077
List of contributors 39
This pamphlet does not represent the combined views of CHPA, LHG and SERA, but only the views of the authors.
The responsibility of these organisations is limited to approving this publication as worthy of consideration.
This publication may not be reproduced without the express permission of CHPA, LGA and SERA.
B L U E P R I N T S F O R G R E E N H O M E S : A H o u s i n g a n d E n e r g y Po l i c y f o r t h e 21 S T C e n t u r y B L U E P R I N T S F O R G R E E N H O M E S : A H o u s i n g a n d E n e r g y Po l i c y f o r t h e 21 S T C e n t u r y
Introduction
Michael Cashman MEP
We have heard a great deal over the past few months about the need to build more The issues covered in this booklet are a good example of the need to adopt a
homes. This is a welcome development. Housing has a profound impact on lives, on thematic approach to policy. We must not develop house building in isolation,
education, health, our economy and our pride in our communities. Failing to address without also finding ways to create strong, sustainable communities and protect
housing problems will be sure to undermine our central goal to create a fair the environment.
society for all.
Since 1997, significant steps have been taken in this area. The Sustainable
The evidence on the need to build more homes gives a compelling motivation for the Communities Plan has brought environmental considerations into the heart of the
Labour Party to prioritise this issue. We have known for some time that the increase Government’s communities strategy. The greenbelt is growing and the proportion of
in the number of households, caused predominantly by our aging population and by houses built on green field sites is falling. Building on brownfield sites has risen from
more individuals living alone, is not being matched by an increase in homes being 57% of all new homes on brownfield land in 1997 to 70% (71% in London and the
built. But the scale of the problem is growing and must be addressed. According to South East) in 2004.
recently published Government research, the past 30 years has seen a 30% increase in
Building regulations have also been significantly tightened since 1997, for
the number of households formed, but a 50% drop in house building.
example by improving insulation to make buildings more thermally efficient and
Because demand is so far outstripping supply, it is becoming increasingly difficult for reducing energy consumption. But while there have been significant improvements
first time buyers and those on lower incomes to afford to get a foot on the housing since the 1990s, still more than a quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions come
ladder. That means thousands of young families around the country cannot fulfil their from energy used in homes.
aspiration to invest in their own homes.
In a recent development, the government has announced proposals for a new Code
So if the Government wants to do more to help the ninety percent of people in the for Sustainable Homes to improve the resource efficiency and sustainability of new
UK who want to own or part-own a home, they are right to instigate a step change homes. The Code, which is planned to be voluntary for private sector homes but
in house-building across the country. compulsory for any new homes receiving Government subsidy, sets out minimum
standards on energy and water efficiency, site and household waste materials, and
But building houses is about much more than bricks and mortar. As this timely
surface water management.
pamphlet, produced by the Labour Housing Group, SERA and CHPA shows, the
relationship between housing, sustainability and energy policy is becoming Homes will be given a star rating of one to five based on these measures, the lowest
increasingly important. of which is already higher than existing building regulations. This is a welcome
development and should create stronger incentives for developers to build sustainable
These interlocking issues are of particular interest to me as co-convenor of the Labour
homes, as well as giving homebuyers a reliable way to measure the sustainability
Party’s ‘Creating Sustainable Communities’ Policy Commission. Our Commission has an
of their new homes. The Code is currently under consultation and is due to be
ambitious remit, covering among other issues housing, the environment, transport,
introduced next year.
and sustainability. Whilst this can at times seem like a daunting list, it is also a great
opportunity to consider policy solutions across traditional government lines. Some excellent work is already happening around the country. Marianne Hood’s
chapter on Beacon Councils shows that many local authorities are already developing
2 3
Housing and Energy – the Possibilities

Dr Brenda Boardman
their own innovative models under existing building regulations to improve the There is an urgent need to have a debate that brings together housing and energy,
environmental quality of their housing stock. These best practice models should give particularly as part of the 2006 energy review. Energy demand in the residential sector
ideas to other local authorities who are looking for ways to improve standards. could be substantially reduced. Much of the remaining energy needs of individual
households could be met within their own premises or locality, which would offset
There is clearly more work that could be done on all of these issues. More public
the requirement to have more centralised nuclear or coal-fired plant.
sector brownfield sites must be identified for future housing development,
microgeneration must be tested further, and perhaps most importantly, the public By 2050, the carbon emissions from all energy use, in all households could be reduced
must be enthused to play an active personal role in reducing carbon emissions. by 60%, to comply with the government’s Energy White Paper target of a 60% cut,
as research at Oxford University has shown (Boardman et al 2005). This is despite a
I am sure this booklet will help to stimulate debate and help us find solutions to
growth in the expected number of households to 31.8m homes (33% higher than the
ensure that in the future, every home in every community is high-quality,
1996 figure of 23.9m) both because of population growth and new household
affordable and sustainable.
formation. This is not a ‘hair-shirt’ future, as, on average, people would have more
space and hot water, a warmer home and slightly more appliances.
As most of the current debate is about nuclear power, the future demand for
electricity is considered first. Most electricity use in the home is for lights and
appliances and this has been the major growth area of energy demand over the last
30 years (a 70% increase per household between 1970 and 2001). There are two major
ways to curb this growth: individually we have to stop buying more and larger
equipment and the lights and appliances we do use have to be more efficient. The
greatest savings are available in lights, refrigerators and, through preventing growth,
in consumer electronics. For instance, by 2050, in the model, every light fitting, in
every home is using a light emitting diode (LED), which at present are limited to cycle
helmets and batteries. This would cut electricity consumption for lighting from 715
to122kWh pa. Some technical development is needed, to make them brighter, good
designs for fittings are required and the technology has to be supported, for instance
by making them mandatory in all new buildings, through the Building Regulations.
It would help to announce the imminent phasing out of the incandescent bulb, too.
The net effect of these policy proposals is to reduce electricity use for lights and
appliances, per household, from 3,000 to 1680kWh pa.
The scenario assumes only a minimal growth in the number of appliances per house,
partly because there is less development and purchase of profligate and unnecessary
4 5
pieces of equipment, for instance plasma TVs, patio heaters, fuel-effect fires and 20,000 homes pa, as now, to 80,000 pa from 2016 onwards. The architectural heritage
electric toothbrushes. This has occurred either through constraint by manufacturers (listed buildings and conservation areas) is left intact, but those properties that are
or by increasing consumer awareness. One way to stimulate the latter is to introduce unhealthy to live in because they are too expensive to heat are targeted for
free carbon shares, per adult, known as personal carbon allowances. These cover use demolition. Many of these are the homes of the fuel poor. There is a wider aspect to
of electricity, gas, petrol and aviation, and are tradable: higher users can buy from the debate about demolition rates. In 2004, there are 25m homes in the UK. At the
below-average consumers. This will encourage greater understanding of how and present rate of demolition, it will take 1,300 years to replace the housing stock. This
where we emit carbon into the atmosphere, whilst allowing us to balance our cannot be portrayed as a sensible housing or energy policy. By increasing the rate
individual preferences. of demolition to 80,000 pa, the rate of turnover in 2050 will be 400 years. Much
better, but even this may not be sufficient.
A major contribution to the 60% carbon reduction comes from the generation
of electricity within the house or the locality. For nearly two-thirds of houses, One of the other major issues identified in the report is the way in which households
this will mean having a boiler that produces electricity at the same time as heat will be able to fund and acquire their own forms of micro-generation. In addition to
(combined heat and power, CHP). With large centralised gas and coal-fired generation, CHP, these include solar thermal (hot water), photovoltaics (electricity) and, perhaps,
the heat is wasted in cooling towers. With nuclear power stations, the heat cannot house-mounted wind turbines. On average, there are 1.7 low or zero-carbon
be used. A further benefit of CHP is that we need heating in the home technologies per house. Will there be grants to encourage their installation,
at the same time as we use electricity there, so putting on the CHP boiler will mean or will the utilities pay for the technology and ‘rent our roof’?
we are generating our own electricity, at exactly the time we want to use it, for
There is considerable concern about the security of our energy supplies, but there is
instance late afternoon on a cold winter’s day. This aids the whole electricity
nothing more secure than not needing the energy, because we have reduced demand,
system by reducing peak demand.
and many householders would welcome the opportunity to make an environmental
The non-electricity use in the home is mainly gas for space and water heating. contribution through providing their own supply. Let the debate happen!
There is an urgent need to reduce the use of gas by both improving the fabric of the
existing homes and making new homes much more energy efficient. These two sets Reference
Boardman, B, Darby, S, Killip, G, Hinnells, M, Jardine, C, Palmer, J and Sinden, G (2005) 40% house.
of standards interact with the rates of demolition and construction. The average
Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/lowercf/40house.html
property uses 14,600kWh for space heating now and this is brought down to
8,300kWh by 2050 – a very substantial change. If the average in 2050 is higher, then
more homes will have to be demolished, as the replacement new properties will need
2000kWh pa for heating, or less. Equally, if the standard of new homes is not this low,
from 2020 onwards at the latest, then it will not be possible to achieve the 60%
carbon reduction in the residential sector. It is just not possible to get the average
existing home to the low level of energy consumption being proposed.
In order to achieve the 60% carbon reduction, the demolition rate is increased from
6 7
Energy 4 Homes
Hywel Lloyd, SERA
The sustainability of a community can be reflected in terms of its cohesion, its In considering the relationship between housing, energy and sustainability we need
economic success (and continuity) and the impact of the community and its activities to consider what energy is used for, how that may be changing, as well as the impact
on the environment over time. energy use has and what is or can be done to increase the sustainability of housing
related energy use.
Put simply there is a relationship between the economy (and its use of materials,
including energy, to produce goods and wealth), social justice (and the fair and A significant part of the energy use of a community will be domestic, with domestic
equitable distribution of the goods, wealth and ideally resources) and the energy use accounting for approximately one third of overall UK energy use (29%).
environment (which support human activity in providing the raw materials
This energy use will include the electricity required for lighting, as well as ‘cold’ uses
and absorbing the wastes of economic activity).
such as TV and stereos, charging mobile devices (from ipods to phones) as well as
It might be viewed simply as a triangle of interactions, thus: some use in cooking; the gas, oil and other fuels used for heating.
The Economy Social Justice The demand for electricity reflects a mix of historic home design - where homes have
the wiring to deliver lighting, mains electricity to the plug (lower 13 amp circuits) and
often a further higher power circuit (30 – 50 amp) to power a cooker – and present
demand from home owners who now have more appliances, many of which use more
The Environment / The Earth
energy and may also use energy parasitically (i.e. while on stand by).
Until perhaps the 1960’s humanity thought all human economic activity was and Many homes have a greater number of electricity powered appliances or devices
would continue to be within the capacity of the environment, i.e. The Earth, which than earlier generations which has meant that domestic electricity demand has been
meant politics was concentrated upon either the creation or distribution of wealth increasing. However within that some demand has fallen, for example less home
represented by the top part of the triangle. cooking and the use of lower energy devices (the microwave) have reduced
domestic electricity demand for cooking.
Since then we increasingly understand we have exceeded the Earth’s capacity to
absorb the wastes we produce, i.e. CO2 and climate change, and that many of the The demand for heating fuels has change with the advent of Central Heating,
resources we use with abandon, are in fact finite, such that our children’s children meaning a significant number of homes are either typically fitted or retro fitted
may never see their benefit if we continue to use them up as we do. Present trends with gas boilers to heat a radiator system.
of use will heighten tensions between those that have and do not have access to
Overall the cumulative demand for domestic energy of any of these sources means
such resource.
that the average home emits six tonnes of carbon per annum, while domestic energy
So any consideration of sustainable communities must actively consider the energy across the country accounts for 25% of UK emissions.
use of that community, as that is an important part of the resource dimension of this
Clearly with a greater multitude of devices to be powered and more homes being built
triangular relationship, which clearly can affect the impact and the economics of a
the prospects are that demand for energy will to continue to grow and potentially
community, and has the potential to impact upon social justice within a community
with it levels of carbon emissions, neither of which are sustainable – in terms of
and hence its cohesion as well.
8 9
impact greater emissions will further the effects of climate change, while greater Homes (which ends on March 6th) the government must set a clear direction of the
demand will affect the availability of energy, energy prices will rise and supplies may standards of energy use in homes which covers at least the next ten years, that shows
become less secure . . . . . if we continue to simply generate and supply domestic a step change in the quality of energy efficiency required (and which will be tested
energy as we presently do. for) and expects all homes to generate energy on-site by a low carbon energy source,
which could be solar panels (photovoltaic or heating), wind turbine, or cogeneration
We could, though, imagine an alternative way of thinking about energy and homes,
boiler (which produces heat and electricity).
with sustainability as our first principle. To be sustainable would mean a home
minimising its need for energy and maximising the use of the energy available Government should also require compulsory measures at each level of the Code for
to it, both with the medium to long term in mind. energy that cannot be traded with other elements of the standard, e.g. water use.
A recent report by the Energy Saving Trust* indicates that micro-generation We also need to address the energy efficiency and productive capacity of our existing
technologies which access the energy around the home (from the sun and the wind) stock given we have some of the oldest housing stock in Europe. For the average
for electricity, could deliver 40% of the UK’s electricity needs by 2050 and equally household generating six tonnes of carbon p.a., almost half (e.g. 2.7 tonnes) could be
reduce our carbon emissions by 15% p.a. saved through three simple measures based on changing the way in which we build,
equip and refurbish homes:
In doing so such homes significantly reduce the need for any external supply energy
and consequently the level of gas or electricity used, which in turn reduces the: • Installing a high efficiency condensing boiler and heating controls could save
0.8 tonnes of carbon per household per year;
• external dependence of any community housed and powered in such a way;
• Cavity wall insulation would save 1.3 tonnes p.a. on average, approximately
• outflows of money from such a community;
half the homes in the UK could benefit from such insulation (present cost
• the levels of carbon emissions produced by such a community.
approximately £350);
• Less than 45% of homes have sufficient loft insulation (i.e.150mm). Carbon
To achieve this would require taking further forward the policy initiatives already in
savings of 0.1 tonnes per year per household could be achieved with sufficient
place, mainstreaming zero carbon housing stock in order to impact on every area of
insulation in all homes (at a cost of less than £200 per home).
home energy and incentivising the public in their home buying behaviour.
Recommendations There are clearly further measures that can contribute to minimised energy demand
and maximised production from the home that individuals can employ, and which
We have embarked on a significant house building and stock refurbishment
government could choose to encourage appropriately.
programme. Government can both set the highest standard, as Aneurin Bevan set
in his day as post war Housing Minister, and through doing so make them easier and For example if all replacement appliances were A-rated (i.e. highly energy efficient
cheaper to reach through the purchasing power of government. Of the many low energy use), and low energy light bulbs were fitted, the average household could
developments, the Thames Gateway housing programme should be an exemplar. save 0.5 tonnes of carbon each year. The estimated cost of installing A-rated white
goods and low energy light bulbs is £1,360 per average home. While on average, a
That means that following the current consultation on the draft Code for Sustainable
householder will replace appliances every 10 years a significant impact could be
10 11
Planning for Heat

Michael King, CHPA
achieved with the use of energy ratings for all appliances and devices. Late last year the Prime Minister launched an Energy Review against a background of
growing challenges in the energy sector. The 2003 Energy White Paper identified four
Given energy prices can only rise while we are dependent on finite sources (oil, gas
goals for energy policy:
and nuclear) as other compete for the raw materials it is in everyone’s interest to
reduce their own demand and eliminate wasteful demand. • Reducing carbon emissions
• Tackling fuel poverty
Government can incentivise this for early adopters through the use of fiscal measures
• Improving security of supply
to reward demand reduction, for example council tax or stamp duty rebates linked to
• Enhancing competitiveness
home energy efficiency, the use of home energy rating to inform purchasers of the
energy efficiency of houses they buy, ensuring all pensioners and others at risk from
The Government has undertaken significant work in terms of advancing new energy
fuel poverty have fully insulated and energy efficient homes, by promoting the use
policy instruments. However, progress towards all four goals is going in reverse.
of double and triple glazing to mention but a few.
Carbon emissions are rising. After falling as result of the dash-for-gas period during
What remains is a need to apply these solutions with vigour and as a guiding the Conservative years, they are now back to the same level they were when Labour
principle for Labour in power. If we accept now that the Earth can no longer supply took office in 1997. The Government’s domestic target of a 20% cut on carbon
more and more people with more and more energy forever, without consequence, dioxide emissions is now seriously under threat and the UK is also in danger of
then the obvious strategic response is to eliminate wasteful energy use and maximise missing its wider Kyoto target for greenhouse gas reductions. At the same time the
localised generation. number of households in fuel poverty are climbing.
In much the same way as the switch to Digital is something we require of citizens Reductions in the numbers affected were achieved by rising incomes and falling
for the ‘greater’ good, so we must drive the switch to efficient home energy use and energy prices. This has now gone into reverse with average domestic gas prices rising
production for a much more important greater good. by nearly 18% in 2004 and 12% in 2005 whilst electricity prices rose by 13% and 8%
over the same period (energywatch). A number of energy suppliers announced further
In 2030 home buyers will avoid those homes that only use energy, valuing those
hikes in January of this year. Consequently fuel poverty groups have estimated that a
that minimise the energy they use and maximising the energy they generate at the
million households have fallen back into fuel poverty (NEA/National Right to Fuel
home – energy efficient, cost effective and energy productive homes will be the
Campaign) with only four years to go to meet the Government’s target of abolishing
sustainable expectation.
fuel poverty in vulnerable households.
Security of supply concerns have heightened over a number of areas: the UK’s move
to be a domestic gas importer; lack of new generation plant coming on stream; whilst
the majority of coal and nuclear plant are to be phased out. And to compound the
Government’s problems, concerns over security of supply were heightened by the
recent stand-off between Russia and the Ukraine over gas supplies. Inevitably, rising
prices and insecure energy supplies have impacted upon the UK’s economic
12 13
competitiveness, with major industrial groups dominating newspaper headlines. running beneath the streets. Once this infrastructure is in place it is possible to
incorporate high efficiency Combined Heat & Power (CHP) as well as utilising waste
Furthermore, the Government also seeks to reduce the cost of housing by
heat from industry and renewable energy sources of heat such as biomass, geothermal
increasing the supply of new built homes, particularly for key workers, in our
and others. In Denmark nearly 60% of all buildings are heated in this way and in
towns and cities. Presently, over a quarter of UK carbon dioxide emissions are
urban areas, such as cities including Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki, over 98%
from the household sector and this is likely increase with the extra homes to be
of all buildings are connected to such heat networks.
built under the Sustainable Communities Plan. A study undertaken for DEFRA in
2004 found that the new housing would increase total UK domestic sector carbon Article 5 of the EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings requires new
dioxide emissions by 20% over 2001 levels and the Environmental Audit buildings over 1000 m2 to investigate the feasibility of this technology at design
Committee have been highly critical of ODPM for failing to make the Sustainable stage. This was to be introduced into the recently revised Building Regulations and
Communities Plan truly sustainable. What can be done to meet these challenges the Sustainable Homes Code but they are silent on this requirement.
whilst improving the supply of affordable homes?
The UK has the potential to follow suite. A study undertaken for the Energy Saving
It is necessary to recognise, a fact virtually forgotten by policy makers, that Trust found, depending upon certain economic conditions, that 5.5 million homes
about 80% of energy used in the household sector is for the provision of heat could be connected to community heating networks. That is 25% of the housing
(Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution). Increasing the proportion of stock (Potential for Community Heating in the UK 2003). Using heat consumption
nuclear electricity in the generation mix will actually do little to address this data from 1996 English House Condition Survey, the study developed heat density
requirement or deliver the Energy White Paper goal of “ensuring all homes are maps for each postcode are of the country.
adequately and affordably heated”. The EWP placed energy efficiency at the heart
Various other bodies have recognised this opportunity. The Royal Commission on
of UK energy policy “identifying the efficient use of energy as the most cost-
Environmental Pollution calls for the development of heat networks. The House
effective way to meet all four of our energy goals”. However, Government
of Lords Science & Technology Committee recommends that:
efforts to date have been lacklustre.
“ODPM encourages local authorities an developers to incorporate
Improving the building standards of new housing is fundamentally important. community heating as standard in all new build projects”.
To this end ODPM has introduced revised Part L of the Building Regulations (2006)
And the recent Biomass Taskforce report to Government recommends:
covering the conservation of heat and power. Furthermore, developing the work
of the Sustainable Buildings Task Force, ODPM in December 2005 has issued the “Government should encourage local authorities to use the planning gain principle to
establish district heating systems, based on biomass and other renewables, which are
Sustainable Homes Code for consultation. Although these steps are anticipated to
underdeveloped in the UK and have potential in new build”.
reduce carbon emissions by 25% more than previous Building Regulations, they
The Greater London Authority has taken a lead in responding to this encouragement.
will still not achieve anywhere near levels observed in Scandinavian standards.
The Mayor’s Energy Strategy recognises that heat is the largest single energy demand
However, tight building regulations are only part of the story for the
in London and has developed a hierarchy of heating options that developers must
Scandinavians. The provision of heating services through district or community
consider in order to gain planning permission. Community heating and CHP are given
heating grids is common in most Northern European countries. Heat generated
priority. The hierarchy is reflected in the Spatial Development Plan and
in centralised heat stations is distributed to individual buildings via heat mains
14 15
The Case for Recycled Houses

David Ireland
Supplementary Planning Guidance. This has had a real impact upon developers who There is much debate about reducing CO2 emissions from housing,
are required to submit an energy strategy alongside their planning applications. The but does part of the answer lie in recycling empty homes?
energy strategies are scrutinised by technically qualified officers who will enforce
Green buildings it seems are very much in vogue these days. Housing developments
priority given to community heating and CHP.
such as the inspirational BedZED in south London and Alpine Close in Maidenhead
Additionally the GLA has undertaken an investigation to identify the opportunities for have set new benchmarks in housing design. Perhaps in years to come housing like
community heating in London. This covers both existing buildings and new build. This this will be seen to architecturally define this green age in the way that modernism
information will be made available for developers and energy companies and the GLA and art deco styles defined the beginning of the last century. Wonderful as these
will be encouraging them to act upon it. projects are, there is a danger of us giving them too much attention. The point we
often forget about new architectural styles is that they only ever make up a tiny
The challenge is to encourage other planning authorities to follow the lead set by
proportion of the existing building stock. Buildings last a long time. So whilst the
London. Certainly the powers exist for them to do so. Last year ODPM issued a new
environmental benefits of BedZED and Alpine Close are infinitely superior to more
PPS 1 that encourages them to:
conventional designs, the difference they make to the country’s overall carbon
“promote resource and energy efficient buildings; community heating schemes, emissions is miniscule. To achieve truly sustainable housing we need to consider
the use of combined heat and power, small scale renewable and low carbon
how we can improve the existing housing stock as well.
energy schemes in developments”
A frequently used response is that persuading reluctant owners to upgrade their

The Oxford Environmental Change Institute has investigated what measures need property and disrupting occupiers makes it too difficult to improve existing homes.
to be implemented in order for the Government to hit the target of a 60% carbon Some eminent voices are saying that there’s no point anyway, our old housing stock is
dioxide reduction by 2050. Their report, the ‘40% House’, envisages that 22 % of beyond redemption and we should take radical action and demolish large proportions
all homes will need to be connected to community heating with CHP. If more of it and rebuild. But are we overlooking an important point? My argument is that the
developers and local planning authorities follow London this could be a reality. very greenest housing is not new BedZED style homes but recycled and improved old
Government needs to provide a lead through stronger guidance in national homes. Let me explain:
planning policy to make this happen.
Our housing stock may be old but that doesn’t mean that it’s had its day. Houses are
almost unique amongst man-made goods in that they are built to last longer than us.
Most of us will get through several cars, TVs, washing machines, and mobile phones in
our lifetimes. But whilst we may move from house to house, none of us expect to
demolish our home every few years. The normal rules of our consumer society don’t
apply to houses. In fact most of us like old houses best. Estate agents will tell you
that in most places Victorian houses sell for a premium of 10 to 25% over newer
houses. Far from being on their last legs, many of the oldest houses in our country are
coveted gems lovingly restored and maintained. Of course there are many old houses
16 17
that are beyond hope and need to be replaced, but the overall picture shows housing There are many more factors that are more difficult to quantify. New build housing
improving. The English house condition survey shows unfitness levels falling year on demands new infrastructure, new roads, shops, and car parks. Once they are built they
year, and the decent homes standard is driving improvement in the social sector. require more journeys to be undertaken to get to them and back. Building, even on
brown-field sites, cause loss of biodiversity, and loss of carbon absorbing plants. One
Secondly there are very large environmental implications to building new houses.
thing that can be quantified is the financial cost. A recent ODPM study showed that
Whilst the amount of energy people use in their homes creates an enormous amount
infrastructure costs for each new house amounted to £35,000 - £45,000 that’s largely
of carbon dioxide it’s far from the only factor in domestic housing. House building
met by public subsidy at the moment. Refurbishing an existing house on the other
itself produces huge amounts too. The way to understand this is through a concept
hand would avoid the need for most of the costs because in most cases the
called embodied energy. Each component of a house has caused energy to be
infrastructure is already in place.
consumed in order to get it there. Most energy is consumed in production and
transport. So natural materials like timber and stone will have low embodied energy, So is there potential for recycled homes? The government thinks so. In their response to
their production was largely natural with just a bit of cutting and preparation. Other Kate Barker’s review of housing supply the Treasury stated that the government sees
materials like bricks require large amounts of energy through extracting the clay and returning empty homes to use as making an important contribution to increasing
firing it. Transportation energy costs vary according to how heavy the material is and housing supply. There are 300,00 long term empty homes in England that could be
how far it’s come. So stone imported from China will have caused more energy to be brought back into use plus the potential for 400,000 homes that could be created out
consumed than stone bought from a local quarry. of empty commercial property. Most are in need of some remedial work. But recent
studies in London and Kent suggest that average refurbishment costs are in the region
The total embodied energy in building a house can be added up. For what it’s
of £10,000 per house; substantially less than building a new house. A bit of extra
worth it’s normally about 90,000kWh for a new family house. Comparing that with
investment at this stage could improve the insulation performance to something
refurbishing a house let’s take a typical £40,000 refurbishment of a derelict three
approaching that of a new house. Some schemes such as Kreuzberg project in Berlin
bedroom semi. A refurbishment of this kind would use about 15,000kWh
have even achieved insulation performance as good as some of the best new eco homes.
of embodied energy,
Of course any method of creating homes has financial and environmental costs but in
In addition, a factor often overlooked is the amount of carbon dioxide given off in
the recycle versus new build debate recycling nearly always comes out on top. Existing
the chemical reactions in the production of cement. Approximately one tonne of
houses usually have their infrastructure in place meaning savings in public subsidy.
carbon dioxide is given off for every tonne of cement produced. The average new
Refurbishment however extensive usually retains the parts of the building with highest
build house uses 25 tonnes of concrete for foundations and floors, 4 tonnes of
embodied energy costs, the walls and foundations. They require far less cement than
cement for mortar and rendering and about 1 tonne is wasted. That produces an
new build houses; they don’t cause the loss of land, people like them more, and they’re
astonishing 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Refurbishment on the other hand usually
cheaper. So perhaps the architectural style that would best represent the green
uses a tonne or two at most. Add the cement and the embodied energy costs and in
housing age is not a modern icon like BedZED at all but a recycled house.
total that means that building a new house creates about the same amount of carbon
dioxide as driving a family car around the world 6 times (93 tonnes). Refurbishing an David Ireland Is author of How to Rescue a House (Penguin 2005) and policy advisor
old one produces about the equivalent of driving to the USA and back (11 tonnes). to the Empty Homes Agency.
18 19
7: Promoting Better Practice

Marianne Hood, Labour Housing Group
Much progress has been made in policy and practice linking housing and energy in Learning from the ‘Beacons’
recent years. At the EU level this includes the Energy Performance of Buildings
In 2005, ‘Beacon’ status was given to a number of local authorities in urban and rural
Directive, the draft Energy Services Directive and possibly extending the Emissions
areas for their excellent and innovative practice in providing affordable housing and
Trading Scheme to include ‘white certificates’ for carbon savings arising from energy
sustainable energy. These authorities, who demonstrated an integrated approach to
efficiency measures. In the UK, much policy on housing, energy efficiency, and fuel
housing and energy policy and practice, worked with a range of public and private
poverty is devolved. Key areas of progress include revisions to the Building Regulations
partners and involved local residents in improving the quality of life for people in
(now increasingly retrofit as well as new build, for example boilers and glazing), HECA,
their communities. Lessons from the ‘Beacons’ should be used to help develop and
Energy Efficient Commitments (EEC), Warm Front (for fuel poverty in England and its
promote an integrated approach to housing and energy policy and practice.
devolved equivalents), Decent Homes, Defra’s Market Transformation Programme (with
mandatory and voluntary agreements for products), and Energy Saving Recommended London Borough of Greenwich
labelling. This progress should be considered in the context of the dramatic changes
Greenwich has developed an integrated approach linking its environmental and
over the last 50 years. In 1955 coal use dominated all the UK’s non-transport energy
housing strategies. The council’s Housing Capital Programme involves tenants, staff
demand – for open coal fires, boilers, power generation, gas production, the railways
and Members interviewing and assessing contractors on their ability to support
etc. Domestic central heating was a rarity. The housing stock was uninsulated, with no
delivery of the Council’s environmental agenda. The partnering contract enables the
loft or cavity wall insulation, we had no thermostats, no double glazing and perhaps
Council to introduce specific requirements for environmental performance for
the poorest building regulations in NW Europe. At the time of writing, recent, and
contractors to adhere to. The aim is for the delivery of Capital works to progressively
imminent, announcements include the Energy Efficiency Innovation Review, the
meet more and more demanding sustainability requirements as the partnering
Climate Change Programme Review, a strategy on microgeneration, revisions to EEC,
arrangement develops over time.
and a new Energy Policy Review in the late summer of 2006.
The Council is also introducing an Environmental Management System into the
The developments in housing and energy provision show the importance
Strategy Division of Neighbourhood Services with a supporting audit programme and
of fully integrating policy and practice in order to deliver sustainable communities for
a system of control against which services can be certified in terms of environmental
the future. The rate of replacement of our current housing stock makes a focus on
performance by an (external) third party. The main issues include waste management,
existing homes as important, if not more important than the provision of new homes.
use of 'green' products, installation of energy efficient systems, dealing with localised
Many of the poorest people in our communities live in the most deprived areas with
pollution and the impact on local biodiversity. All of these issues are priorities for the
the poorest quality homes – and more of these homes are in the private than the
Council and the contractor's ability to tackle them will be an important criterion for
public sector. In addressing the need for good quality homes for the future, our
selection.
policies and strategies for sustainable communities need to ensure that homes are
affordable from the wider social, economic and environmental perspective. Greenwich’s Sustainable Development Unit is responsible for advancing the
environmental agenda within Neighbourhood Services and as part of corporate
initiatives. The work programme includes: investigating use of biomass within the
borough; developing a holistic environmental investment project; use of Photovoltaic
20 21
(solar) for communal lighting systems; review of the use of uPVC Windows with a particular, disabled or sick tenants receive priority over able-bodied people. There is
view to adopting more sustainable alternative products; use of Combined Heat and also a hotline to the local Energy Efficiency Advice Centre that tenants can ring if
Power community heating systems. Within the Decent Homes programme, Greenwich’s they become aware of the scheme through word of mouth and would like to be put
Technical Services are planning to use green roofs to replace failing flat roofs. Finally, forward for installation. The focus of HEP has now altered to the replacement of
the Council is introducing a ‘Communication Strategy’ to raise awareness of elderly and inefficient heating systems, which are identified by the Gas Technical
sustainability issues among the borough's residents. Unit and the Stock Condition Survey.
Leicester Once a property has had the package installed, the details of the work undertaken
are entered onto the council’s database and a level 0 NHER survey is then periodically
Leicester City Council used thermal imaging technology to show which buildings in
undertaken to assess energy efficiency improvements to council stock. The HEP has
the city were poorly insulated and to identify priority areas for a new loft insulation
been enhanced by linking in not only with Warm Front, but also Energy Efficiency
programme. Leicester’s ‘Hot Lofts’ scheme offers free loft and cavity wall insulation
Commitment schemes. Under the latter, London Electricity has spent approximately
for all households in the designated priority areas. These measures have successfully
£500,000 on insulation in council properties, offered 2 lower energy light bulbs to
improved energy efficiency and energy costs for households and have helped reduce
all new tenants and some low energy pendant lamps in all properties. British Gas
carbon dioxide emissions across the city.
has also recently supported the programme.
Lewisham
Once all residents have access to affordable warmth, the Borough will be able to
The London Borough of Lewisham has, for the past nine years, been implementing focus on the very long-term picture when micro Combined Heat and Power and
a ‘Housing Energy Programme’ (HEP) aimed at eradicating fuel poverty amongst its local renewable energy may be viable.
own tenants. The programme involves a package of measures being installed including
Cornwall
gas central heating, insulation, compact fluorescent light bulbs, thermostatic radiator
valves and mechanical extractor fans. Since 1994, the Council has spent over £30 Working in partnership is vital to tackling the problems of fuel poverty and affordable
million on domestic central heating and energy efficiency work. Lewisham has a housing that can present significant problems in rural areas. The Cornwall Sustainable
policy target of installing affordable heating in all properties by 2015. Optimistically, Energy Partnership, instigated by the eight councils of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly,
the Council has also set a target of the same for all housing in the Borough, brings together over 80 key organisations to develop policies and active sustainable
regardless of tenure. energy programmes. Members of the Partnership include all the local authorities
(who now play a leading role), Health Trusts and Housing Associations, and many of
With limited resources, the Council wanted to direct measures to those most in need.
the business organisations, and community, education, renewable energy and energy
Approximately one-third of public stock was known to require central heating in
efficiency organisations in the county.
1994. The existing council property databases were fed into a National Home Energy
Rating (NHER) auto-evaluator software package which assigned all properties an Cornwall lacks gas across large parts of the county, has many ‘hard-to-treat’ homes,
NHER rating. Initially, those properties with the lowest rating were prioritised for has a large number of older, detached properties, has high numbers of households
installations, but personal circumstances are now taken into account as well. In on low incomes and much privately rented accommodation. The Partnership has
22 23
had very positive results in reducing fuel poverty throughout Cornwall. Renewal Funding for Energy Efficiency
In 1995, the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Health Authority made a grant of £300,000 Along side the above scheme a consortium bid was submitted to the South West
available to district councils to install central heating and insulation in selected Housing Board on behalf of North Cornwall District Council and four of the other
homes where children were suffering from asthma. The Cornwall Sustainable Energy Cornish District Councils by CSEP. North Cornwall District Council had already been
Partnership followed up this initiative by developing a programme known as ‘Home running an innovative and successful zero interest loan scheme to fund energy
Health’ to offer free energy efficiency measures to households in areas identified as efficiency improvements for several years (funded by the Energy Saving Trust HEC
having high levels of social deprivation. The measures include cavity wall insulation, Action programme). The funding from the consortium bid enabled further loan
loft insulation, and in some cases free central heating and condensing boilers. Free schemes to be developed and aimed at those particularly in fuel poverty. NCDC have
‘energy efficient’ compact fluorescent light bulbs are also provided. The measures are been able to assist home-owners and landlords with tenants in fuel poverty to install
part funded by the utility companies as part of the Energy Efficient Commitment energy efficient central heating. All Authorities have contributed through the
imposed on them by the Government, with the balance from local authorities. The Renewal Funding and Officer time to finding ways of reducing fuel poverty and
success of the scheme resulted from the close working with the community to hold improving energy efficiency within the County.
awareness raising events and the work of the health authority and General
Conclusion
Practitioners in helping many of the most vulnerable to come forward for assistance.
Further support has been gained via funding from ODPM as part of a ‘local public The Beacon examples show the importance of interaction between professionals
service agreement’ to fund the management of expanding the Home Health projects working in the fields of housing, energy efficiency and fuel poverty and the overall
across the county. importance of partnership working. The Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership
believes that it is essential for their multi-sector sub-regional partnership approach to
As an incentive to encourage take-up of insulation installations a holistic package
be repeated throughout the UK if sustainable energy targets are to be met
was devised so that other services could be offered to the poor and vulnerable. These
in the most inclusive, efficient, cost-effective way.
included free home security checks, advice on government benefits, and referrals to
charities. In the period up to March 2005, there were a large number of referrals to The Beacons also show the importance of tackling energy efficiency problems in the
charities associated with helping the elderly, the young, and those with disabilities. In older ‘hard-to-treat’ housing stock for the fuel poor as well as the fuel rich and the
this way insulation was installed where the household may not have requested it if it need to adopt a ‘whole house’ approach to energy efficiency –and this means we will
was the only measure on offer. The package also gave the scheme greater credibility have to be prepared to discuss the difficult issue of whether or not we need higher
because of the range of organisations and charities involved, it offered less disruption rates of demolition!
to the residents and was a more joined-up and efficient way for partners to deliver
competing projects. It also created an opportunity for the team to give fuel poverty
training to other service providers and to set up cross-referral networks.
24 25
Housing and Sustainable Energy in Wales

Keith Edwards, CIH Cymru
‘Sustainable Development is not an option that will go away – it is the only way forward’ In addition, new social housing is subject to two further requirements. All new
Rhodri Morgan, First Minister, Welsh Assembly Government properties form April 2001 must be built to Lifetime Homes standards based on 16
design features to meet the changing need of households. These cover access to the
The Welsh Assembly Government has laid great store on the fact that sustainable property, internal design and fixtures and fittings.
development is one of its three founding principles, alongside equality of opportunity
Secondly, Development Quality Requirements (DQR) apply to all housing association
and promoting social inclusion. This is the starting point for any understanding of
properties based on ensuring all homes are of good quality, energy efficient and
how housing and sustainable energy are being dealt with in Wales.
adaptable to changing household need and underpinned by detailed technical
A commitment in principle was followed up in March 2004 when the Assembly requirements. Following a detailed consultation exercise, revised DQR guidance
launched its Sustainable Development Scheme under the Government of Wales Act. was issued in 2005 to take into account
An annual report on progress is based on 12 headline indicators including the impact
• new requirements on CO2 emissions
of consumption and the level of deprivation in Wales, neatly illustrating that
• the Assembly’s sustainable development scheme
sustainability is about both the physical environment and people – and encapsulating
• changes to building regulations
in turn how this has panned out in relation to housing and energy efficiency.
The first national housing strategy Better Homes for People in Wales illustrates this Two recent reports deal with sustainable housing and the environment. The Welsh
point. It was drawn up following the widest ever consultation exercise with genuine Development Agency published Creating Sustainable Places to encourage the
participation of the Welsh housing community. Consequently the strategy, as well as agency’s partners to ‘share its aspirations for design quality and sustainability’. Design
providing a strong central vision for everyone in Wales to have access to good quality Statements will now be required for all regeneration projects and these will cover a
affordable housing, also covers a wide range of aspirations – including establishing range of issues including resource use, energy efficiency and compliance with the
housing standards that encapsulate energy efficiency and eradicating fuel poverty. BRE Environmental Assessment Method.
The Welsh Housing Quality Standard covers most of the areas included in the English In 2005 The World Wildlife Fund published Building a Future: a strategy for
and Scottish standards. For example in relation to thermal efficiency by 2012 all local sustainable housing as part of its campaign to ensure that one million new and
authority and housing association homes in Wales should be ‘adequately heated, fuel refurbished sustainable homes are developed across the UK by 2012. There are a range
efficient and well insulated’. It goes beyond the standards elsewhere in the UK in a of recommendations including ones dealing with renewable energy, zero carbon / zero
number of areas, with specific requirements in relation to housing management, waste performance, climate change and future proofing
meeting the needs of individual households and the wider environment, requiring
all homes to be ‘located in attractive and safe environment – in many ways the most
challenging requirement of all!
26 27
Worryingly the evaluation concluded that a 30% increase in fuel costs – no longer
Good Practice
unthinkable – would wipe out any of the HEES gains and return every household to
Mount Estate, Pembrokeshire
fuel poverty. The evaluation concluded that energy efficiency measures alone could
The estate has very high deprivation levels with 85% of households to some extent dependent on
not hope to eradicate fuel poverty.
benefits. The West Wales ECO centre in partnership with residents association and financial support
from the EC INTERREG programme employed an Energy Efficiency Advisor. The project initially
The lessons from Wales are therefore consistent with experience elsewhere in the UK.
involved distributing low energy light bulbs and giving support and advice on energy saving
Energy efficient measures and ecologically sound approaches to housing management
measures and insulation. They are currently conducting a feasibility study into generating cheaper
electricity by constructing a wind turbine on land adjacent to the estate and development are hugely important issues. However they cannot be disconnected
from wider issues of social deprivation of which fuel poverty is a particularly insidious
Plas Y Mor, Carmarthenshire
form. Much more needs to be done to tackle poverty and exclusion and this should be
A partnership project between the Gwalia Housing Group, Carmarthenshire Council and the
the centrepiece of all our work in this area
Assembly this Extra Care scheme has many energy efficient features integrated into the design and
resulting in cost savings for residents
Angelina Street, Cardiff references:
This development pioneered the use of solar thermal panels and flax roof insulation and is based on Better Homes For People in Wales / National Housing Strategy / Welsh Assembly Government
sustainability principles http://www.housing.wales.gov.uk/pdf.asp?a=a2

Fuel Poverty in Wales / Welsh Assembly Government
available at: www.housing.wales.gov.uk/index.asp?task+rreports
Interim evaluation of HEES / Welsh assembly Government
A major theme of the Assembly from its inception has been the eradication of fuel
Available at: www.housing.wales.gov.uk/index.asp?task+rreports
poverty, recognising it as one of the main manifestations of social disadvantage in
relation to housing. Fuel poverty affects households who have to spend more than
10% of their income to heat their homes The national housing strategy Better Homes
estimated that 220 thousand households fell into this category. Research carried out
in 2005 for the Assembly suggested this was a serious underestimate with 31%
affected and 6% spending over a fifth of household income and therefore
categorised as being in severe fuel poverty.
The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES) is the Assembly’s main mechanism for
eradicating fuel poverty amongst vulnerable households. An interim evaluation of
how effective the scheme had been highlighted mixed results. On the one hand, only
29% of HEES recipients were fuel poor – raising serious issues about more effective
targeting. On the other hand, over half of those considered to be living in fuel
poverty were lifted out of that category following HEES support, and average SAP
ratings of homes rose as a consequence form 44 to 58.
28 29
Decent Homes in a Sustainable

Environment: Priorities for Labour Policy
Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP
Fifty years ago the guiding principles of Labour housing policy were simple, clear escape route. So what are the lessons for today? What should be the guiding
and wrong. Of course they responded to the most visible problems of that era – a principles on which a progressive Labour housing policy should be founded?
serious postwar housing shortage, a huge legacy of substandard slum properties and There are four key priorities.
the apparent inability of private landlords to manage their stock responsibly. But the
We should never again allow preoccupation with numbers to override issues of
solutions devised at that time laid the foundations for the very problems which we
quality. Housing policy does not exist in a vacuum but must be developed together
are now wrestling to overcome. Insensitive slum clearance programmes destroyed
with wider economic, environmental and social policies to secure sustainability. Rather
communities while large mono-tenure council estates created environments which
than allowing tenure to divide, we need to develop well integrated communities that
rapidly transformed from ones where politicians vied to be photographed handing
provide for a range of different needs. Instead of expecting people to fit into
over keys to grateful tenants, into one where politicians vied to be photographed
predetermined patterns of provision, we need policies which respond to their
pressing the demolition button. At the same time indiscriminate and indifferently
aspirations and changing needs in the course of their lifecycle.
designed greenfield developments of low-density executive houses gave the English
language the memorable phrase ‘concreting over the countryside’, and fuelled All of these may superficially sound uncontentious but once one digs below the
an anti-housing backlash. surface it becomes clear that there are many serious current obstacles which if not
faced and removed could frustrate the achievement of a truly effective progressive
In a context where performance was judged by numbers, quality was the obvious
housing policy. Indeed if we do not heed the warnings we could well find ourselves
casualty while sustainability and energy efficiency rarely if ever got a look in. Much
once again repeating the mistakes made by previous generations.
of the social housing built as part of the mass-housing programme of that era
suffered from abysmal energy efficiency standards and was expensive and hard to Let’s start with the issue of quality. While the argument for improving standards is
keep warm in winter. rarely challenged openly, there are several siren voices which if heeded will lead us in
the opposite direction. In the first place, concerns about unmet housing needs and
In their haste to drive out the villains, exemplified by the landlord whose name,
house price inflation as articulated in the Barker Report are generating renewed
Rachman, is synonymous with the era, politicians and planners failed to understand
interest in housing numbers, and creating a climate where the success or failure of
the damage that would be caused by reducing the diversity of tenure and housing
current growth area policies could be judged solely by the quantity of houses
options on which any modern society depends. In their misplaced confidence that
delivered. The risk of a return to the ‘numbers game’ which characterized housing
bureaucratic allocation and management systems could best reflect need and deliver
policy in the 50s, 60s and 70s is obvious. We also need to be mindful that current
fairness, housing managers ignored the aspirations of the people for whom they were
space standards in British housing are lagging seriously behind on international
supposedly working. In consequence as soon as the option arrived, whether through
comparisons, that there is still a long way to go to improve energy efficiency
increased affluence or the Right to Buy, armies of tenants opted out of the public
particularly in our existing housing stock and that the quality of design of much new
sector and gave the Tory party their electoral hegemony of the early 1980s.
housing, despite some notable exceptions, is, to put it generously, unimaginative.
Looking back on this history is a salutary reminder that high ideals and massive
So we need to be unequivocal in our commitment to quality, even if this does mean
investment can lead not to the intended new Jerusalem but rather to a veritable
fewer homes than might otherwise be built in the short term. Sacrificing quality to
minefield of unintended consequences from which we are now having to chart an
quantity is almost always a mistake as the recent demolition of so much mass housing
30 31
built in the last 50 years demonstrates. The issue of quality applies equally to public Sustainability is a hugely important concept for housing policy, but is often quoted
and private sector provision. Indeed we should as far as possible be ‘tenure blind’ in without being fully understood. While environmental considerations play a significant
promoting higher standards. There is scope, as John Prescott’s £60,000 home initiative part in defining sustainability, so too do economic and social factors. A development
shows, to use the public sector procurement muscle to influence private sector achieving exceptional environmental standards but in which the residents were unable
providers. The focus on innovation and quality in this initiative has been a useful to find work or from which large sections of the local community were excluded
reminder that measures designed to drive down costs and achieve value for money would not justify the label ‘sustainable’. So a holistic approach, recognizing the need
do not necessarily mean compromising design or construction standards. to meet economic, environmental and social objectives is essential.
There are however two critical issues where a misunderstanding of lessons from the Housing provision does need to respond to economic realities; it is simply unrealistic
past could put at risk the drive to improve quality. These are respectively the use of to argue as some do that reducing house building in the south will help direct
modern methods of construction and the density of new housing developments. development to the north where it is needed. This is not to accept that the market
Because ‘system building’ acquired such a bad name through association with alone should determine where and how many homes should be provided.
substandard mass council housing schemes of the 1960s and 1970s, some housing Government, nationally, regionally and locally, has a key role to play in supporting
commentators have been wary of modern methods of construction (MMC). Timber- economic development, particularly in our more disadvantaged areas and in ensuring
frame construction which held out the prospect of far greater energy efficiency than that new housing is planned to meet sustainable criteria. But building new houses in
traditionally built homes, equally faced huge obstacles in recovering from the adverse an area where there is no demand in the hope that this will attract new economic
publicity of the 1980’s television critique. In both cases the systems were blamed as investment is as foolish as the NIMBY refusal to countenance further housing
inherently unsound when the real problems were poor design or shoddy construction. development in regions of strong growth.
MMC holds out the potential of significant improvements in quality which can be
Housing can make a huge contribution to the regeneration of depressed areas, but it
achieved more easily in factory conditions than on sites exposed to an unpredictable
cannot alone reverse the trends that have led to decline where the problems are more
climate and other variables. In the longer term, as programmes expand and confidence
deep-seated. Successful regeneration depends on well-integrated approaches that
grows, there is also scope for significant cost savings through scale of production.
address the multiple causes of deprivation and provide a comprehensive response.
Higher density is not necessarily an obstacle to high quality as the example of 18th
Given the finite land supply in most parts of Britain and the legitimate concern of
century Georgian terrace housing demonstrates. Conversely low density can be a real
many organizations and individuals to avoid unnecessary loss of open countryside,
threat to sustainability where commuter villages are dependent on the motor car and
there is obvious merit in maintaining strong pressure for reuse of urban brownfield
cannot support their own shops or social amenities. So the challenge is to raise
sites wherever possible. This can also provide a strong impetus for improvement of
densities from the artificially low levels which prevailed in the 80s and early 90s and
older homes and regeneration in areas of urban decline. However, two caveats
which did contribute to ‘concreting over the countryside’, while not compromising the
must be entered.
viability of communities. Developments which only comprise apartments because of
high density requirements are as threatening to long-term sustainability objectives First, it is essential that urban redevelopment schemes enhance the attractiveness of
and community cohesion, as the executive houses which made such profligate use the areas and provide sustainable outcomes. As emphasised above there must be no
of greenfield sites in the second half of the 20th century. compromise with quality simply to maximise numbers. Urban cramming without
32 33
regard to the quality of the environment being created is not the way forward. which incorporate new areas of parkland and open space are transforming heavily
Romantic images of high-density housing in Tuscan hill towns or other European polluted and abandoned former industrial sites into attractive and desirable places
contexts are not an adequate basis for urban housing plans in the UK. Equally to live, work and relax. We need to do more to publicise the benefits of such
unjustified is the pressure from some quarters to preserve existing housing in all developments as a counter to the anti-housing NIMBY lobby.
circumstances, even when the properties are unfit and impossible to convert to
One of the most damaging legacies of 20th century housing policy was the
acceptable modern standards. This is not to argue for a return to the bulldozer.
segregation of communities by tenure divisions. Huge mono-tenure estates, whether
It is however a recognition that some replacement of chronically substandard
for social renting or owner-occupation, reinforced social division and in some cases
older housing should play a part in the process of urban regeneration.
aggravated stigma and disadvantage. So rightly we are now seeking to achieve mixed
Second, there will continue to be a requirement for greenfield development to meet developments with a range of different tenure options on all significant new sites.
needs in rural areas and in locations where brownfield options are simply not Opportunities to rent both from a social housing provider and a private landlord and
available. Greenfield development is not in itself inherently undesirable – our finest to buy whether outright, on a mortgage or through low-cost home ownership options
and most sought after housing schemes all stand on land that was undeveloped at should increasingly be seen as the normal pattern, as indeed it is in many long-
some stage in the past. The key is to ensure that new development enhances the established communities. So too should be the provision of a range of different
environment and is planned sensitively so as to meet sustainability criteria. home sizes and types, with provision for family housing, smaller units for single
people and childless couples and more specialist accommodation for the elderly
As part of this process we need to ensure that new and refurbished homes achieve
or others with special needs.
high standards of energy efficiency, minimize carbon usage and emissions and do not
impose undesirable pressures on the wider environment. The importance of measures to Indeed we should go further in seeking to blur and overcome the divisions that have
raise the environmental performance of existing homes cannot be over-emphasised. characterized past patterns of housing provision. Why should home-owners alone
However good our new schemes are, and sadly examples such BedZed are still the benefit from rising property values? Should not tenants be able to share some of the
exception, the impact they can make on reducing emissions is relatively modest when increased equity in their home, or to begin to acquire a stake as do shared-owners?
the total number of new homes built in any year represents only around 0.8% of the Conversely why should home owners not be able to benefit from dependable equity
country’s total housing stock. In addition to energy efficiency, other environmental release schemes which enable them to receive supportive services to help keep them
considerations need to be taken into account including the risk of flooding or natural in comfort in their existing home in their old age? A far more flexible approach to
disasters and sustainable transport arrangements. These are of course crucially tenure, where changes are possible to meet varying needs and aspirations is
important considerations in major growth areas such as the Thames Gateway. unquestionably part of tomorrow’s agenda.
There are several fine examples of impressive new developments which meet these Diversity rather than monopoly provision is an important safeguard of standards.
criteria – in my own constituency for example the regeneration schemes at the Royal The more pluralist social housing framework which now exists with a range of
Arsenal, Woolwich and the Greenwich Peninsula, including the Millennium Village, are separate providers including local authorities, ALMOs and housing associations is
creating large numbers of new homes, meeting high environmental standards, in already helping to incentivise landlords to improve their performance and to make
mixed communities on formerly brownfield sites. In the process these developments them more responsive to the aspirations of residents. This must continue. Fears have
34 35
been expressed that as the main developing housing associations get larger they could communities to exercise more influence over the way their areas are managed. This
begin to face the problems which affected several large local authorities two decades does not imply the imposition of new neighbourhood governance structures. The
or more ago where scale appeared to be a barrier to effective local management. The approach should be permissive and supportive, enabling local communities to assume
risk is perhaps offset by the extent to which the stock of most large associations is responsibilities if they wish to do so, using a range of different governance models,
spread over a number of different areas, so they are less likely than local authorities, including neighbourhood forums, parish or town councils and tenants and residents
except in the case of LSVTs, to have a near-monopoly holding. However, there are associations. Specifically in respect of housing, co-operative or resident controlled
risks that growth could lead to less accessible and less sensitive management and the housing options should be available with support to facilitate the establishment of
maintenance of rigorous comparative inspection regimes and the empowerment of new bodies and to help them through the often complex and challenging early
residents are both important safeguards. stages of taking on greater responsibility for their communities.
Community cohesion has rightly come up the policy agenda in recent years amid Even where residents do not wish to assume new responsibilities, there must be a
fears of racial segregation in certain parts of the country. While the more lurid claims clear presumption that landlords and in particular social housing providers will listen
have not been based on sound evidence – indeed there is some evidence to the carefully to the concerns and aspirations of their tenants with effective measures in
contrary – it is nevertheless true that we ignore the issue of community cohesion at place to facilitate user feedback and consultation.
our peril. Measures designed to reduce the social segregation which flowed from past
As in most other fields the ‘one size fits all’ model is hopelessly outdated in respect of
tenure divisions will, over time, help to minimize the pressures which have led to
housing provision and management and a range of tenure products and management
concentrations of disadvantaged groups from particular ethnic backgrounds in highly
systems need to be developed that respond to individual needs and aspirations.
stigmatized locations. But it would be a mistake to assume that this process will
occur naturally without any need for positive action. Identifying and tackling The extension of choice into the allocations process for social housing has helped to
disadvantage wherever it is located is fundamental to a progressive housing and social transfer the service from one in which applicants were treated as passive recipients
policy and the work of the Social Exclusion and Neighbourhood Renewal Units over of bureaucratic systems to one where they themselves can actively look for solutions
the past eight years has done a great deal to develop imaginative new responses and that meet their own preferences. In the process this has helped to change the
to build confidence that the problems can be overcome. However, this is not a static relationship between providers and customers from one in which an unhealthy
situation. While some areas have already benefited visibly from well-targeted policy dependency culture too often prevailed into one where service providers rightly see
initiatives, others have succumbed to new problems or unforeseen consequences. their role as responding to the wishes of the service users. A further benefit is that
Crucial to success in the years ahead will be continuing close engagement with service users are in the process more likely to exercise realistic choice about available
diverse communities at a local level and measures designed to help them to guide options rather than holding out for perhaps unrealistic solutions. In turn this helps
the improvement of their areas. to make better use of available resources as well as speeding up the letting process, as
applicants are generally far more ready to move into homes which they themselves
This theme of responsiveness to local communities and neighbourhood empowerment
have chosen. Of course there remain huge challenges, not least in responding to the
is crucial to successful 21st century housing policy as well as to wider objectives.
needs of poor and disadvantaged groups and those at risk of homelessness. Implicit
Localism and devolution are increasingly on the agenda and these have hugely
in the more personalized approach which I have advocated is the availability of extra
important implications for housing. Our policies should help residents in local
36 37
About the Contributors
support and help for those who, for whatever reason, find it hard to manage their
The Labour Housing Group (LHG)
way through the processes involved in finding and maintaining a home.
The Labour Housing Group, formed in 1981 by housing activists and specialists
It is essential to recognize that people’s needs and aspirations are not static, nor are
within the Labour Party, is dedicated to developing and promoting effective housing
they necessarily limited to one tenure or type of housing. People’s needs change over
policy. LHG is an affiliated organisation within the Labour Party and membership
time and their economic circumstances can vary hugely. In the future it is much more
includes many members of Parliament and Government Ministers (a number of whom
likely that people will move from one tenure to another more freely than in the past.
have sat on LHG’s Executive Committee), councillors, housing professionals and
Housing services will need to respond much more flexibly with the aim of helping
academics, tenants, trades unions and constituency organisations across the country.
people to secure the outcome most appropriate to them at any particular point of
LHG has helped to develop and promote links between the Socialist Societies to link
time, rather than the more traditional single-tenure gatekeeping role which aimed
the development of housing policy with planning, transport, education, economic,
simply to establish whether or not people qualified for one particular type of housing.
regeneration, environmental and energy policy development. The Labour Housing
It is also important to recognize that the phenomenal growth in owner-occupation Group has been at the forefront of the housing debate for the past decade and has
that characterized the latter part of the 20th century is likely to continue, albeit at been influential in developing many of the Government’s current housing policies.
a slightly slower pace. In the early decades of the 21st century upwards of three-
quarters of the population will be living in owner-occupied homes and it will be
essential for housing providers to keep this context very much in mind. In the past
too many local authorities focused almost exclusively on their own council housing,
paying little attention to other tenures. This blinkered approach will simply not be
viable in the future, when local authorities will need to adopt a much more strategic
approach, assessing the full range of needs and tenure options in their area and SERA
working in partnership with the full range of providers. So a much more
As an affiliate to the Labour Party, SERA is uniquely placed to work with the
comprehensive and customer-focused service is the model for the future.
government and the party at all levels to influence change. SERA is supported by a
No one should pretend that getting from where we are now to the framework which number of committed Labour MPs working closely with SERA and its members to
I have advocated will be easy. Much involves culture change which always takes time. increase dialogue, develop effective environmental strategies and deliver sustainable
It also depends on sustained commitment and investment over a period of years to policies in government. SERA is a pioneer in bridging the social and environmental
overcome the backlog of unmet needs and substandard housing which exists today. movements to produce common solutions to the major issues facing the UK and the
However with determination to transform the housing scene and care to avoid world today. SERA believes that social justice and environmental progress go hand in
repeating the mistakes of the past, we can over time create a framework where all hand. The aims and values that hold the Labour movement together will depend on
members of our society have the prospect of a decent home in a sustainable long term change in the way we treat our environment. Only then can we improve
environment. That must be our goal. life chances, fairly for all, not just in the short term, but for all generations to come.
38 39
Combined Heat and Power Association (CHPA) Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP
The Combined Heat and Power Association works to promote the wider Nick Raynsford has been the Member of Parliament for Greenwich and Woolwich
use of combined heat and power and community heating. since 1997. He was Member of Parliament for Fulham from 1986 to1987 and was a
councillor for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham from 1971 to 1975.
Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technology is now in use in a large and growing
He joined the Government in 1997 and held responsibility for housing, planning and
number of locations in the UK with a target of 10GWe of installed capacity by the
construction as well as being Minister for London. He was Minister for Local and
year 2010. This will bring with it many environmental gains including significant
Regional Government in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister from 2001 to 2005.
reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases.
He was made a privy councillor in the 2001 New Year’s Honours.
CHPA aims Nick was Shadow Minister for Housing and Construction from 1994 and front bench
spokesperson for London from 1993. He was Director of SHAC, the London Housing
The aim of the CHPA is to promote the wider use of combined heat and power and
Aid Centre from 1976 to 1986, and Director of Raynsford & Morris Housing
community heating. To do this, the Association works with its members, Government
Consultants from 1987 to 1992.
and other non-Government organisations to:
Nick Raynsford is currently Deputy Chairman of the Construction Industry Council
• address the barriers that currently face CHP and Community Heating;
and a Vice President of the Town and Country Planning Association. He is an Honorary
• ensure that when Government policies are developed they allow
Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
CHP and Community Heating to play their full role in delivering economic,
He is Chairman of the NHBC Foundation, the Fire Protection Association Council and
social and environmental benefits to the UK;
the London Open House Supporters at Large Group. He is a Board Member of Notting
• educate and inform Government, business and the wider community about the
Hill Housing Trust as well as a Non-executive Director of Rockpools.
benefits of CHP and the great potential that exists in the UK to take advantage
Dr Brenda Boardman, MBE, FEI

Michael Cashman MEP Environmental Change Institute, Leader of Lower Carbon Futures team and
Co-Director of the Demand Reduction Theme, UK Energy Research Centre
Michael Cashman is a Member of the European Parliament and the Labour Party's
National Executive Committee. As co-convenor of the Labour Party's Creating Brenda is head of the Lower Carbon Futures team. Her main research focus is on
Sustainable Communities Policy Commission Michael plays a key role in the Labour energy efficiency and the way that energy is used in British homes, particularly by
Party's policy making process. The commission is responsible for developing and low-income households, i.e. fuel poverty.
scrutinising policy in areas including housing and infrastructure, the
Brenda has a leading role in the new UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC), which was
environment and local government.
launched in October 2004. Brenda and her team’s research focus is on demand-side
energy issues in the UK. The most recent project was the 40% House (funded by the
40 41
Tyndall Centre), which outlines the policy agenda for 60% cuts in carbon reductions projects in different parts of the UK as well as participating in an ‘Earthwatch’
from all energy use in the housing stock, by 2050. Ongoing work looks at Building research project "Climate Change at the Arctic's Edge" which gathered evidence
Market Transformation (funded by the Carbon Trust and ESPRC - Engineering and of the impact of global warming on the tundra of northern Canada.
Physical Sciences Research Council) and considers major carbon reductions in all
He is a member of Amicus, the GMB and the Co-op Party.
buildings, domestic and non-domestic.
Marianne Hood, Labour Housing Group Keith Edwards, CIH Cymru
One of the original members of the Labour Housing Group and current Vice-Chair, Keith Edwards has been Director of CIH Cymru since 2000.
Marianne Hood has had a long career of working with community groups, local Prior to that he was Director of TPAS Cymru for 9 years
authorities and housing associations. She was the founding director of TPAS –
A member of the TGWU since 1977, he is a former Llanelli CLP and Trades Council
the Tenant Participation Advisory Service for England.
President. In the 1980's he was co-ordinator of the Alterplan alternative use co-op
She has written many ‘Good Practice’ guides on different aspects of tenant and in West Wales.
resident involvement and now works as a Consultant and Independent Advisor with
He chaired the Ministerial task force on the future of social housing in Wales and
tenants’ groups, local authorities and housing associations. She has been a Board
is an editorial advisor to Inside Housing and Welsh Housing Quarterly
Member and Vice Chair of a housing association and an Advisory Panel member
of ODPM/CIH Innovation Into Action grant programme.
She currently Chairs the National Housing Forum and is also the Chair of the Michael King, CHPA
Independent Advisory Panel for the ODPM Beacon Scheme. Beacon Awards were given
For 20 years Michael King has been working to achieve sustainable energy in the UK.
in 2005 for ‘Sustainable Energy’ and ‘Affordable Housing’ and these themes were
He established an information service for the charity Help the Aged where he first
linked as the focus for the National Housing Forum’s National Housing Week in 2005.
became involved in campaigning for affordable energy for low-income consumers.
Later he worked for advertising agency Collett, Dickenson & Pearce on a government-
Hywel Lloyd, SERA funded energy efficiency and climate change public awareness campaign. He now
works principally with the Combined Heat and Power Association and as an Associate
Hywel Lloyd has been Chair of SERA since May 2005 and a member of the SERA at Building Research Establishment Sustainable Energy Centre. He also acts as
Executive since 2003. He fought the Cities of London and Westminster Constituency ‘Development Expert’ on the Government’s Community Energy Programme.
for the Labour Party in the 2005 General Election.
Michael King is active with a number of voluntary groups in the field. He is chairman
Hywel has been an active environmentalist since school. His first degree, Chemistry of the National Right to Fuel Campaign and of the Fuel Poverty Strategy Group for
at the University of Bath, included study of the impact of the Chernobyl nuclear the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes, serves as a board director of the
accident and its fallout across the UK. He has worked on practical conservation Sustainable Energy Action/RENUE, the Greater London Energy Efficiency Network
42 43
B L U E P R I N T S F O R G R E E N H O M E S : A H o u s i n g a n d E n e r g y Po l i c y f o r t h e 21 S T C e n t u r y
and Energy Action Scotland.
He is also Chairman of two not-for-profit companies, Aberdeen Heat & Power Co and
Solent Sustainable Energy Ltd, that are developing district heating projects with CHP
in Aberdeen, Scotland and Southampton in Southern England.
David Ireland, Empty Homes Agency

The Empty Homes Agency is an independent campaigning charity which aims to
raise awareness of the potential of empty homes in England to meet housing need
and devise and promote, with others, sustainable solutions that will bring empty
homes back into use.
David Ireland is the Empty Homes Agency’s policy advisor. He is author of the
book "How to Rescue a House” a practical guide to for making better use of old and
redundant buildings published by Penguin. He was also the advisor to the BBC TV
series of the same name, screened in 2005. He is a regular contributor to property
magazines and has recently had features published in the Observer, Guardian and
Mail on Sunday.
David has a background in local authority housing strategy andwas one of the
founders of the innovative empty property website Empro.co.uk that aims to create
a virtual marketplace for empty homes bringing owners and prospective
purchasers together.
44

Blueprints For Green Homes

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Contents

2 Housing and Energy –the possibilities 5

If you are interested in helping to take this debate forward,

CHPA 8 Decent Homes in a Sustainable Environment: 30

Housing and Energy – the Possibilities

Planning for Heat

The Case for Recycled Houses

A frequently used response is that persuading reluctant owners to upgrade their

7: Promoting Better Practice

Housing and Sustainable Energy in Wales

Angelina Street, Cardiff references:

sustainability principles http://www.housing.wales.gov.uk/pdf.asp?a=a2

Decent Homes in a Sustainable

About the Contributors

Combined Heat and Power Association (CHPA) Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP

Dr Brenda Boardman, MBE, FEI

Marianne Hood, Labour Housing Group Keith Edwards, CIH Cymru

and Energy Action Scotland.

David Ireland, Empty Homes Agency

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