Head
Office Press Office - 13-Dec-2006 - The initiatives
announced today by the Government will help to
make sure the location and design of new developments
contribute to reducing emissions, improving water
efficiency and shaping new buildings that are
more environmentally sustainable, the Environment
Agency said.
Chief Executive Barbara Young
said the Code for Sustainable Homes, the draft
climate change planning policy statement and the
proposals for zero carbon developments were all
critical in planning for the unavoidable impacts
of climate change.
But Barbara Young said the Government's
real challenge would be modifying existing housing
to be more environmentally friendly.
"In many parts of the country
- and particularly the south east - the current
environmental infrastructure is struggling to
cope with the existing level of demand. With the
Government's ambition to increase housing supply
in England to 200,000 a year by 2016, this package
of initiatives is crucial in recognising that
careful planning and more sustainable homes are
needed to accommodate the proposed number of new
houses," Barbara Young said.
"In the past, building
regulations have included minimum standards for
energy, but not minimum standards for water efficiency.
The consultation on bringing water efficiency
into building regulations announced today is crucial
to reducing future water use and we look forward
to seeing further details.
"But building regulations
is only part of the story - the Government also
needs to encourage the use of much more water
efficient fittings and appliances in buildings."
Barbara Young said the Code
for Sustainable Homes provided a national standard
for sustainable homes to be used by designers
and house builders, and it was promising to see
that it would be mandatory for all new homes to
have code assessments for water efficiency by
April 2008.
"These go a long way in
seeing a much needed change in sustainable home
building practice, and anyone buying a new home
will know the environmental performance of the
house and the impact on utility bills. But, as
the Government acknowledged at today's launch,
there is still much more potential for improving
the energy and water efficiency of the existing
housing stock."
Barbara Young said it was also
pleasing to see the Government's commitment to
addressing climate change through the planning
system by developing a draft planning policy statement,
and the proposals for zero carbon developments
highlighting the need to achieve much higher levels
of energy efficiency in new and existing homes.
