Code for Sustainable Homes – Healthy Urbanism

The long awaited Housing Standards Review Consultation was published today and we are none the wiser as to how government will achieve its aims without compromising the quality of new housing in the UK. The consultation showed:

government’s continued tension between the localism agenda and the need to set (slash) policy at a national level to provide certainty to developers;
a lack of consideration for new homebuyers/occupants and the costs they will pay if standards are removed;
potential additional burdens for local plan preparation; and
a risk that our ability to achieve sustainable development will be significantly compromised. Continue reading “The Housing Standards Review will hinder the achievement of sustainable development”

When was the last time you read up on the Code for Sustainable Homes? A few years ago? Never? There is a lot of bad information floating around the planning world about how England is going to reduce carbon emissions through the Code for Sustainable Homes. For the uninitiated, the Code (for short) is a sustainable building standard for new homes and most planners (and planning inspectors) hold a lot of misconceptions about it.

Misconceptions abound because reducing carbon emissions from buildings costs money and everybody has something to say about it. But also because it’s a very technical area and not many planners have the background or time to question the information they receive on this topic.

There are a few key facts that you should know and share with your planner friends: Continue reading “What you think you know about the Code for Sustainable Homes is probably wrong”

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