National Housing Federation chief executive David Orr has warned the government is in danger of missing its target to ensure all new homes are zero-carbon by 2016. Speaking at the Federation annual conference on Friday 21 September, he said that 92 per cent of housing association new homes are meeting minimum sustainable standards yet only two per cent of new homes built by private developers do so.
He said the statistics mean that private developers are already a long way behind in the drive to cut CO2 emissions from new homes – and unless ministers intervene now, in his opinion, private sector developers will simply be unable to meet the 2016 deadline. He added the concern is shared by the Association for the Conservation of Energy.
Housing associations currently build a quarter of new homes in England. From April 2008, ministers have said that the same proportion of housing association new-build must meet even stricter standards, meaning they will emit 25 per cent less CO2 than conventional homes. However, the Government is not compelling private developers to join the same mandatory timetable to reduce emissions.
Mr Orr said: “It’s time that ministers legally locked private developers into the same timetable as housing associations. We have long been calling for the Government to ensure that from April 2008 all new private homes emit 25 per cent less CO2. And we would like Ministers to make certain that all new privately-built homes are zero-carbon by 2016, at the very latest.
“Housing associations are being compelled to meet tough environmental standards and - given the seriousness of climate change - that is right. Some private developers argue that the supply chain of sustainable materials can’t deliver in line with the timetable we are calling for, but if it can deliver for housing associations, then it can deliver for everyone.”
A spokeswoman for the Department for Communities and Local Government told the BBC it was “important” that the public sector established good practice. “The fact is that all homes will be required to be zero-carbon by 2016 and we are introducing legally-binding regulations on the private sector,” she said.
“We think it is important that the public sector leads the way, that is why we have said that the homes built with public money should cut carbon emissions even faster to demonstrate what can be done.”
