Author: Larry Tate

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Video

Webinar: Local Authorities Leading the Way – Net Zero Planning Policy

About

Good Homes Alliance (GHA) and Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) hosted a joint online event showcasing the progressive work of Local Authorities in developing, and successfully adopting, net zero planning policies.

We heard more about recent good news coming out of Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) and Cornwall Council, whose local plan updates have both been found sound and legally compliant by the Planning Inspectorate. Both policies set absolute energy targets for housing (energy use intensity) and seek to maximise renewable energy generation on-site. The policies use a different framework from the Building Regulations and cover both regulated and unregulated energy.

These announcements reaffirm the fact that forward-thinking councils can set their own ambitious targets that go above and beyond minimum national standards. The work at B&NES, Cornwall, Cambridgeshire and others will help set a precedent for other Local Authorities to follow in their footsteps and meet their climate emergency commitments.

We were also delighted to be joined by experts from the consultancies who have been supporting progressive councils in developing evidence bases to support their new policies, and providing guidance on how to implement the policies in practice.

Programme

Welcome from GHA – Lynne Sullivan OBE, Chair, Good Homes Alliance

Welcome from TCPA – Celia Davis, Projects and Policy Manager, Town and Country Planning Association

What is the landscape for LAs in regard to setting progressive planning policies? – Marina Goodyear, Project Manager/Lewis Knight, Head of Sustainable Places, Bioregional

Planning policies successfully adopted! Lessons learned from B&NES and Cornwall, and implementation challenges
– Alex McCann, former Climate Policy Officer at Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES); now part of the Bioregional Sustainable Places team
– Emily Rubin, Principal Development Officer, Cornwall Council

Emerging planning policy: Net zero, circular economy, design codes and more – Greater Cambridge – Emma Davies, Principal Sustainability Officer, Greater Cambridge Shared Planning

Next steps for local authorities: How can the recent good news set a precedent for other progressive LAs? And what are the challenges? – Thomas Lefevre, Director, Etude

Q&A/panel discussion: How will updates to national policy and standards impact progressive local authorities?

Watch the recording

Presentation downloads

Marina Goodyear and Lewis Knight, Bioregional

Alex McCann, Bioregional (formerly B&NES Council)

Emily Rubin, Cornwall Council

Emma Davies, Greater Cambridge Shared Planning

Thomas Lefevre, Etude

Join our Vanguard Network

The Good Homes Alliance Vanguard Network of Local Authorties is a leading edge group whoch resources and conduct further research to facilitate LAs with new housing delivery arms in adopting enhanced sustainability, quality, health and performance standards for new housing developments.

Click here to find out how to join

 

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Video

GHA Bitesize Webinar Series – Spatial implications of developing Zero Carbon Local Plans: Modelling the carbon from proposed growth

Content available for Good Homes Alliance members only.

If you are already a GHA member, please Log In or Sign Up for an account. Check our Member Directory to see if you are a member.

Find out the benefits of membership and sign up as a GHA member to access this content.

If you have any queries, please contact richard@goodhomes.org.uk.

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Video

GHA Bitesize Webinar Series – Understanding UK Building Regulations relating to Residential Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery

Content available for Good Homes Alliance members only.

If you are already a GHA member, please Log In or Sign Up for an account. Check our Member Directory to see if you are a member.

Find out the benefits of membership and sign up as a GHA member to access this content.

If you have any queries, please contact richard@goodhomes.org.uk.

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Video

GHA Bitesize Webinar Series – Why do we need Zero Carbon planning policies, and what are the powers that Local Authorities have to create them?

The fourth event in our Bitesize Webinar series.

Robust and targeted Local Plan policies are a necessary component of achieving net-zero emissions. GHA member Bioregional understand how to create the evidence base, and how to implement the policies in practice.

All local planning authorities have a legal duty to address the climate and ecological crisis and to contribute towards the UK’s legally binding net-zero target for 2050. In practice, this means taking bold steps to achieve zero emissions from new buildings and adopting policies that drive drastic and rapid emissions reductions from transport, energy and land-use.

As Local Plans set out the vision for future development in a borough, they are key to ensuring that any land-use changes, or new development that happens – from homes and offices to transport infrastructure – results in the least amount of greenhouse gas emissions possible, whilst enabling economic growth and addressing housing need.

The Good Homes Alliance was joined by Bioregional to discover why we need Zero Carbon planning policies and what are the powers that Local Authorities have to create them.

Programme

  • 12:00 Welcome from the GHA – Julian Brooks, Good Homes Alliance
  • 12:05 Why do we need Zero Carbon planning policies, and what are the powers that Local Authorities have to create them? – Lewis Knight, Head of Sustainable Places, Bioregional, and Marina Goodyear, Project Manager, Bioregional
  • 12:35 Q&A
  • 13:00 Close

Download presentation here

 
 
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Video

Webinar: Overheating risk tool for retrofit – Launch

About the tool

The new tool responds to demand from designers, housing associations, environmental health officers, and other parties concerned with overheating risks in the existing housing stock, which are likely to increase further due to climate change and higher temperatures.

This tool is intended for use at the early stages of residential retrofit projects, or on existing homes, in order to identify key factors contributing to overheating risk and possible mitigation measures. It is applicable to existing homes, retrofits, and conversions of non-domestic buildings to residential accommodation.

The tool and guidance are meant to be easy to use by non-specialists to inform early-stage big impact decisions. They promote holistic consideration of overheating risk together with the site context and linked design issues such as ventilation and noise. The potential impacts of energy efficiency measures through retrofit are included, but the tool also highlights the important opportunities for retrofit to contribute not only to overheating risk mitigation, but also improvements in air quality and energy efficiency.

The tool builds upon the beta version which launched in March 2022, with new case studies and improved functionality. We would like to thank everyone who contributed with their comments and case studies.

Watch the launch

Downloads

DOWNLOAD GUIDANCE

DOWNLOAD TOOL

Authors and supporters

The main author of this guidance is Julie Godefroy of Julie Godefroy Sustainability, with support from Susie Diamond of Inkling LLP.

The project has been co-funded by the National Energy Foundation, and the BEIS funded REFINE project on radical decarbonisation of social housing through whole house energy retrofits.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the development of this tool and guidance, including Clare Murray (Levitt Bernstein), John Palmer (LETI), Jack Harvie-Clarke (Apex Acoustics), Anthony Chilton (Max Fordham), Harry Paticas (RAFT), Amad Kayani (Historic England), Lucy and Tom Pemble, and all those who provided comments in the feedback workshop or by email.

The REFINE project is one of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrators led by Warwick District Council and Oxford Brookes University with Enhabit/QODA Consulting and Sarah Wigglesworth Architects.

We would like to thank the following steering group members for their input during the project:

  • Hayley Chivers, Sarah Wigglesworth Architects
  • Paul Ciniglio, National Energy Foundation
  • Prof. Rajat Gupta, Oxford Brookes University
  • Dr Sarah Price, QODA Consulting
  • Katharine Ray, Warwick District Council
  • Sarah Wigglesworth, Sarah Wigglesworth Architects
  • Tim Wilcockson, QODA Consulting

More information

For more information about the Overheating in Retrofit and Existing Homes tool, please contact Julie Godefroy – julie@juliegodefroysustainability.co.uk or Susie Diamond – susie@inklingllp.com.

For more information about the Good Homes Alliance, please contact Julian Brooks, Programmes Director – julian@goodhomes.org.uk, 0330 355 6274.

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Video

Vanguard Network meeting #10 – Gilli Hobbs presentation on circular economy

Download content available for Good Homes Alliance Vanguard Network members only.

If you are already a GHA member, please Log In or Sign Up for an account. Check our Member Directory to see if you are a member.

Find out the benefits of membership and sign up as a GHA member to access this content.

If you have any queries, please contact richard@goodhomes.org.uk.

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Guidance

Part O 2021 (England) Technical Guidance

This document provides guidance on how to comply with the Building Regulations Part O requirement to assess and limit overheating risk in residential buildings. It focuses on homes (“residential dwellings” in Part O). While much of it is applicable to other types of residential buildings, specific considerations will apply to accommodation such as care homes.

DOWNLOAD

Find the Overheating: Approved Document O on the UK Government Website here

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Video

Webinar: Net Zero and Community Led Housing

Event summary

Despite the benefits of community-led housing, the sector in the UK remains small compared to other countries in Europe and North America, currently delivering less than 0.3% of total housing output.

Past government initiatives have sought to increase uptake, but the original £163m Community Housing Fund closed at the end of 2019 with only a fraction allocated. However, a new £4 million programme launched in 2021, managed by the Community Led Homes (CLH) partnership, will see more than 1,200 new affordable homes delivered across the UK.

How does the community led housing mission align with the net zero agenda? We’ll hear from organisations pushing the boundaries in terms of both community and low energy aspirations.

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Pathfinder Network meeting #6

Download content available for Good Homes Alliance Pathfinder Network members only.

If you are already a GHA member, please Log In or Sign Up for an account. Check our Member Directory to see if you are a member.

Find out the benefits of membership and sign up as a GHA member to access this content.

If you have any queries, please contact richard@goodhomes.org.uk.

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Video

GHA Bitesize Webinar Series – Impact and implications – Approved Document Part O: Overheating

Content available for Good Homes Alliance members only.

If you are already a GHA member, please Log In or Sign Up for an account. Check our Member Directory to see if you are a member.

Find out the benefits of membership and sign up as a GHA member to access this content.

If you have any queries, please contact richard@goodhomes.org.uk.