Entries for January 2008

The FTSE Group, with Impax, has launched the FTSE ET50 Index which contains the largest 50 enviro-tech companies by market capitalisation worldwide.

Those who believe sustainable building design has suffered an aesthetics by-pass will take heart from a row in Lowestoft where the chairman of the Suffolk Preservation Society has dubbed the plan new local authority and science building “a glorified shed”.

Miller Homes has been selected as the preferred developer for the South West Chorley ‘Home Zone’ development in Lancashire. 

In the second session of the Planning Bill committee hearing oral evidence from interested parties in the planning, property and building sectors, held on 8 January, Robert Upton of the Royal Town Planning Institute said that with introduction of the community infrastructure levy (CIL) his “presumption at this stage, which has to come out of the detail, is that section 106 requirements will be reduced to very site-specific issues.”

The Government has decided the Academy for Sustainable Communities should be swallowed by the new Homes and Communities Agency following consultations showing support for the move.

A study* into the potential contribution to global greenhouse gas reduction of sustainable building has revealed that it has the single largest potential of all IPCC (InterGovernmental Panel on Climate Change) sector activities.

The Environment Agency, Waterwise and East of England Development Agency have opened a regional centre of excellence for water efficiency in Thetford. Focusing on development and the built environment, it will work with developers to improve standards in new housing and with a range of organisations to tackle them in existing homes in England’s driest region. “Our centre of excellence for water efficiency is going to be working with the East of England Water Partnership and the Regional Climate Change Partnership to ensure our future supply,” said East of England minister Barbara Follett.

DEFRA has reached agreement with technology industry association Intellect, the British Retail Consortium and retailers on a scheme to phase out the most energy intensive domestic appliances. Consumer electronics currently use about 15% of UK domestic electricity and the initiative aims to phase out the high-energy devices and replace them with lower energy ones, starting with set top boxes and standby levels. It will set targets in the next few months.

EDF Energy has raised its prices for gas and electricity this month for residential customers by 12.9% and 7.9%.

Communities housing minister Yvette Cooper told Conservative shadow environment spokesman Gregory Barker  the new planning policy statement (PPS) on climate change, issued on 17 December last year, which sets out for planning authorities the circumstances where renewable and low carbon technologies, including micro-renewables, should be used to supply new development in their area, also “makes it clear that this means energy supply from local renewable and low carbon sources (i.e. on-site and near site, but not remote off site) usually on a small scale.”

Treasury minister Jane Kennedy has told Conservative shadow Communities minister Eric Pickles in a written Parliamentary answer that HM Revenue and Customs is able to monitor the number of claims and the amount of stamp duty land tax relief for new zero carbon homes given, because such relief can be claimed using the stamp duty land tax return, which contains a specific code for this tax relief.  She added that the Treasury has access to this data in an aggregated form, but the Valuation Office Agency does not collate information on zero carbon homes.

Energy minister Malcolm Wicks said the Government has used both Energy Saving Trust advice network and market segmentation models to target those that are most likely to install microgeneration technologies and apply for grants. Grants of up to £2,500 remain available to successful applicants until the funds are exhausted in full or March 2009, whichever comes sooner, he added. Mr Wicks said that BERR is working in partnership with the Energy Saving Trust to promote the low carbon buildings programme household funding stream.

The Planning and Energy Bill, sponsored by Conservative back bencher, Michael Fallon, MP for Sevenoaks, has received  backing from MPs, 45-0, in its second reading, held in the Commons on 25 January.

Long-serving minister for housing, Yvette Cooper, has been replaced by employment minister Caroline Flint in a mini ministerial reshuffle, created by Peter Hain’s resignation from the Cabinet. Ms Flint  has also had ministerial experience in the Health and Home departments.

The Communities department (DCLG) has been strongly criticised by a committee of MPs over the faltering introduction of the home information packs (HIPs).