Report calls for eco-friendly homes policy revolution

The movement for building environmentally friendly housing gathered momentum last week with the publication of a new report by The National Housing Forum.

The NHF report Living Places: sustainable homes, sustainable communities calls for changes in policies from central and local government. It also demands changes in the behaviour of developers and consumers to make housing more environmentally sustainable when building the 4.4 million new homes forecast to be needed over the next 20 years.

Suggested counter-measures that are highlighted in the report include developing a kitemark for green housing, which can be easily recognised by major funding institutions and consumers. The report also wants the Planning Policy Guidance amended to include a sequential test for allocating of housing development site to protect greenfield sites and encourage the development of urban brownfield.

The NHF report also calls for the extension the scope of building regulations. It hopes that revised building regulations will take into account waste recycling, higher energy standards, water conservation and durability of building materials.

Graham Facks, chairman of the NHF, said the Government must take a lead in promoting environmentally-friendly housing to both consumers and the housing industry.

"It is essential that we look at our future housing needs and the protection of the environment together and not in isolation," said Facks. "This report is about more than loft insulation and lagging pipes. It is also about the location of our homes and neighbourhoods that we live in.

"Government needs to take a lead in promoting co-ordinated approach across the public and private sectors backed up by offering both incentives and making changes to legislation," he said.