Builders concerned over local renewables targets

The housebuilding industry has urged the government to reassess the use of supplementary planning notices by local authorities looking to impose renewables targets.

Industry representatives met with the government last week to voice their concern that local green measures, such as the Merton Rule, are unhelpful to the wider target of achieving zero-carbon homes by 2016.

The British Property Federation (BPF) had attacked the Merton Rule, which requires a building to generate 10% to 20% of its energy through onsite renewables, as a less efficient way of cutting carbon than by investing in the efficiency of the building envelope.

After the meeting, Liz Pearce, chief executive of the BPF, said: "The property industry is committed to achieving green targets, but investing in inefficient onsite renewables is simply not always the best way to do this."

There was a consensus that local innovation must be consistent with national standards and that the industry needed clarity and consistency of approach. "We're not against the Merton rule," explained Andrew Whitaker, head of planning at the Home Builders Federation. "We believe targets should be adopted through a development of the planning process and not informally through supplementary planning notices."

He urged the industry to work together towards achieving zero-carbon homes by 2016, but added: "It's not helpful for local authorities to make bold and unsubstantiated statements so that they can claim to be greener than the next authority."

John Orker, public affairs manager at the UK Green Building Council, said: "We should first concentrate on reducing the energy demand of buildings and then consider the use of renewables."