Councils want to work as partners with central government on climate action. Councils are well-placed to do this as place-shapers, convenors of communities and partners, delivery agents, commissioners, and owners of assets.
Summary
Councils want to work as partners with central government on climate action. Councils are well-placed to do this as place-shapers, convenors of communities and partners, delivery agents, commissioners, and owners of assets. Net zero can only be achieved with decarbonisation happening in every place across the country and this requires local leadership.
Councils, as planning authorities, shape place through the Local Plan making process and through location specific Masterplans. Through these processes, growth areas are identified, and areas of land are designated for uses. These plan making processes shape future land use and with that comes future energy demand.
Increasingly councils are looking to play their role in supporting decision-making around the local energy system. For instance, many councils are now looking to develop Local Area Energy Plans but are also considering other ways to best shape place given the likely largescale shift to the electrification of buildings and transport. Councils, as community leaders, can be a positive and influential partner when taking this agenda forward.
There is much in the draft Future Homes and Buildings Standards that the LGA supports such as the end of fossil fuel heating and a commitment to electric heating. We strongly support solar PV on the roof tops of all new homes as it can reduce the amount of land required for ground mounted solar. We also welcome the proposed Home Energy Model (HEM) as a replacement for Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP).
The Future Homes and Buildings Standard doesn’t currently say anything about embodied carbon in building fabric material. Embodied carbon in materials such as cement, steel and aluminium are significant and the UK Green Buildings Council claims embodied carbon for the construction and refurbishment of buildings currently makes up 20% of UK built environment emissions. We consider this to be a missed opportunity.
If a building proposed for Material Change of Use is not capable of achieving a similar level of thermal comfort for a similar cost of a home built or converted under the Future Homes and Buildings Standard, it should not be permitted to convert. The only way to ensure this is to remove the PD option from Material Change of Use.
We consider that allowing councils to relax or dispense the rules where developers claim they are unreasonable or claim exceptional circumstances sends the wrong message. We would like to see further amendments made to the viability system – for example, removing the requirement to factor in an assumed developer or landowner return or removal of viability assessments as a material planning consideration entirely.
The recent Written Ministerial Statement of 13 December 2023 stated that, in the context of new energy efficiency standards coming forward (FHBS), the Government does not expect plan-makers to set local energy efficiency standards for buildings that go beyond current or planned building regulations. The written ministerial statement, alongside the draft FHBS, now says, developers can claim exceptional circumstances and request a relaxation, but councils cannot set higher standards.
Critical to the success of the Future Homes Standard is the reinforcement and expansion of the local electricity network which needs to happen in tandem with the implementation of the standard. Increasingly a lack of connection capacity to the local electricity network is holding back development and / or renewable energy generating projects. For the UK to meet its 2050 Net Zero target, demand for electricity will likely double (300TWh to 600TWh) and we require electricity generated from renewables to increase fivefold. This will put significant pressure on the transmission and distribution network which needs addressing urgently. The LGA welcomes the announcement of the Regional Energy Strategic Planners, but these will only be successful with significant engagement with councils.
Answers to consultation questions
Performance requirements of new buildings
The LGA welcomes the recent progress made in moving towards The Future Homes and Buildings Standard but remains concerned that if a few of the options being consulted on are taken forward, we may still be in a position of needing to retrofit new homes before 2050.
We support the notional buildings approach but strongly advise that, of the two options, Option 1, the most cost-effective option to maximise carbon savings, balanced against reducing energy bills for households, is taken forward. Several leading businesses are already delivering new homes and buildings to high sustainability standards and allowing other developers to build to Option 2 standards, omitting PV and lowering building fabric standards will likely lead to a first- and second-class housing supply, with second class housing costing the occupier £600-£700 more a year.
Solar PV on the rooftops of all new homes has the opportunity of making all new homes, net surplus energy generators. This in turn opens a huge opportunity for private investment into homes, cancelling out the increased upfront cost of development.
The LGA strongly supports solar PV on the roof tops of all new homes as it can reduce the amount of land required for ground mounted solar, which, if not managed better, could result in significant amenity loss and community objection.
We welcome the recognition, that with adequate ventilation, new homes insulated to the 2021 level will not generally experience damp or mould or excessive temperatures but ask that this is monitored and reviewed where experience suggests otherwise. Real life testing is important in ensuring that inhabited properties react the same as tested properties. Damp, mould, and overheating can have significant implications for people susceptible to breathing difficulties or just the very old or very young.
Metrics
Yes, we agree that metrics Target Emission Rate (TER), Target Primary Emission Rate (TPER) and Fabric Efficiency Rate (FEE) should be used to set performance requirements for the Future Homes and Buildings Standards. We also welcome the proposed Home Energy Model (HEM) as a replacement for Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP). Reducing energy demand for homes, protecting occupants against high energy bills, and encouraging homes to become net energy generators should be best facilitated alongside a zero-carbon energy supply.
Updated guidance and minimum standards
The LGA welcomes the clarity that space heating and hot water demand is to be met through low-carbon sources and that fossil fuel heating and hydrogen ready and hybrid boilers will not meet the standard, both for domestic and non-domestic properties. This means most new dwellings will now be heated by a heat pump, heat network or a combination of the two. This sends a clear message to the market that should help increase the number of installers and start to bring down the cost of heat pumps.
This will mean consumers must be well informed and supported to operate the new heating systems to ensure they run efficiently. For new builds and change of use, occupants will not be in situ when heat pumps are installed, or district heating connected, so an opportunity to familiarise the new occupier will be missed. Manuals, on-line guides and help lines should be a minimum manufacturer / installer requirement.
Proposed changes to Draft Approved Document L, designed to limit heat loss from low carbon heating systems is also supported. Consideration should be given to the overall size of the property and the relative space required for hot water storage and insulation, but where available, high insulation and ample volume should be secured.
It is important that passenger lifts, escalators, and moving walkways, are included in the standard, given the amount of energy they use. Minimising the amount of energy used, regardless of whether its zero carbon or not, is important for energy security reasons. Domestic and Non-domestic buildings should be treated the same as much as possible as conserving energy use in a place should be a primary consideration.
Material change of use
Dwellings created through material change of use should achieve the same level of thermal comfort for the same cost as new dwellings built under the FHBS. It is important that buildings converted to dwellings to reduce a housing crisis are not at the expense of an individuals increased cost of living. This again could lead to a first- and second-class housing supply with those least able to pay, paying more.
Utilising existing building stock is inherently a low carbon option, when considering embodied carbon, and should not be discouraged, but the standards of housing should always be maintained.
The LGA does not support Permitted Development Rights (PD). The Government’s own research has highlighted how conversions to residential through change of use PD can fail to meet adequate design standards, avoid contributing to local areas and create worse living environments. Conversions to residential through this mechanism, which bypasses the full planning application process, affects vulnerable people disproportionately and can exacerbate existing inequalities.
If a building proposed for Material Change of Use is not capable of achieving a similar level of thermal comfort for a similar cost of a home built or converted under the Future Homes and Buildings Standard, it should not be permitted to convert. The only way to ensure this is to remove the PDR option from Material Change of Use.
Real world performance of homes
Voluntary post occupancy performance testing for new homes is fully supported as is the introduction of a Future Homes Standard brand that is only granted if developers homes perform as well as planned, when tested. Poor build quality of materials, poor installation and occupants using buildings in a way they were not designed for can only be examined through a post occupancy assessment. Poor build quality materials not only undermine the standard but leads to increased cost to the occupant. Lack of guidance for new heating and ventilation systems again leads to increased cost, misrepresentation of the standard and reduced life expectancy of the product.
Heat pumps are relatively new to the mass market and their installation is specialist. Without suitable checks and balances we run the risk of poor installation undermining the product and the net zero journey. For new homes being built to the Future Homes and Building Standards, the risks are lower due the size of organisations operating in the housing supply market, but for owner occupiers and the private rented sector market, without performance standards for installation, we run the risk of the un-trained opportunist trying to fill the gap in the market.
Providing further guidance for the installation of centralised mechanical extract ventilation is very welcome. Poor installation can lead to considerable disruption and poor indoor air quality. Damp and mould can have series health implications for those with breathing difficulties and the very old and very young.
Ensuring that heat pumps, hot water storage vessels and mechanical ventilation systems are being installed and commissioned well is essential for the success of the Future Homes Standard. We understand that self-certification increases commissioning capacity, but this should be subject to a regular review in the short to medium term to ensure standards are being upheld.
The LGA strongly supports the introduction of home user guides. These should be regularly reviewed for usefulness with a sample of occupiers. How easy and useful a home user guide will often be subject to the individual using the guide and therefore a cross section of society should form a focus and feedback loop. This could be part of a post occupancy review or stand alone.
Heat Networks
The LGA understands that heat networks have the potential to provide a cost-effective supply of low or zero carbon heat. Many of our members have significant experience of heat networks and the opportunity to supply heat through the lowest carbon heat source if often explored.
The LGA supports the proposal that new homes and new non-domestic buildings should be permitted to connect to heat networks, where they are supplying a sufficiently low carbon source of heat. It looks likely that councils will take on the role of Heat Network Zone Coordinator so they will be well placed to ensure that new-homes and new non-domestic buildings are located suitably for heat network connections.
Heat networks supplying heat that isn’t low carbon should either not be able to supply heat, or only be able to supply heat where there is a clear pathway to a zero-carbon heat source or the immediate future.
Accounting for exceptional circumstance
We consider that allowing councils to relax or dispense the rules where developers claim they are unreasonable or claim exceptional circumstances sends the wrong message. The recent Written Ministerial Statement of 13 December 2023 stated that, in the context of new energy efficiency standards coming forward (FHBS), the Government does not expect plan-makers to set local energy efficiency standards for buildings that go beyond current or planned building regulations.
Therefore, the written ministerial statement alongside the FHBS, now says, developers can claim exceptional circumstances, such as viability, and request a relaxation, but councils cannot set higher standards. We would like to see changes to the way viability is considered in the planning system – for example, removing the requirement to factor in an assumed developer or landowner return in viability assessments, or the removal of viability assessments altogether as a material planning consideration.
The only exception to this approach should be when Building Safety considers that meeting the FHBS would result in a building being potentially unsafe.
Legislative changes
Yes, we agree that Part L1 of Schedule 1 should be amended to require that reasonable provision be made for the conservation of energy and reducing carbon emissions and we agree that regulations 25A and 25B will be redundant following the introduction of the Future Homes and Buildings Standards and can be repealed.
Review of our approach to setting standards
Yes, we support the introduction of the Home Energy Model (HEM) as a replacement for SAP. SAP was focused on gas price and combustion boiler efficiency and is no longer fit for purpose with a move to heat pumps.
We agree with the revised guidance in Approved Document L, Volume 1: Dwellings which states that you should not provide a chimney or flue when no secondary heating appliance is installed, and we agree with the proposed approach to determine U-values of windows and doors in new dwellings.
Transitional arrangements
Option 1 is the LGA preferred option for transitional arrangements. The Future Homes and Buildings Standard has taken longer to come forward than our members wanted and therefore we can’t delay on implementation. The house building industry have been fully aware of what is coming, and supply chains should be ready to be turned on. Further delay will mean more homes being built that will need to be retrofitted before 2050.
2010 and 2013 energy efficiency transitional arrangements need to be closed as soon as possible meaning that all homes that do not meet the requirements of the 2025 transitional arrangements will need to be built to the Future Homes Standard.
Part O call for evidence
Overheating is a considerable health issue and as we begin to experience the highest temperatures on record in the UK, a significant issue that requires addressing. Ad hoc feedback from our members suggests the implementation of Part O, whilst meeting the standard, is not pleasing to the occupants as it often means fewer, smaller windows making rooms feel dark and enclosed.
Our neighbours on the continent have been experiencing these high temperatures for much longer than the UK and we would suggest there is much than can be learnt from their building designs. External window shutters, thick walls, overhangs to name a few.
Dwellings from Material Change of Use are potentially at greater risk of overheating and either Part O, or other building type specific regulations should be introduced. For example, recent office blocks would have been designed for mechanical cooling due to strict working condition requirements. Converting those types of building into multiple flats, with less air flow, is likely to result in considerable overheating.
Equalities impact assessment
The LGA has a concern that, if not monitored, the Future Homes and Buildings Standard, as it is currently set out, could lead to a first- and second-class housing supply with those least able to pay, paying more. For example, as it currently stands, dwellings coming from Material Change of Use are currently not required to meet the full standard. This potentially leaves the door open for cheap conversions resulting in a lower standard and higher cost of living. All residential properties should meet the minimum Future Homes and Buildings Standard.
The LGA does not support Permitted Development Rights (PD). The Government’s own research has highlighted how conversions to residential through change of use PD can fail to meet adequate design standards, avoid contributing to local areas and create worse living environments. Conversions to residential through this mechanism, which bypasses the full planning application process, affects vulnerable people disproportionately and can exacerbate existing inequalities.
For the same reason we believe that allowing house builders to claim exceptional circumstances as to why they cannot meet the standards, without the council being able to require higher standards, will result in councils being held over a barrel. Affordable housing targets being the most likely candidate.
We would like to see further amendments made to the viability system – for example, removing the requirement to factor in an assumed developer or landowner return or removal of viability assessments as a material planning consideration entirely.