Don't scrap green housing rule, urge campaigners

A coalition of renewable energy and green groups yesterday urged the government not to scrap a key plank of local authority policy that has been credited with boosting the use of renewable energy.
The call came after the leak earlier this week of a draft planning policy statement which local authorities said would undermine their ability to insist that developers use green technologies.

The Home Builders Federation and British Property Federation oppose the so-called "Merton rule", which requires builders to obtain at least 10% of a building's energy from sustainable sources such as solar or wind power.

Sustainable Energy Partnership organiser Ron Bailey said: "The current campaign by the British Property Federation and Home Builders Federation to overturn this modest yet proven and highly successful policy in the climate change policy planning statement is nothing short of scandalous bearing in mind the urgent need to reduce CO2 emissions."
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Garden of the future

Out go the delphiniums, aster and lupins..... in come the oleander, cactus and bougainvillea.
Concrete patios and wooden decking will be replaced by more environmentally friendly porous gravel.

Hardier Bermuda grass will take the place of green sward lawns and palm trees will sway in the breeze.

This is the vision of Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winning designer Andy Sturgeon who has designed the Garden of the Future.

It was commissioned by the National Gardens Scheme (NGS) to mark 80 years of opening gardens to the public to raise money for charity.

The design reflects the fact that by 2087 the environmental impact of climate change, increased energy prices, urbanisation and recycling will all have a direct impact on how our gardens will look.

"The next 80 years will see the biggest change in gardening ever, as we move from a temperate climate towards a sub-tropical one," said Sturgeon.
" Frosts are already virtually non-existent in the south and we need cold winters to stimulate flower buds on things like blackberries and cherries, otherwise they won't fruit.

"Rhododendrons and birch which need cool summers will gradually die out and traditional cottage garden favourites like Delphiniums, Aster, Lupin and Phlox which need a moist fertile soil will also disappear as they can't cope with drought."

The garden has a distinct Mediterranean feel and takes into account that temperatures in the summer in 80 years time could hit the 42°C mark - the same sort of heatwave that has struck much of southern Europe this year.

If as expected temperatures remain higher in the winter it could lead to a year round growing season for plants and lawns. This will increase maintenance time and costs making smaller gardens more desirable.

Sturgeon's vision takes in as much sustainability and recycling as possible.

With waste collection now taxed by the local authority compost bins will be a must for the recycling of garden and kitchen waste.

And with water at a premium during the long dry summer months it will be compulsory to harvest and recycle what little rainwater there might be and to make further use of grey water. A huge underground tank will be fed by drainpipes from the roof and overflow water from a pond.

Because of the colossal CO2 emissions caused in the manufacturing process, the use of cement will be frowned upon if not banned altogether.

Rammed earth walls will be used to make raised plant beds and instead of large paved patios and driveways which allow valuable excess water to run off into the drains, there will be porous gravel to soak up the overflow.

Similarly the use of expensive stone imported from far flung corners of the world and hardwood timber from endangered rainforests will cease, to be replaced by reclaimed and recycled local materials.

High energy prices will lead to the use of photo-voltaic cells placed on top of walls to capture the sunlight to provide power to pump water and illuminate the garden.
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Developers are in for a bit of a rough ride if they are to meet government standards for sustainable homes.

The Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH), which aims for all new homes to be zero-carbon by 2016, is currently not mandatory, but the Government is reviewing the option to make it so from April 2008.

This must surely be good news for the environment: stopping the ice caps from melting is, after all, the very point of the zero carbon agenda.

But new research from Savills wonders whether developers will be able to deliver the CO2 targets, and, more to the point, whether Joe Bloggs buying a new home will be willing to foot the bill.

Which leads on to the next question: will buyers be prepared to pay more for a completely kitted out carbon no-go home?

Savills found that homeowners are certainly eco-savvy, but not necessarily keen on the eco-medicine being prescribed by the Government. In a nut-shell: they're all for it if it saves them money, but less enthusiastic if they have to pay more..

As the report notes: "The importance that occupiers attach to various green features seems to be largely related to saving money rather than saving the planet."

Energy saving features were rated as important by 74 per cent, low running costs by 77 per cent and good thermal insulation by 84 per cent.

But when it came down to whether buyers would pay more for these green enhancements the figures melted away like ... well, like icebergs on the fringes of Antarctica.

Energy saving features were the biggest draw, as around 25 per cent of buyers conceded they would part with more cash for these.

Clearly, developers are facing something of a dilemma if they are to invest in carbon-neutral housebuilding that will carry overheads that cannot be passed onto the buyer.

While lower levels of sustainable living have been estimated by English Partnerships to average between £3,000 and £6,000 per dwelling, the holy grail of carbon-free homes, level 6, could pile on a potential £26,000 to £36,000 to building costs.

The Government is waiving stamp duty on zero-carbon homes up to £500,000 starting from October to help offset building costs. But things will be far tighter at the top end where the stamp duty exemption will be capped at £15,000.

So there's a lot of horse-trading to be done between the Government, the developers and homeowners on who will shoulder the costs. The alternative is that the specs for truly zero-carbon homes are downgraded – watch this space.

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Micro-chipped bins

Families have been warned they would be charged more for their rubbish under plans unveiled for a series of "pay-as-you-throw" schemes.
Wheelie bins with microchips that weigh the contents, pre-paid waste sacks and charges based on the size of bins were all suggested by the Local Government Association in an attempt to encourage more recycling.
The association said that using a "pay-as-you-throw" incentive to encourage recycling was backed by two in three, based on a survey it commissioned.

But opponents cast doubt on the poll and claimed the schemes could cost taxpayers around £20 a month, leading to more fly-tipping.

The first of the three proposals put forward by the LGA is for a system in which householders buy pre-paid rubbish sacks of different sizes, aimed at urban areas where wheelie bins are impractical.

The second would be the use of microchips in wheelie bins which would allow the amount of rubbish to be weighed as it was loaded on to the dust cart. Residents would then be billed for the amount of waste they created.

The third option for councils would be a scheme in which householders choose the size of the wheelie bin they use, based on how much rubbish they think they will generate, and are charged accordingly.

The LGA described the plans as "save as you throw" and pledged not to use them as a stealth tax to raise extra money.
But the association warned that taxpayers would bear the brunt of fines of up to £3 billion which will be imposed on councils over the next four years if they did not meet European targets for reducing the amount of waste which ends up in landfill.

England currently recycles around 27 per cent of its household refuse, compared to more than 50 per cent in Austria and Germany.

Its survey of 1,028 people by Ipsos Mori found 64 per cent of people either "strongly supported" or "tended to support" a system in which they paid a reduced council tax rate and were charged directly for the amount of rubbish they produced.

Cllr Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA’s environment board, said: "If councils introduce save-as-you-throw schemes it will be to promote recycling, not generate extra cash through an extra stealth tax.
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