Building regulations to change in energy efficiency drive

The uk's building regulations are to be reviewed as part of a government pledge to end fuel poverty by 2016-18.

The promises came in the long-awaited white paper on energy, released on Monday.

Policies are to be reviewed later this year.

The building regulations will be reviewed by 2005 in line with an EU directive that must be incorporated into UK law by January 2006.

All councils and housing associations will have to know how energy-efficient their homes are, so results can be compared between new developments.

Developers will have to show that they have considered efficient energy sources in each scheme.

John Perry, outgoing director of policy at the Chartered Institute of Housing, welcomed the white paper and the emphasis on energy efficiency in new housing. But he added: "Most of the housing stock is already built so to achieve government targets we need much, much greater effort to tackle energy efficiency in the current stock."

He said there were no estimates yet of what the changes would cost housing associations.

Other sources said the timescale was too tight and said the government was expecting radical change without promising the significant extra resources needed.

Dr David Strong, managing director of energy division at the Building Research Establishment, said: "This is a real breakthrough in government thinking."

But he said he was concerned by the reliance placed by the white paper on promising, but as yet unproven, new technologies.