Industry body Construction Products Association has criticised the government for pre-empting the conclusions of a consultation exercise by announcing changes to the draft Code for Sustainable Homes before all responses had been considered.

The Code has been introduced to set construction standards for new homes that are higher than building regulations.

Consultation on the code closed on 6 March and a series of revisions were announced on 9 March.

Michael Ankers, chief executive of the CPA, welcomed the increase in environmental standards in house building but said the announcement three days after the consultation closed was "tantamount to making policy decisions on the hoof when what was really needed is careful technical consideration of all the issues".

In light of the consultation, the government will be making energy efficiency ratings mandatory for new and existing homes. It has also decided to set minimum standards of energy and water efficiency for all levels on the code.

To promote on-site generation, the government has proposed that new homes using micro-renewable technology such as wind and solar will gain extra points under the code.

As BSJ reported in January, CIBSE criticised the code for failing to include retail and commercial buildings.

Source

Building Sustainable Design