MPs fear bulldozing rules will hit home standards

The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee urged Ministers to reconsider plans to ditch the Code for Sustainable Homes, which they said has driven up home-building standards and helped to create a sustainable building industry.

The committee also warned that the changes currently being consulted on by the Department for Communities and Local Government risk becoming a “lawyers’ charter”, forcing local authorities to waste money defending themselves in court while curtailing local choice and delaying the construction of new homes.

The CSH sets out standards on sustainability factors including energy efficiency, carbon emissions, water conservation, use of materials, surface water run-off, waste and pollution. About 130,000 homes have been built to CSH standards since its launch in 2007 and in 2012, 39 per cent of new dwellings completed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland achieved one of the six levels of CSH compliance. It does not apply in Scotland.

But developers have complained that it adds to the cost of homes, with a 2011 study finding that the bill for top-level compliance ranges from £28,000 to £38,000 per dwelling – though lower levels were significantly cheaper. However, the committee said that Ministers had failed to take account of evidence that costs have come down since then.

Environmental Audit Committee chair Joan Walley said: “The Secretary of State should think again before demolishing the Code for Sustainable Homes. The policy has been a big success in driving up home building standards, delivering local choice and supporting green exports.

“Building materials manufacturers in the UK told us that they use the code as a green kitemark when they sell their products abroad.”

Communities Minister Stephen Williams said: “New homes are already being built to high standards of energy efficiency introduced by this government, saving people up to £200 a year on their fuel bills and £60,000 for businesses, as well as making major reductions in carbon emissions.”