Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Housing and Planning Policy at the HBA, argues that action rather than words is what the housing sector in the UK needs.
The Government has a laser-like focus on building 300,000 new homes a year but an equally great challenge is to renovate the 23 million existing homes in England, which remain a major barrier to meeting our carbon commitments and solving fuel poverty.
Releasing its ‘Warm Homes for All’ commitment, the Labour party has committed to doing just that. It wants to install ‘energy efficient measures such as loft insulation and double glazing, renewable and low carbon technologies in almost all of the UK’s 27 million homes.’ They expect this will create 450,000 jobs and cut carbon emissions by 10%.
Warmly welcomed by many members of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), the economic and social benefits of ‘Warm Homes for All’ are clear but any strategy must understand that loft insulation and double glazing are not adequate solutions to deliver meaningful change.
With 5.3 million UK homes not having a cavity wall and more than 500,000 buildings being listed, any Government which is serious about renovating the existing stock must understand that technical limitations, planning policy and a skilled workforce need careful consideration.
The capacity of the construction industry has already shrunk over the past thirty years and the supply chain has been hit the hardest. Yet training more builders and guaranteeing a pipeline of work is only half the battle and energy assessors will be integral in ensuring the greatest ‘bang for buck’.
There are also financial incentives that must be considered, such as reducing VAT on renovations.
‘Warm Homes for All’ is a great starting point for politicians but without a national discussion on how we upgrade our existing stock, it will remain warm words only.
