"The Government launched its long-awaited consultation on proposed changes to the Building Regulations this week, setting out a number of proposals designed to boost energy efficiency.

The Government has has made great efforts to mitigate the cost impact on house builders of achieving Part L from next year by setting an improvement target of 8% in additional carbon savings compared to the 25% that the industry had been told to expect by the previous government. There is no plan to drop the obj...

A new publication explains how new homes can comply with the 2010 edition of Part F, which sets out strategies that should, if executed correctly, ensure good ventilation regardless of the level of airtightness. The guide works through the possible solutions on a range of common house and apartment types, explains some of the terminology in Part F and gives a broad understanding of the changes this will entail in practice. It can be downloaded at www.nhbcfoundation.org/partF

This guide is inte...

BRE has just released its proposals on how the SAP methodology should be changed in line with the planned revision of Building Regulations in 2013; the next step towards proposed Zero Carbon houses by 2016.

It should be noted that this is consultation stage only.

There are eight key changes which may be relevant on upcoming housing developments.

This consultation only applies to the calculations used for producing SAP assessments and EPC's. It does not cover Target Emission Rates, limiting U-Val...

Overall the ‘Green Deal’ is a very exciting and positive scheme that should be supported and encouraged, however there are still some key concerns that need to be addressed if the scheme is to be the success it could be.

The ‘Green Deal’ is a framework to enable private firms to offer consumers energy efficiency improvements for their homes, community spaces and businesses at no upfront cost, and recoup payments through ongoing charges on energy bills.

The financing mechanism allows con...

Building Magazine has reported that the number of planning permissions granted in the three months to September 2011 was 10% down on the previous year. This is according to the latest figures from the Home Builders’ Federation.

The HBF is reported to have said its quarterly housing pipeline report showed that just 32,500 homes were given planning permission in the third quarter, down from 38,500 in the same period last year.

The number of units approved in the first nine months of the year is...