Housing and climate change

The homes we live in are responsible for around 25% of total CO2 emissions. Just over half of emissions from homes come from direct combustion of fossil fuels mainly for heating.This does not however include the emissions associated with the manufacture and transportation of materials used in the construction or refurbishment of dwellings or the emissions associated with people travelling to and from their homes to work, school, shopping to leisure activities or to services.

The Planning for Housing Network is well placed to raise awareness of the issues arising for housing from climate change and good practice in addressing these.

In July 2009, a Network event introduced Hanham Hall to the membership. Hanham Hall in South Gloucestershire will be the first substantial development to meet level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. The scheme is the first to be approved under the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) Carbon Challenge and first completions are expected in 2010. The developer will be Barratt Homes and the architects are HTA Consultants. Future Network events will allow members to keep in touch with Hanham Hall as plans are turned into a small but fully functioning community.

In 2011 the largest development in Britain of homes to level six of the code for sustainable homes gained a planning approved for a former factory site in Fletton, Peterborough. Forty per cent of the homes will be for social rent or shared ownership, using a £7.8 million national affordable housing grant.

Members had also been shown the efforts of a community that tackled climate change issues in a very direct way. When the local coal pit closed down the Sherwood community in the East Midlands decided to replace it with a range of new employers that would be helping to address the issue of clean energy for non-fossil-fuel dependent era. This became Sherwood Energy Village. New housing was very much a secondary objective but an exemplar development of new homes on the site is included.

Acknowledging the potential value of exemplar communities, the last Government committed to a controversial programme of Eco Towns across England which was as challenging to existing communities as it was aspiration-raising. The Network has sought to bring the issues and debate together in one place with its Discussion Forum (member log-in required) and will facilitate sharing of the Eco Town experience as the programme proceeds the 4 phase one new settlements having been selected.

Family Housing Association in Birmingham tackled the much bigger issue how to retrofit the existing housing stock with environmentally friendly features. The opportunity to view their Eco Neighbourhood in Summerfield proved extremely popular with members but has also proved equally popular with Awards judges as it recently won its regional heat of the National Housing Federations What We Are Proud of Award 2009, amongst other Awards.

The Eco Neighbourhood featured in the Planning with Housing Network contribution, written by Sarah Conlan & Jon Morris, to the Climate Change series featured within RTPI News in Planning. Their piece titled The crucial role for housing in facing up to Climate Change noted particularly that whilst the greatest gains can be achieved from retrofitting the existing stock to make it climate-change friendly, there are far less powerful policy tools available to achieve this.

The RTPI has made 7 Commitments to address Planning for Climate Change which John Healey, then Minister for Housing and Planning, commended and added: "I would frankly like to see other organisations follow your lead."