In response to the Westminster Government cancelling the introduction of the Zero Carbon Homes policy, Pippa Bartolotti, Wales Green Party Leader, has called on Councils around Wales to specify ‘Carbon Positive’ design standards for all homes built on all Council owned land, and as a condition of sale of any Council land sold for housebuilding.
Chancellor George Osborne announced in July that he will be withdrawing a commitment to improve the energy efficiency standards of new homes by cancelling a scheduled improvement in Building Regulations. This has received widespread condemnation from both businesses and consumer groups, who have asked the Chancellor to reverse his decision.
Speaking for Wales Green Party, Pippa Bartolotti condemned the dropping of these proposed higher energy efficiency standards and urged the Welsh Government to grasp the controls of Building Regulations and take as many people out of fuel poverty as possible.
Bartolotti said, “Local Councils have the responsibility to build houses to the highest standards, and they can do that right now for the same budget as is currently used for social housing.
“The high fuel bills people in Wales are facing are once again being ignored.
“For people on low incomes moving into new Social Housing, abandoning the Zero Carbon Homes policy will mean they are now more likely to suffer fuel poverty and be faced with the difficult choice of whether to eat or heat their homes.
“We are being locked into energy wasteful building standards for many years to come. Nearly 10 years of highly skilled work by building professionals preparing for the new Zero Carbon Homes standards has been wasted by George Osborne’s back-tracking on what was believed to be a firm Government commitment”.
Wales Green Party is now calling for local Councils to specify ‘Carbon Positive’ standards on all new homes and buildings.
On a visit last week to the Solcer House near Bridgend, the first carbon positive house in Wales, built under the supervision of Prof. Phil Jones of Cardiff University School of Architecture, The Wales leader said;
“This simple and cost-effective solution to both Fuel Poverty and Climate Change really needs to be adopted by Local Authorities around Wales. Solcer House has created a new affordable building standard for Wales, and there is no reason why Councils cannot decide to specify this on their own land, instead of the depressingly predictable and unambitious standards locking yet another generation into fuel poverty.
All local councillors are committed to ending Fuel Poverty and to strengthening Local Government, Wales Green Party is calling for a cross-party campaign to introduce ‘Carbon Positive’ standards by all Local Authorities in Wales.